How to Improve Your App’s Time-To-Market

Mobile app development can feel like a race against time, especially in today’s highly competitive market. The reality is, in this fast-paced digital world, if you snooze, you lose. Between budget constraints, integration nightmares, and the ever-present pressure to innovate, getting your product to market quickly is a constant struggle. But it doesn't have to be.

This article provides a practical roadmap for significantly reducing your mobile app's time-to-market (TTM). We'll explore proven strategies, from the power of cross-platform development to the streamlined efficiency of Agile methodologies and smart ways to leverage existing solutions. We'll focus on actionable advice, showing you how to build high-performing mobile experiences and get them into your customers' hands faster. All this without compromising on quality or your budget. 

Let’s get started.

What exactly is time-to-market?

Let's get on the same page about what we mean by "time-to-market" (TTM). Simply put, it’s the total time it takes to bring a new product – in this case, your mobile app – from the initial product idea stage all the way to its launch and make it available to users. Think of it as the journey from that "aha!" moment when you first envisioned your app, through all the design, development, testing, and marketing, until it's finally live and ready for download.

How can my business benefit from faster time-to-market?

Okay, so now we know what time-to-market (TTM) is. But why should you care? Let's break it down:

Gain a competitive edge

In the app world, being first (or even better a close second) to market is a huge competitive advantage. It's not just about bragging rights; it's about capturing market share. Imagine launching your innovative fintech app before any of your competitors. You'd be able to establish your brand as the go-to solution, build a loyal user base, and solidify your brand reputation as an innovator before anyone else even enters the arena.

Start generating revenue faster

This one's pretty straightforward. The sooner your app is live, the sooner you can start seeing a return on your investment. Whether you're monetizing through in-app purchases, subscriptions, or advertising, every day you shave off your TTM is potentially money in your pocket. Think about it: a faster launch means a faster path to profitability.

Validate product assumptions quickly

You've got a brilliant idea for an app, right? But until it's live and being used, it's still just an assumption. A faster TTM allows you to validate those assumptions quickly. Are users responding the way you expected? Are they finding the features you prioritized useful? Getting answers to these questions early is crucial. It helps you avoid investing heavily in features that might miss the mark and allows you to pivot or adjust your strategy based on real data.

Gather early feedback for iterative improvements

Launching earlier isn't just about getting ahead of the competition; it's also about getting smarter, faster. By getting your app into the hands of real users sooner, you gain access to invaluable feedback early in the process. This feedback allows you to identify what's working, what's not, and what still requires improvement. You can then use this data to iterate quickly and refine your app based on real-world usage.

Time for a reality check: Is your app development process as efficient as it could be?

Before we dive into specific strategies, it's important to take a look inward. Think about your current app development process. Are there any areas where things tend to slow down or get stuck? Identifying these potential bottlenecks is the first step to streamlining your workflow and improving your TTM.

Here are a few common culprits to consider:

1. Alignment between the stakeholders: Is everyone on the same page? While sharing the vision is important, the details matter. It is crucial that your entire team sees things in the same, aligned way and interprets the mission statement and key value proposition with integrity.

2. Ineffective communication: Are your teams (design, development, marketing) communicating effectively? Miscommunications, unclear expectations, and lack of collaboration can lead to delays, rework, and missed deadlines.

3. Lengthy prototyping and design phase: Is your prototyping and design phase dragging on? While it's important to get the design right, spending too much time perfecting every detail can significantly impact your TTM. Finding the right balance between design perfection and efficient execution is key.

4. Separate development for various platforms: Are you developing separate native apps for Android and iOS? This approach can lead to duplicated effort, increased software development time, and platform-specific integration challenges.

5. Delays in app testing: Don’t get me wrong, testing is crucial and should never be skipped, but it can still be a major source of delays. Are you encountering bottlenecks in your testing process? Do bugs and issues take too long to identify and resolve? Optimizing your testing workflow can significantly reduce your TTM.

By honestly assessing your current process and pinpointing these potential problem areas, you can take proactive steps to address them and pave the way for a smoother, faster app development cycle.

The 6 best strategies for reducing your app’s time-to-market

Now that you've taken a hard look at your current app development process and identified potential bottlenecks, it's time to explore some proven strategies for speeding things up. You don't need to implement every single one; consider this a toolbox of techniques we've honed over the years helping our clients at LeanCode achieve a faster time-to-market. Pick and choose the strategies that best suit your needs and have the greatest potential to boost your TTM.

And now, let’s cut to the chase!

