Partnering with any app development agency requires proper communication and understanding from all parties involved. And this communication starts with an app development brief. However, businesses, especially if they’re just starting out, aren’t sure about how to work with such a brief.
So, if you’re wondering how to brief an app development agency, you’re at the right place.
A well-defined app brief has 12 key segments, starting with the company introduction and app features to budget, timeline, and expected success metrics. It is important to be as informative as possible about your expectations while also providing enough development freedom to your agency.
Stay tuned as we unveil all about writing a proper app development brief. Moreover, we will discuss some common mistakes that people often make when creating the brief. So, let’s get right into it without any further delay.
The Importance Of A Proper App Development Brief: 6 Key Benefits
If you’re here, it is safe to assume that you don’t want to reach out to an app development agency without any preparation. And if that’s the case, you’re already off to a good start.
However, before we jump into the steps of a proper app brief, let’s first understand its importance.
While many novice business owners know that they have to write an app brief, they don’t quite understand what exactly it can do for them. This often leads them to make trivial mistakes, causing them to lose the opportunity to work with experts in the field.
So, here’s a quick breakdown of the importance of a proper app development brief.
- Provides a detailed plan of action that the development team can build on.
- Keeps company members and development unified through a shared goal.
- Helps maintain milestones and timelines according to your needs.
- Minimizes the need for revisions in the middle of the development process.
- Reduces any chance of error and conflict.
- Kick-starts the development without unnecessary delays.
How Do I Brief An App Development Agency? – 12 Key Steps
Now, let’s dive right into the main topic you’ve been thinking about, how do I brief an app development agency?
Writing an app brief involves several crucial pieces of information that must be dealt with through meticulous attention.
To simplify this process and ensure you don’t miss out any key details, we have provided a step-by-step breakdown for an app development brief.
1. Company Introduction
To begin with, no app development agency would collaborate with your business without truly knowing its intention. So, start by introducing your company.
Simply, start with your company’s name and mention your vision, future goals, and the motivation for your work. Try to give the agency a clear visualisation of what your business represents.
Moreover, write about how your company stands out. Basically, give the app development agency a proper incentive to work with you. Lastly, make sure to include your company’s official email address.
2. App Overview
Next, move on to writing about your app. Without beating around the bush, try to directly get into the problem your app will solve. If possible, start with a catchy hook that sends a proper message to the agency.
Then, elaborate on your vision regarding the app. Explain why and how your app is the right solution for the problem you presented.
That’s not all, though. You have to explain more about what the app will do for the users. If needed, you can add some core features that help the app stand out.
3. Current Status
Another crucial piece of information that any development agency will look for is the current status of your app.
It’s totally okay for a business to reach out to an agency with just a fresh app idea. If you haven’t planned any further, make sure to mention it in your app brief.
However, many business owners often have a prototype prepared beforehand. If you are one of them, you should definitely address this.
It is important to let app development agencies know, as it helps them prepare accordingly without wasting unnecessary resources.
4. Target Audience
Once you’ve got the app status covered, you can address your target audience. Make sure to conduct thorough research and elaborate on your users thoroughly.
Highlight your specific demographic by mentioning their age range, background, job roles, and even income. Add any other detail you think is relevant to your app.
More importantly, don’t hesitate to include psychographics. Adding your users’ attitudes, interests, and lifestyle choices that affect their consumer behavior helps developers get a better insight into your app.
5. Competition
Before signing up for a project, developers will want to know about the competition in that specific industry. So, you should include a segment for competitor analysis.
Try to mention apps that are similar to your idea. Discuss what they’re doing to solve the problem. Then write about why your app offers a better solution for the users.
Moreover, it’s not solely about comparing your app to your competitors. Simply, present how your app will be a great addition to the industry.
6. App Platform, Features And Functionality
Next, dive deeper into your app. This section is very crucial if you truly want developers to collaborate with you.
Most development agencies won’t expect you to know the technical aspects of an app. However, you should try to give them a proper idea of the app’s features and functionalities.
Start by discussing the core features of your app. Talk about the most important ones with which developers can build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). An MVP will help you collect feedback and identify the true potential of the app.
