What To Consider Before Creating A Mobile Application
Before investing your time and resources in creating a mobile application, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
Planning digital strategy may prove more complex than anticipated while designing the app may appear straightforward.
1. Choose Your Operating System
Android & IOS are two primary operating systems currently, so your decision as an mobile app developer concerning software compatibility decisions could directly influence its functionality.
Cross-platform development should always be your preferred approach when planning future app developments, since more users will gain access to your product.
Consider your apps goals before making this important choice.
2. Know Your Target Audience
Get to know who your target personas are before designing an app marketing strategy that addresses their goals, behaviors and mobile platforms.
App marketing allows you to tailor an app specifically to their interests so they are more likely to download and utilize it.
3. App Idea? Concept Check It
Consider whether your app can address an existing challenge and how it might contribute to helping. If the digital strategy specializes specifically to your organizations goals, ask how digital tools may assist.
As your app develops, take time during this phase to reflect and consider its future roadmap. Make sure your dedicated team and you agree on its most vital business objectives - then it will be easier to start off strong!
Scalable & Resilient Application Infrastructure
Applications that are resilient and scalable are essential. Scalability refers to an applications ability to maintain performance despite serving different numbers of users at one time.
An application should run smoothly whether supporting 100 users, 1,000 users, or one million. Cloud providers typically automatically adjust configurations so as the number of users increases or decreases smoothly with minimal manual effort required from you.
Applications that utilize on-premise infrastructure tend to make this task more complicated as their configuration changes are usually initiated by sudden spikes in demand and require either downtime or complex adjustments depending on how many clusters or servers they need to accommodate.
Scalability should always be taken into consideration when designing the infrastructure of an enterprise application, not only directly related to code development.
Scalability also has an enormous effect on application infrastructure design; for instance, its effects will impact stacks, techniques and tools used during its creation process.
Scalability can be achieved using two different types of techniques:
1. Horizontal Scaling
As workload increases, horizontal scaling involves adding additional servers to expand our applications capacity and increase resilience by evenly disbursing workload.
A load balancer is then deployed between server tiers to distribute workload efficiently - rather than upgrading hardware like memory, CPU or storage, horizontal scaling involves simply adding more servers into our infrastructure.
2. Vertical Scaling
Vertical scaling differs from horizontal scaling by upgrading hardware rather than adding new servers in order to scale up; rather, we upgrade each server by increasing memory to 64GB in order to increase scalability and increase our ability to scale upward.
Other effective solutions for strengthening infrastructure resilience and scalability include:
3. Redundancy
Duplicating servers within our infrastructure enables us to expand the resources available for handling additional work.
One effective redundancy technique used on database servers is database replication - copying information between servers. There are two configurations of replication: master-slave and master-master.
Master-master configurations ensure each database server remains synchronized for every update or insert in each other database server, while with master/slave pairing, only when performing updates/inserts in their master database will they become aware.
When used for operation separation architectures such as writing-something operations are performed while reading something operations occur simultaneously on slave databases.
Core Data replication at the database level produces High Availability for applications, even in case one server goes offline; data will still remain accessible and usable for processing by applications.
Resilient applications may use Operation-Separation infrastructure (pictured 1.6) to increase optimal performance without delaying read operations at high transaction volumes resulting from read operations being sequential.
Server clustering is another replication technique which can be implemented into hybrid application servers and web servers alike.
A server cluster consists of several servers working together collaboratively on performing similar tasks; any outside observer would perceive it as one server.
4. Distributing Workload
Without an effective load balancing software solution in place, this goal may prove more difficult to attain. An HLB (Hardware Load Balancer), HAProxy or MaxScale might all serve this function well as dedicated systems.
Redundancy is always necessary for resilient applications - this applies to database servers, application servers and web servers alike.
Image 1.9 illustrates this principle with MariaDB combined with MaxScale used with Keepalived application as part of an infrastructure for high availability data infrastructure that needs redundancy; hence its placement must differ between datacenters than that for application servers or web application infrastructures.
Resilient Application Design
Resilience cannot be attained simply through providing high-availability infrastructure that scales; both our application and infrastructure must be designed for resilience.
In order to accomplish this goal, multiple patterns exist - especially relevant when we consider adopting Microservice Architectures such as those discussed later in this post - but one effective strategy for doing so is client-side resilience, which involves protecting clients of remote resources (like databases or microservice calls ) from crashing should they become unavailable, down or have slow responses.
