Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make on iPhone/iPad Projects.

1. Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make
on iPhone/iPad Projects
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

2. 1. Failing to research and test your idea first
So you think you have an idea for a million dollar App?
That's great, but before you go and spend a considerable amount of time
and money creating it, wouldn't it be a good idea to spend a bit of time
investigating and proving if people actually want it?
Before you even begin to think about developing your App you should be
talking to people who may be potential customers in the future and see
what they think about your offering. Does it interest them? Would they
pay for it? What would they be willing to pay?
Have you researched the App store to see who your competition is?
What are you providing that they aren't?
Countless projects are doomed to fail from the very beginning because
this first step gets skipped and the people managing the project just
“know it will work”. How can you know if you don't ask?
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

3. 2. Not having a solid understanding of
the nature and complexity of iOS
development.
Developing for the iOS platform is unique. It is not like developing for the
web and the rules that apply there, don't apply here. This is one of the most
rapidly evolving platforms and technologies on the planet .It requires highly
knowledgable and skilled talent to build exceptional applications.
A lot of companies see a tremendous opportunity in the iOS and mobile
space right now, but have no real expertise in this area. The fake it till you
make it approach simply won't work here, you either know what you are
doing, or you don't. If you don't have the expertise and understanding
needed in this area, find someone who does and don't wait till it's to late.
As a developer, it pains me to see mangled broken projects that have clearly
been development by people who have no idea what they are doing and
then asked to fix them after the fact.
Why not do it right the first time?
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

4. 3. Setting unrealistic/artificial deadlines
You may be interested to know that even relatively simple iOS projects
can take at least 3 months to complete and most non- trivial projects can
easily take 6 months to a year!
Time and time again I see companies approach developers with projects
that will take quite a bit of time and impose deadlines and timeframes
that are completely unrealistic. Asking for a sizable App to be built 1or 2
months before Christmas is a really bad idea.
You should not be setting dates and telling people when your App will be
ready until your engineering team has something that's ready to show.
Putting your team under unnecessary stress and pressure may actually
delay your project in the long run.
Your real goal should be to get the minimum feature set up and running
as quickly as reasonably possible and not trash your team in the
process. Remember you can iterate and publish updates as often as you
need, but you need to ship something!
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

5. 4. Failing to use the right people
So you're planning on contracting everything to offshore developers, or
finding a student, or posting into craigslist for the lowest bidder?
We'll I hope that works out for you, but you know what, it probably won't.
Like many things in life, you get what you pay for, and when it comes to
skilled developers this still holds true.
It always amazes me how companies never have the budget to do
projects correctly from the start, but always seem to have the budget to
redo projects several times over that have been done incorrectly.
Working with a local developer who actually has the necessary skills and
experience will more often than not save you time and money in the long
run.
Would you want an amateur mechanic working on your $60,000 sports
car? If not why would you hire and amateur developer to work on your
$60,000 iPhone or iPad project?
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

6. 5. Underestimating project costs
The final mistake I see a lot of companies make is failing to understand
how much actually work is required to build exceptional Apps and the
level of expertise that is required.
A reasonable sized project may require 1 or more developers, 1 or more
designers, sound production, video production , user interface design, a
project manager and this can easily add up to hundreds of hours of time.
You could easily spend $30,000 on very basic App and from there move
up to $60,000 for a moderate App and then climb well over $100,000 for
a complex project.
A good iOS developer can easily run well over $100/hr because they are
in such high demand right now. As employees, senior iOS developers
are commanding salaries of $100,000 or more.
Projects can fail or completely stall out if there is not a sufficient budget
in place, so try and make sure your budget is sufficient for the App you
are trying to build.
© 2011 Richard Hart - All rights reserved.

7. This Presentation was
Prepared By
Richard Hart
(iOS specialist in Apps for kids, health, the environment and
education)
rhart[@]richardhart.ca
www.richardhart.ca