Then, enumerate the additional features that will bring life to your product. If you want to include any customized features, mention that as well.
Additionally, try to mention the platform you want to launch your app on. It can be on Android, iOS, or both. Regardless, you must decide on it as soon as possible since it will impact the development process significantly.
Lastly, if you have any specific monetization strategy you want to adhere to, try to mention that as well. So that the agency can work on developing the app accordingly.
7. User Journey
Another key aspect that should be included in the app brief is the user journey. You have to explain to the developers how you want the users to navigate through the app for their requirements.
However, to begin with, you have to mention how a user will register and log in to the app. And then, you can plan out the progression once they’ve logged in.
If you’re unsure about the user navigation, try your hand at user stories. Sit down with your team and discuss from the perspective of a user as to why and what would bring them to your app.
Think of a problem they’re facing and where exactly they should go on the app for the solution.
For example, if you’re working to create a ride-sharing app like Uber, here’s how you can build a user journey from the perspective of a rider.
As a daily commuter, I want to schedule a ride, preferably 24hours in advance, and pay through the in-app wallet so that I don’t have to worry about being late or go through the hassle of manual bank transfers.
Not only will this explain the general chronology of the app, but it also further strengthens the credibility of your app idea.
8. Content Strategy
If you want your app to be successful, you can’t be careless about the content in it. You should have a proper content creation strategy, which you should add to the app brief.
It’s not just about the audio-visual aspect of your app, rather, you have to utilise your content as a marketing strategy too.
For starters, mention the kind of audio, video, or even just images you want. Next, you have to inform the developers how, where, and for what exactly you want to use this content.
Additionally, you should plan out who you will be collaborating with for creating your content. Mention whether you will have an in-house or outsourced content creation team, as the developers will have to work alongside them.
9. Design Expectations
Next, discuss what your expectations are in terms of the design. Every app has its own visual aesthetics, but beyond that, an app should also have a fun, intuitive interface.
So, make sure to address how you plan on handling both. Mention your preferred color palette, fonts, layouts, and overall branding appeal.
You can present other app interfaces as an example. Highlight what you like and don’t like.
Additionally, look into the functionality as well. When it comes to app development, functionality and design go hand-in-hand. So, you must discuss that with your developer as well.
10. Budget And Timeline
No app brief is complete until you discuss the budget. And, along with that, you should mention your desired timeline.
To begin with, don’t contact any app development agency without a proper budgetary guideline. Do your research first, set aside an amount you can afford to spend, and mention that in the app brief.
Moreover, if there is any financial constraint, you must include that as well. We recommend you maintain complete transparency from the beginning.
Additionally, you should write about when you expect the final product. Timelines are a crucial factor for developing a structured app, so it’s better not to have any misunderstanding regarding the deadline.
If you have any milestones that you want to hit during specific development phases, specify that as well.
And, if you plan on launching an MVP first, make sure to include the budget and timeline for it.
11. Crisis Scenarios
Any app development project can have some risk factors. What’s important in this case is that you identify them beforehand and inform your developers accordingly.
So, write about any potential crisis scenario that you might face, either in the middle of a development project or at the end. It could be anything from a technical glitch to a lack of resources.
Try to maintain a direct line of communication about this. The sooner you address a problem, the sooner you can mitigate its impacts!
12. Success Metrics
And, finally, finish the app brief with the metrics you will use to measure the success of your app.
It could be a specific number of downloads, conversion rates, monthly active users, or even just revenue.
Try to specify what your expectations are for these metrics. This gives the developers a better understanding of your goals in the long-run.
Existing Relevant Contents:
How Is App Development Different From Web Development?
How To Write A Business Plan For Mobile App Development?
How Much Does It Cost To Develop An App?
4 Common Mistakes When Briefing An App Development Agency (Including Solutions )
Now, you have a complete guide on how do I brief an app development agency. However, this isn’t all we want to leave you with.
To further assist you with an app development briefing, we want to discuss some common and consequential mistakes people make. This will provide some further insights into a foolproof brief.
1. Mentioning Project Goals Vaguely
To begin with, a major blunder that can cost you is not defining your app project goals in detail. You can’t expect a developer to build you a robust app without explaining its main objectives.