Strategy 1: Do your homework

Development can be not only lengthy but also unnecessarily costly. This is why you must avoid radical pivoting at all costs by ensuring that the problem statement you are addressing is valid. Conducting thorough market research is essential to prove the actual need for the solution you have in mind.

How to prepare for rapid app development

1. Validate your problem statement

Ensure you fully understand and validate the problem you aim to solve. Identify the target group that resonates most with the problem statement and assess how much they are willing to pay for a solution that is 10 times better than existing alternatives.

2. Run an initial ideation process within your team

Brainstorm possible solutions with your team, create a roadmap, and break down the development scope into smaller chunks. Prioritize features based on insights gained from customer interviews.

3. Conduct market research

Become an expert on existing alternatives. Understand their strengths and weaknesses, as your potential customers are already using these solutions. To position your product effectively, you need to know who your competitors are and what differentiates your offering.

Strategy 2: Embrace Agile project management

Agile is more than just a buzzword; it's a proven methodology for increasing efficiency and accelerating product development cycles. Instead of the traditional waterfall approach (where each phase happens sequentially), Agile breaks the project into smaller, more manageable "sprints." This allows for greater flexibility, faster iteration, and continuous feedback, all of which contribute to a significantly shorter TTM.

How to make Agile work for you

• Prioritize and break down tasks: Start by clearly defining your MVP (Minimum Viable Product) – the core features needed for your app to be functional and valuable. Then, break down the development process into smaller, manageable tasks that can be completed within short sprints (typically 1–4 weeks).
• Daily stand-up meetings: Implement daily stand-up meetings where team members (project manager, software developers, designers) report briefly on their progress, discuss any roadblocks, and plan for the day ahead. This keeps everyone aligned and ensures that issues are addressed quickly.
• Continuous feedback loops: Incorporate continuous feedback loops throughout the development process. This means regularly gathering feedback from stakeholders, users, and the development team itself. This allows you to identify and address issues early on, adapt to changing requirements, and ensure that the final product meets everyone's expectations.
• Iterative development: Agile emphasizes iterative mobile app development, where you build, test, and refine your app in small increments. This allows you to validate your assumptions quickly, incorporate user feedback, and make necessary adjustments along the way. This iterative approach reduces the risk of costly rework and ensures that you're always moving in the right direction.
  

By implementing these Agile principles, you can create a more streamlined, efficient, and responsive development process that naturally leads to a faster time-to-market.

Strategy 3: Harness the power of cross-platform development

Imagine building your app once and having it work seamlessly on both Android and iOS. That's the magic of cross-platform development. Instead of writing separate code for each platform, you use a single codebase that can be deployed across multiple operating systems. This approach offers several compelling benefits for businesses looking to accelerate their time-to-market:

• Faster app development: With a single codebase, you can significantly reduce development time compared to building separate native apps.
• Smaller development teams: Cross-platform development often requires smaller teams, as you don't need separate developers for each platform. This can lead to cost savings and improved communication and collaboration.
• Easier maintenance: Maintaining a single codebase is much simpler and more efficient than managing separate codebases for different platforms. This means less time spent on bug fixes and updates, and more time focusing on new features and improvements.
• Lower budget: By reducing development time and team size, cross-platform development can often lead to a lower overall budget, which makes it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.

Flutter: The leading cross-platform framework

When it comes to cross-platform development, the Flutter framework is the go-to choice for businesses looking to build high-performance native-like apps. Developed by Google, Flutter has gained immense popularity in recent years, with even large-scale companies like Virgin Money, BMW, LG, Universal Studios, Headspace, Viessmann, Bayer, Sonova, Whirlpool, Xiaomi, eBay Motors, and Geico choosing it for their app development needs.

Flutter is not just a favorite among developers; it's also highly regarded by CTOs and Tech Leads. In fact, a recent study found that 95.7% of those who have used Flutter in their projects would choose it again.

Our experience with Flutter at LeanCode

At LeanCode, we recognized the power of Flutter early on and have made it our core technology for mobile app development. We appreciate its versatility, performance, and ability to deliver exceptional user experiences across multiple platforms – not just Android and iOS, but also web and desktop.

We've been developing with Flutter since its early days, and we've built a strong track record of successful projects across various industries. One of our proudest achievements with Flutter is building one of the largest mobile banking apps in Poland for Credit Agricole Bank Polska. This app, now used by over a million users, showcases the scalability and performance of Flutter in a demanding, real-world environment.

Strategy 4: Leverage ready-made components

Don’t reinvent the wheel from scratch! Think about your future app as if it was built of Lego blocks. Instead of crafting every single piece from scratch, you can use pre-made blocks to assemble your creation faster. In the app development world, these "blocks" are ready-made solutions, pre-built components, and libraries that can be integrated into your project. This approach can significantly accelerate your development process and reduce your time-to-market.

