The App Business hosted Geek Girl's mobile-themed April '14 meetup. Alexandra Johnson, our Project Management Lead, was the keynote speaker on the day and shared our #TABEssentials deck, The Great App Cookbook If you're wondering how to get your app idea of the ground, The Great App Cookbook is a good place to start. It provides a straightforward, introductory presentation to the six key ingredients that sit behind every killer app.

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The Great App Cookbook
Six key ingredients to a killer app

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A little bit about us

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TAB was built from the ground up by a team who spent three
years working with Steve Jobs launching the iPhone.

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We help the world’s biggest brands
create business-transforming software

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We are software specialists, not digital generalists.
!
Making great mobile products is what we do all day, every day.
It is not a hobby, sideline or department.
!
It’s our business.

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Elegant simplicity
Great apps help people do one thing they care about well.
SnapFashionWhatsAppHailo

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“It takes a lot of hard work
to make something simple,
to truly understand the underlying challenges
and come up with elegant solutions.”
!
- Steve Jobs

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Take six simple ingredients
The Great App Cookbook

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Simple as A to…F
The Great App Cookbook in a nutshell:

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First, know your ABC

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A is for Audience
What simple, concrete behaviour do you want to make happen?
Identify an audience need that can be met by mobile.
Before technology, there’s your audience.

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B is for Brand
Stay true: amplify your promise and values.
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What is your core purpose as a business?
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Don’t be distracted by cool tech and go
off-piste.
Amazon Flow Nike+ Running

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The digital products these brands should be building…
Kodak Yell
( Instagram ) ( Foursquare ) ( Twitter )

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What role, precisely, does mobile play?
Define SMART goals and KPIs upfront.
C is for Commercials
Remember the process is iterative: do, learn and optimise.

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Know your ABC
A smart digital product idea begins with these first three vital ingredients.
Audience
need
Commercial
goal
Brand
truth
A
C
B
Clearly defined app proposition

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‘Gardening feels daunting to me.’A
Homebase helps you love your home.B
Demonstrate rapid innovation.C
In practice: Plant Match by Homebase
App proposition: Find your perfect Plant Match

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What next?

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Get building
Sweat the detail. Then sweat it some more.

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D is for Design
Design with context in mind.
Think interaction flows and touch, not ‘chrome’ or point and click.
Remove to improve.
Prototype fast: you can’t make something that moves
without making something that moves.
Usability test whenever you can.

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E is for Engineering
Solutions first, technology second.
!
Carefully consider native vs. hybrid approaches.
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Treat QA as a client.
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Apps are just the tip of the iceberg.

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A contextual UX developed through extensive
customer collaboration, driven by intelligent
data polling.
!
•Contextual, personalised dashboard of widgets deliver
need-to-know transport info automatically
•Reduced friction in journey planning
•Drives mobile ticket sales, car park reservations,
customer support
•End-to-end solution optimises legacy infrastructure for
optimum mobile performance
•Single code base for multiple train operating companies
•Nominated for two MOMA Awards 2014
In practice: On Track by Go Ahead Group

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The final ingredient

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Get talking
It’s time to spread the word.

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is for fame
1. Nail your positioning.
2. Understand and meet user need.
3. Control and exploit your touchpoints.
4. Start soft.
5. Enable your users to spread the word.
6. Care for your users.
7. Think sustained effort, not one-shot campaigns.
Hailo
F

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And finally:

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The process is iterative
Great apps are iteratively developed over time.
Make use of active listening and rapid, iterative customer usability testing.
Keep your app relevant to your audience - continuously improve it.
This process can also build deeper relationships with your audience.

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Recap

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Simple as A to…F
A great app is comprised of six key ingredients.

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Alexandra Johnson - Project Management Lead
alex@theappbusiness.com
Thank You