Developers need the right direction to bring your vision to life. Therefore, Don’t just limit yourself to a simple idea of what you want to achieve.
Instead of providing a vague description, try to define measurable objectives for your project. For example, you can mention an estimated range of online sales you want to increase within a year.
The clearer your business objectives are, the easier it is for an agency to suggest the right development approach.
2. Leaving The Agency With No Room To Innovate
Another aspect to be mindful of is allowing the developers to explore their creativity. While having a vision or a goal is helpful, being overly prescriptive can limit experienced developers and designers from contributing valuable ideas.
Developers expect you to be as elaborate as possible regarding your expectations and requirements. So, try to tell them what you want without being rigid about how the developers should work on it.
In short, treat your brief as a description of the problem rather than a fixed solution. More importantly, try to be flexible about the development approach. Having worked across different industries, developers know the most efficient methods, some of which might be better than what you will suggest.
3. Having An Unrealistic Budget
Businesses sometimes expect enterprise-level applications while working with a budget suited for a basic MVP. An unrealistic budget like this will create multiple problems and frustration among both parties. In fact, this mistake is the most common reason businesses end up losing the best agencies.
So, instead of guessing a budget, research typical development costs and discuss your financial constraints openly.
A good developer will help you prioritise app features and development strategies based on your budget. They will even try to accommodate your financial needs based on must-have functionality, nice-to-have features, and even future enhancements.
This can even help you to launch an MVP first, validate your idea, and invest in additional features as the product grows.
4. No Team Consultation Before The Brief
Lastly, bringing an app to life is a team effort. All the core members in your team should be involved when writing the development brief.
Unfortunately, some project briefs are written by a single stakeholder without consulting everyone else who will manage or maintain the app. As a result, the whole development approach might have to be revised when newer requirements emerge mid-way.
To avoid such costly revisions, try to gather key input from core stakeholders. This can even include input from the users’ end.
Moreover, try to assign different groups from your team to identify different needs, such as reporting requirements, security concerns, workflow improvements, or customer pain points.
Contact App-Concept For Innovative App Development Solutions
We’ve got you completely covered on how to write an app development brief. So, now, it should be pretty simple to contact an app development agency.
But, you know what’s not so easy? Finding the right app development agency that will seamlessly partner with you and work towards the same goal as you.
Well, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered in this case as well. Allow us to introduce you to App-Concept, a leading app development agency based in Chemnitz, Germany.
With over a decade of experience in all types of software development, App-Concept works on finding the most efficient and fully personalised development approach for start-ups.
However, their service isn’t limited to just start-ups, App-Concept has had the experience of working with businesses of all structures in the last fifteen years.
Here is a complete breakdown of what App-Concept can do for you.
- Client-centric, result-driven approach.
- Complete customization for every client.
- Complete backend support.
- Intuitive and engaging interfaces.
- Seamless integration services.
- Consistent post-launch maintenance and support.
- Appropriate scalability solutions.
- Industry-specific solutions.
- Modern technologies and AI implementations.
So, don’t wait any longer and contact App-Concept for your unique app requirements.
FAQ
Q. Do I need technical knowledge to write an app project brief?
No, it’s not expected that business owners have the right technical knowledge for an app. A professional app development agency can help determine the most suitable technical solution.
Q. How detailed should an app development brief be?
Your brief should have enough information to cover your business objectives and requirements without dictating every technical decision. Try to be very thorough about the main problems, target audience, and the outcomes you expect.
Q. Can I update the brief after development starts?
While you definitely can, any major changes after the development process begins can affect the project timeline, budget, and scope. So, it is in everyone’s best interest if you finalize the main objectives before the development starts.
Final Thought
How do I brief an app development agency is a common question among businesses with a fresh app idea. Writing a well-prepared brief is one of the initial and most important steps to building a successful app. It tells about your goals, budget, and other requirements, letting the agency understand your vision and propose the best solution.
Remember, your brief doesn’t need every technical detail. Try to focus on defining the problem you’re trying to solve and the result you want. Whether you’re building a startup MVP or an enterprise application, investing time in creating a comprehensive project brief is very important to avoid miscommunications while bringing your vision to life!
