If you’re considering adopting a low-code approach to app development, you first need a low-code platform. If you’ve already got one, congrats! Maybe you’re using Skuid to accelerate development, iterate faster, and deliver intuitive user experiences.
However, having the right tool is only half the battle. You need the right processes as well. This requires a deep understanding of app agility — a process of continuous design, creation, and delivery of powerful apps that put humans at the center.
So, what’s the best way to start your low-code journey? In this post, we’ll go through five key steps for low-code/no-code success that go beyond buying the best software tool. The end result of all five? Applications that people actually like using, and adopt because they want to — not because they have to.
1.Build the right team
In low-code app development, the most important investment isn’t the technology itself. It’s the team that manages it. That’s why we recommend starting with the humans!
A strong app development team should be cross-functional. By incorporating roles from different domains and bringing in hands with unique expertise, you set yourself up to create an application that meets various user needs.
No matter who specifically is on your team and what titles they hold, someone will need to be responsible for the following areas, aka the “ABCs” of product development: administrative, business, and creative.
- Administrative is responsible for technology. They translate user stories and designs into application features and layouts. They also manage ongoing maintenance and iteration and connect the app to the correct data.
- Business is responsible for the big picture. They identify the company’s problems or needsand direct app development towards an appropriate solution.
- Creative is responsible for engaging the user. They design easy-to-learn, easy-to-use apps that people enjoy and adopt.
Keep in mind that these roles refer to specific responsibilities, not necessarily to individual people. One person can fill more than one role or multiple individuals may share a single role. What’s important is that someone takes ownership of the expectations for each of the“ABCs.”
While administrative and business tasks demonstrate obvious value, some people mistakenly view the creative side as a “nice to have.” However, since creative roles focus on the user experience (UX),they’re essential to creating a product that users adopt and continue to use.Be sure to invest as many resources into UX/UI and design as you do the other two areas.
2.Gather your essential tools
Now that you’ve assembled your team and defined roles, it’s time to get the right tools in their hands. In this case, we don’t mean software tools; we’re talking about critical documents, reference materials, and artifacts that will guide you along the path to app development success.
Product brief
The product brief is one of the most essential tools for any low-code app dev project. This document outlines important project details, including key stakeholders, team members and their roles, technical requirements, and more. It also provides high-level direction through sections like the hypothesis/vision statement and the user story, which is a summary of the problem and solution in terms of the expected outcome (“X will result in Y”).
While the product manager compiles, updates, and maintains this document, the entire team can contribute. Essentially, it serves as a single source of truth for anyone involved in the project. When in doubt, check the product brief!
Change management framework
Anyone who has worked in product management knows one undeniable truth: things are going to change. That’s why we recommend developing a change management framework at the very start of your app development project.
Whether the change is a minor functionality adjustment or a complete overhaul of the business case for the app’s overall direction, approach the change management process in a thoughtful, calculated, and measured way. It may be agile, but it’s not impulsive.
Outcome setting and measurement document
Having alignment on outcomes is critical to success, so we suggest creating a document that lays out this information in granular detail.
Start by defining the desired outcomes, both qualitative and quantitative. The former should include the metrics that will serve as your key performance indicators (KPIs), like improved app adoption, reduction in time spent on a given task, ROI, etc.
3. Get to know the user
Discovery and planning are the most important steps for making a successful product, and the cost of neglecting them can’t be understated. Skimping on either one increases the risk for rework, wasted time, and even missed deadlines.
Not only does the app you create with Skuid need todo what you designed it to do, it must also solve a tangible problem or make someone’s job easier. Before you start the app build process, spend some time on this question: Who is this for and how does it solve their problems?
Remember, custom apps are only valuable if they’re helpful to the end-user. Start with the human need and the problem to solve, and use that to inform what features to include in your product.
4. Embrace design thinking
Design thinking involves tackling a challenge by coming up with as many ideas as possible to solve it—in other words, using divergent thinking to arrive at the best available solution. Once ideas are on the table, convergent thinking narrows all potential ideas to the best one.
As you move through the “5 Ds” of successful app building, employ the concepts of divergent and convergent thinking at each stage:
- Discovery: Explore the problem space
- Definition: Decide which problems to solve first
- Design: Specify what you’re going to build and how it will work
- Development: Create the application
- Deployment: Give it to your users
5. Be prepared to iterate
Champions aren’t made the first time they take the field. It takes dedication to take home the gold, and a growth mindset that seeks areas of opportunity and improvement. A champion also recognizes that the work doesn’t stop after the first win.
Whether you’re planning a major release with a host of new features or a minor update to fix existing ones, approach each iteration with the same care and focus as the original rollout, revisiting the“5 Ds” above as necessary.
The ability to iterate using Skuid is one of the product’s greatest strengths, so embracing this practice is the fastest way to obtain a return on your investment. By using Skuid to facilitate a process of continuous design, creation, and delivery, you’ll build powerful apps that users adopt today and in the future. This process will also help you keep pace as business trends and user needs inevitably evolve.
Deliver on your app development promises
By following the above steps, you’ll get your low-code app build process off on the right foot. With the right tools, the right team, and the right mindset, your users will be delighted and enthusiastic about using your application in their day-to-day work.
Get a demo of Skuid’s low-code/no-code app development platform today.
