MANAGING YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Thus far in this chapter, you've been introduced to quite a lot of information to digest, such as procuring outsourced talent, determining how much this is actually going to cost, starting to think about your overall plan, and wondering how it's going to all come together.

Just remember, if you have an idea, there's a way to get it done, whether or not it ends up as grand or full-featured as you first envisioned. Cut back if you have to. Refine the design so that the core features stand out. And, if you ensure that it's as polished as it can be, most anything can have a chance.

The purpose of this chapter is to give you a reasonable expectation of the overall scope and cost of doing an app. As mentioned, depending on scope, time, and execution, that can mean anything from $5,000 to hundreds of thousands. Just plan accordingly.

The App Store as a Crowded Zoo

As you'll read in Chapter 3, the App Store is a chaotic, crowded, and exciting place — and growing all the time. Before you start production, it will be vitally important to do your competitive research and ensure that your planned app's core features haven't already been usurped by a competitor — unless you can do them better, and perhaps that's your plan.

By mid-2011, roughly 20 main categories and more than 400,000 active apps appeared in the iPhone App Store, with books, games, and entertainment totaling roughly 40 percent of the entire store (see www.148Apps.biz). This all shows that if you're developing in one of these categories, chances are you'll have some competition, even on iPad, as shown in Figure 2-10. Start planning early for how you're going to tackle features your competitors may already be working on, and you'll have the best shot for succeeding in the nearly standing-room-only App Store.

FIGURE 2-10: The iPad App Store showing signs of congestion

Unless you have a solid foundation for a development plan, succeeding in the App Store may end up meaning much less if you're way over budget to begin with.

Planning for Cost Overruns

Apps nearly always cost more than initially planned, and usually take longer than expected. Sometimes it's because of feature creep or polish, but most times it's because of an initial failure to account for all elements that go into development, as well as the hours required to get it done — an easy thing to do. Let's face it, green-lighting a project is also easier when the people with money think it's going to be less work/cost/time than they might imagine, and, therefore, initial estimates tend to fall on the low side. Add to all this the fact that Murphy's Law — if it can go wrong, it will — nearly always shows up at some point during a project, and it's no wonder budgets eventually become bloated.

Scheduling with an Iron Fist

The best way to ensure that your team stays on track is to keep everyone informed about the plan. What this means is that everyone knows in general what the others are working on, when the pieces will be put together, what the next steps are ahead of time (at least a week or two), and how that fits into the overall plan. This helps to prevent lapses in workload, and identifies potential bottlenecks for deliveries.

The development process is like a marathon, an ongoing slog with little rest until Beta, then a final push to the finish, regardless of whether it takes two weeks or a year. As in a marathon, maintaining flexibility for unforeseen events or changing conditions is key.