There are four such patterns. Client side resilience includes client protection when these resources become unavailable down or has slow responses - there are four client side resilience patterns:
- Client-side load balancing
- Circuit breakers
- Fallbacks
- Bulkheads
As you can see from the image below, client-side resilience patterns are situated between microservices and a service consumer.
1. Client-Side Load Balancing
Client-side load balancers in microservice architecture work by caching physical locations of service instances discovered by discovery agents into an instance location pool and using round robin to distribute instances evenly among them.
They detect errors or performance problems within services that dont perform optimally and remove this instance from its pool in order to stop service calls from hitting it directly.
2. Circuit Breaker
Circuit breakers in electrical infrastructure provide the foundation of this pattern. Circuit breakers protect components behind them from excessive current flowing through wires.
A microservice architecture circuit breaker functions similarly, monitoring remote services that are called and intervening and terminating them if their response time exceeds acceptable parameters (due to instances being down or not performing well) so as not to permit further calls from that instance; theyll use time outs as part of this configuration in determining when exactly their intervention takes effect and terminates their call(s).
3. Fallback Processing
This pattern allows consumers of services to implement an alternative code path when a service call takes too long; for instance, this might involve searching another resource or queuing up processes in case their call fails.
Fallback processing in an ecommerce application can be seen when consumers make calls like the one known as "new-arrivals." A consumer making this call wants to return any goods which arrived this week and when waiting too long to hear back they usually throw an exception; with fallback processing implemented instead of that happening automatically after some amount of time specified by time-out variable; instead the fallback method invokes other resources in order to gather all new arrivals rather than throwing exceptions and thus creating another potential instance of unexpected behavior.
4. Bulkheads
This pattern ensures each service call can operate separately from other service calls in its thread pool, so if a consumer contact to an offsite resource takes too long or gets stuck waiting on an infinite response, multiple threads wont be freed and reused by other threads simultaneously running concurrent service calls.
Failure of one service call, or functionality in service consumers will impact other calls or functionalities provided to it, potentially even stopping processing of requests altogether; potentially leading to monolithic application failing or shutting down altogether.
With bulkheads installed into our service consumer however, any failing call wont impact other remote service calls and functionalities within it.
I. Designing Resilient Applications With Client-Side Resiliency Pattern
Let us start off by exploring an inter-service communications scenario as shown here.
Both applications A and B make remote service calls to service A. Data is collected by service A both directly from its database, as well as by service calls made to services B and C; data retrieved by B comes directly from its own database while C receives both from its own and third party services hosted in the cloud (Cloud provider upgraded infrastructure over weekend; patches installed.
On Monday service C began calling third-party services but waited a very long time for responses which was unexpected by the android developer).
Service A and Service Cs developers never anticipated that service calls to one another would slow so significantly; both certified developers wrote code designed to handle both calls to C as well as database calls in one transaction, meaning when third-party services slow down thread pools of service C can become rapidly depleted in supporting calls made to third-party services; database connection pools also quickly run dry when keeping third-party connections open never ends; eventually both resources may run dry for Service A as it too runs out processing requests from applications A and B respectively.
Similarly, third-party app development services could experience issues similar to what has occurred above and run slowly or poorly.
A circuit breaker will prevent service C from calling third-party services directly and instead delegate that function when required by service C; when calling these third-party services themselves becomes necessary, this task will also be delegated by way of delegating calls independently through delegated circuit breakers so callers no longer have to wait around until service call completion - while an independent call monitor watches this process closely and can stop or end calls if it takes too long a process!
Service responses will only be delivered if thread wait time (time-out) does not exceed this timer. A circuit breaker counts this as a failure if third-party services run slowly or poorly, counting it as such as failure for further processing using fallback processing instead of exception throwing; failing calls do not consume resources like threads with fail fast implementation, thus saving resources such as thread count with fail fast implementations such as Hystrix Library which we utilize with spring projects.
Read More: Security Solutions for Protecting Software Development Services
Ii. Designing Resilient Applications With Message Oriented Middleware
Implementing the client resilience pattern and using a message-broker for asynchronous communications between services to increase application resilience can be done using both techniques in tandem.