Examples of ready-made components

There's a vast ecosystem of ready-made solutions available for app developers, including:

• User authorization: Instead of building your own user authentication system from scratch, you can leverage pre-built solutions that handle common functionalities like 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication), password recovery, and email verification.
• Notifications: Keep your users engaged with timely and relevant notifications. Pre-built solutions can help you implement push notification handlers or live notifications.
• App rating systems: Encourage users to rate your app and provide valuable feedback with pre-built rating systems that simplify the rating process, gather customer feedback, and boost app store visibility.
• …and so much more!

While leveraging ready-made solutions can be a powerful way to accelerate your development, it's important to find the right balance between pre-built components and custom development.  For core features that differentiate your app and provide unique value to your users, custom development may be the best approach. However, for more standard features, ready-made solutions can be a valuable time-saver.

Strategy 5: Explore low-code/no-code platforms

Low-code/no-code platforms are changing the way businesses build apps. They provide visual interfaces and drag-and-drop tools that allow you to create applications with minimal coding, making app development accessible to a broader group of users, even those with limited knowledge of coding.

When to consider low-code/no-code

Low-code/no-code platforms can be a great option for:

• Small-scale projects: For smaller projects with limited budgets and tight deadlines, low-code/no-code platforms can be a viable alternative to traditional development.
• Simple apps and prototypes: If you need to build a basic app with limited functionality or create a quick prototype to test your idea, low-code/no-code platforms can be a fast and cost-effective solution.
• Internal tools and applications: Low-code/no-code platforms can be used to quickly build internal tools and applications that streamline business processes and improve efficiency.

When low-code/no-code might not be the best option

While low-code/no-code platforms offer many advantages, they might not be ideal for every project. Consider these scenarios:

• Complex or highly customized apps: If your app requires a high degree of customization and unique integrations, low-code platforms might not offer the necessary flexibility.
• High-performance or scalability needs: For apps demanding top-notch performance or the ability to handle rapid growth and massive data, traditional coding may be more robust.
• Strict security requirements: If your app handles highly sensitive data or requires specific security compliance, traditional coding offers more granular control over security measures.

Strategy 6: Boost efficiency with AI

It goes without saying that AI is here to stay. Especially in the last few years, AI has transformed various industries, and app development is no exception. AI-powered tools can automate tasks, analyze data, and provide valuable insights that can significantly shorten your time-to-market.

Here's how AI can boost your app development:

• Intelligent bug detection: AI algorithms can identify and even suggest fixes for bugs, reducing debugging time.
• Automated code generation: AI can generate code, freeing up developers for more complex tasks.
• Personalized user experiences: AI can personalize content, notifications, and interfaces, leading to higher user satisfaction and retention.

AI is still a relatively new technology, but its potential to transform app development is immense. As AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, we can expect to see even more innovative applications that further accelerate development cycles and enhance app capabilities.

Finding your fast track: Choosing the right strategies

We've given you a toolbox full of powerful strategies, but now comes the fun part – figuring out which ones will work best for your unique project. As we've mentioned throughout this article, every app development project is unique and there is no single, universally applicable formula for success.

To help you choose your fast track to launch, ask yourself these key questions:

• Product complexity: How complex is your app? If you're building a simple prototype or a basic app with limited functionality, a low-code/no-code platform might be a good starting point. But if you're aiming for a complex app with custom features and integrations, Flutter app development offers a more robust and scalable solution.
• Budget: What's your budget for app development? Cross-platform development with Flutter can be a cost-effective way to build an MVP that works seamlessly across both Android and iOS, maximizing your reach with a smaller investment.
• Team skills: Does your team have the necessary skills and experience to execute your chosen product development strategy? If not, consider hiring external software developers or offer some upskilling opportunities like training and workshops with experts that will help your team bridge the gap.
• Market research: Who are you targeting with your app? Have you thoroughly researched your target market and their preferred platforms? Ensure your app is available on the platforms your audience uses to maximize your reach and impact.

Improved product development process: Your key to success

So, there you have it – your roadmap to faster app development and a quicker launch. We've explored powerful strategies, from Agile and cross-platform development to leveraging AI and low-code solutions.

The key takeaway? Choose the strategies that best fit your project's needs, budget, and team skills. By carefully assessing your requirements and making informed decisions, you can streamline your company's product development process, accelerate time-to-market, and achieve your business goals faster.

If you’re looking for a reliable tech partner that will help you introduce these strategies, contact us today to discuss your project and see how LeanCode can help you achieve your bold business goals.