Gartner’s latest survey shows that enterprises are not satisfied with the development of enterprise mobile apps. Instead, they are focusing on responsive websites to address mobile needs.
Even among existing enterprise apps, over 80% are most likely to fail due to a lack of data, problem insight, or failure to innovate and expand their mobile apps to meet customers’ needs. Enterprises must make the right decisions to create mobile apps that work for their business.
Avoiding the Common Mistakes in Building Enterprise Mobile Apps
Most companies view building and deploying enterprise mobile applications as a difficult task. Enterprise mobile apps can help improve business operations and increase ROI if done correctly. Organizations focus too much on enterprise apps. Enterprise mobile apps often fail because of a lack of clarity about what the app should do, who its users are, and the processes it will support. What is the best way to build enterprise apps? While each situation is different, these are the general guidelines that will help you build mobile apps for your business.
No Clear Scope
Many times, the demand for enterprise applications and their scope is based solely on a small group of people’s opinions and biased knowledge. Enterprise mobile app developers spend a lot of money and time to develop a business app. However, they work in a vacuum and make assumptions without asking their customers (internal and external). In many cases, this can result in a project being abandoned or an unsuccessful enterprise app.
The Right Way:
Enterprise apps are mission-critical, and they are designed to accomplish a very specific task. To be successful, enterprises must first define the problem and work with other stakeholders. Clear communication is key.
Whether the app will be used by employees, customers, vendors, or all three?
Is the mobile going to use the most recent technology, or will it replace the existing technology?
A greater likelihood of success is generally associated with more insights and data points. After you have created a list and a roadmap around your business processes, it is time to focus on the end-user.
No End User Involvement
60% of workers use apps to work, but enterprise apps are often created in isolation and without consulting the people who will be using them. It’s no surprise that enterprise apps fail for many reasons. But the biggest problem is not catering to the users. Enterprise apps are not useful if they don’t have users who use them.
The Right Way:
Companies must not assume that they are experts in what is required.
Enterprise mobile apps that are successful focus on solving one or two problems for both the user and the business. Enterprises must include feedback from end users from the very beginning and continue to collect feedback in order to improve the app until it is released.
Apps for Channel Partners/ Employees/ Vendors: Set up focus groups to discuss the issues facing each party and how enterprise apps can help.
Apps that are customer-facing: It is a great way to collect information from customers and to create focus groups. This allows you to find out what products and services they want through mobile apps. Also, the functionality they wish to see in the app.
It is important to understand the needs and problems of users in order to create a clear vision of the app’s goals. Active collaboration with users is a great way to drive interactive UX throughout the development process. This will ensure that you have an engaging, sustainable experience.
User Experience
According to Forrester, 64% of employees don’t use enterprise apps due to poor design or user-experience. It’s not surprising that app developers already have to deal with many pressing issues and don’t give user experience the attention it deserves.
Moreover, developers, business users and designers don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to user experience. UI design can often become a source for frustration, and ultimately fails to meet one or more functional requirements. Companies often want to create a multi-functional enterprise app, but not all the features they need.
The Right Way:
Simple is best! Apps for enterprise should be simple and have clear interfaces that make them easy to use. Instead of trying to overload the app with features, app developers should aim to create an app that is clear and serves your business goals. Apps must be intuitive and user-friendly so that everyone can use them. Enterprise app developers need to put themselves in the shoes of their users to avoid falling for worst mistakes with enterprise apps.