How Long Does it Take to Build a Mobile App Using Agile Scrums?
If you’ve ever considered building a mobile app, you’ve inevitably wondered exactly how long it would take. Many sources claim that it takes about 4 months, with 10 weeks of back-end development, followed by 8 weeks of front-end development. Although this is an estimate based on a sample size of recently developed apps, it’s clear that the complexity of an app will dictate how difficult and time-consuming it will be to develop.
Using agile scrum methodology, we’ve found that apps are delivered more quickly and efficiently due to the better and more frequent communication between teams. The following phases outline how we work using agile scrum, beginning from scratch up until releasing a finished product.
Product Definition & Design – (2 to 8 weeks)
This phase should begin by working through business requirements and designing wireframes that accommodate the given requirements. The results of this phase should ideally include a fully-completed set of mock-ups, as well as user stories for every feature in the app. Everything should be in place for developers to know exactly what they need to build. Due to parts of the requirements and design constantly iterating, the development process can begin prior to fully completing this phase, as some requirements will be approved and finalized before others.
Development – (6 to 24 weeks)
The time period where developers work through the requirements using completed mock-ups includes finishing all planned features of the app. Total development time is budgeted into sprints, which generally last 2 to 3 weeks. Each sprint has its own goals, usually a set of features or a section of the app that should be completed by the time the sprint ends. Development time between apps vary greatly, as some features can take weeks to develop on their own. For example, adding social media integration (Facebook/Twitter sharing and login), or implementing a more customized UI feel will require more development time. The app should be feature-complete after this phase, and any additional development aims only to fix discovered bugs and issues.
As features will be completed along the way in the development phase, QA (quality assurance) can begin during this phase. Projects can range from international household name brands to small startups, which have varying amounts of flexibility and complexity in terms of iteration. It may be, in some cases, more difficult to change features and requirements due to longer and more formal approval processes, but it is always important to ensure that the same meticulous attention to detail is maintained throughout each process.
In most mobile apps, it will be necessary to have both app development (front-end), and web services (back-end). We define the front-end as the UI and the very practical interactions between users and the app. Back-end development supports front-end, ranging from pulling data to display on the screen to handling user signups. If resources permit, both the front-end and back-end can be developed concurrently, rather than consecutively. Doing so will generally save development time without compromising product quality.
UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and Release – (2 to 8 weeks)
In the final stretch, the app should be tested against requirements to ensure that they are sufficiently fulfilled. All features should be thoroughly tested, and any bugs or issues should be resolved prior to release. When the app is ready for release, it is put up for approval in the app store(s).
Of course, the above can only give you a very rough idea of the app development process and all the work and effort that goes into it. The question “How long does it take to build a mobile app?” should be posed more accurately as “how long will it take to build my mobile app?” Each app is unique, down to the most intricate details and features, and thus it would be difficult to provide a hard timeline, simply because there are so many factors that can affect development time.
If you’d like to learn more about building apps using agile scrum methodology, shoot us an email at info@www.voilahub.com!
