Don't Put a Dumb App on a Smartphone

Smartphones, iPhones, Droids, Blackberries, apps, and app stores... They’re all the rage right now and everyone is jumping onboard. That’s great news for new product development, but only if it’s done with the right mindset and not just for the sake of having something for mobile.

First and foremost, a mobile app has to be useful, fast, and easy. Additionally, even more so than standard software, it needs to be especially observant to the situation in which it is most likely to be used, as well. What value can the mobile app add to that particular situation?

Generally, a user opens a mobile app when they don’t have access to a computer, or the laptop is powered off in their backpack as they’re walking through the city, riding the train, etc. They want to find out where something is, make a reservation for the restaurant they just decided to go to across town, pay a bill they just remembered is due and forgot to take care of before they left, record a show at home on their DVR a friend just suggested, find out what time a place is open until, and so on. You get the idea. These are all things that are very relevant now, or in the immediate future, to the user.

In most cases, a mobile app has to be more than a one trick pony. Remember, the user has to have had a reason to already have the app installed. If they just want to know what time the restaurant is open until, they aren’t going to have, or want, a mobile app for that restaurant. The user will just go to their mobile web browser and find out, or better yet, go to an app like Urbanspoon or Yelp!. However, if the mobile app for that restaurant also allows mobile ordering ahead, reservations, menus, nearest location, and so forth, it might be worth having the app installed, i.e the Chipotle app...if you like burritos.

A mobile app needs to be quick, easy, and intuitive. Mostly, because I might be using it when I’m at a red light, probably shouldn’t be using it then, but let’s be real, it happens. Now is the time for fantasy football and I was stuck having to run an errand when I realized that one of my drafts was about to start. Luckily, ESPN had built a mobile draft app into their mobile website, even one without Flash for us iPhone folks. Granted, it didn’t provide all the info the regular draft center did, but it was quick and intuitive to use. I didn’t miss a pick, and was still able to mess up my draft perfectly!

How do you know what might be the most useful or of greatest interest to your users? If you already have a website up, monitor traffic to the various features and functions to see which are the most popular? Think about those functions from a mobile perspective, somewhat described earlier, to see if they make sense that way. If so, start to formulate a mobile app based around those features.

Get into the mobile, on the go, mindset when creating your next mobile app and you’ll add more value to your user’s situation right there, right then, on their smartphone!