Calling microservices directly is no longer an option.
Rather they publish their request into one channel within a message broker instead and wait for response via another subscription, publishing to the same channel where microservices subscribe in order to process the request and send the result back into the same channel after processing the request - service consumers can then subscribe in order to receive it back.
Each subscriber can publish and subscribe at once per channel while each service consumer can subscribe and publish request and response has its own correlation ID that allows identification between requests-responses pair if desired.
A message broker can hold onto messages until their destination microservice is back online; for example if microservices go down after a consumer publishes a request and it succeeds; the request will still remain in the broker and will be ready for processing when microservices reemerge.
How To Create An App In Nine Steps
Its not possible to build an app overnight. Your development team will need to take several steps to make sure your app launches successfully.
Continue reading to learn how to create a mobile app using our simple nine-step guide:
- Establish a team
- Competitive research
- Outline core features
- Create mockups
- Plan app security
- Start coding
- Multiple tests are required
- Feedback is important.
- Launch on the App Store
1. Establish A Development Team
App builders and other online tools such as software programs have made creating apps much simpler, yet any programming language remains just that: another language.
Android Development requires project team effort as there are numerous complex elements at work within any mobile app.
To realize your goal, the initial step should be building an experienced and talented team. A diverse group with various backgrounds and vast expertise is paramount for app development success.
Building a distributed group can help you develop an app staffed by independent business professionals from various parts of the globe.
No longer limited by geography or knowledge alone, instead you can select experts with unique technical expertise such as those found on mobile app developers for hire on your successful project.
Your app development team must include at least:
- Product manager: Creates technical specifications, roadmaps and deadlines. Guides the team of software engineering.
- UX/UI Designer: Creates the icons, graphics and animations. They make sure the app is engaging and intuitive.
- Mobile developer: Develops mobile applications and integrates APIs and databases.
- They test the app on all devices to ensure it works smoothly. They are responsible for finding bugs, errors in UX and more.
- Digital Marketer: Use mobile analytics and search engine optimization to help your app launch.
Teams working on app development projects often include multiple members. Larger teams might include UX designers, software engineers and web engineers as well as technical writers - in some instances UX specialists may even join as members.
Consider your budget when creating your team and what areas need more support. Contracting freelancers for specific tasks may help keep costs within bounds while simultaneously keeping an intuitive app experience for users.
2. Competitive Research
Apple users have access to over 2.20 million apps while Android users have over 3.40 million. Therefore, a deep understanding of your competitions features as well as customer needs in order to differentiate your product is of utmost importance in making sure its success.
Assessing the market by investigating what apps your competitors have created can give insight into customers wants and what needs to change in your approach.
By understanding your competitors mistakes and successes youll gain more clarity into customer desires as well as any differences which need to be addressed differently by you and/or their products/services.
Understanding your market is also critical; be able to explain why and how your app fits within it, solving different types of problems than its rival apps do.
Speaking with potential users at this stage may provide invaluable insight, while interviewing existing ones may reveal feedback you might otherwise miss; interviewing users could even allow you to develop features other apps have missed out on for greater competitive edge in future iterations of your app.
3. Outline Core Features
Next, identify the essential features of your app and develop any missing ones on the market.
Most mobile app designers create applications that are user-friendly and customizable, providing users with an enjoyable user experience.
When listing potential features to set your app apart from competitors, simpleness, speed and high-quality images should all be among your priorities - these components contribute significantly to providing users with a positive user journey experience.
Cross-platform compatibility should also be prioritized as this allows your app to run seamlessly across both mobile operating systems, keeping users engaged.
Search is another beneficial feature to keep people interested. While not as beneficial for games, searching within apps such as social media and e-commerce applications is a great way for keeping the audience interested and engaged with what your product/service offers them.
Consider offering users the ability to opt in for push notifications by linking their social media accounts - this will keep users active and engaged by giving them relevant and customized information.
Consider your businesss finances when making feature selection decisions; perhaps building facial recognition for login purposes might not be possible for now, although that does not have to prevent you from wanting it! Dont forget that once your app has launched you can always add features or updates once released if needed.
4. Create Mockups
Once requirements and key features have been specified, a UX and user interface designer must create mockups or templates and, depending on their expertise, sometimes tutorials to demonstrate what users should expect from the desktop application.
Mockups provide an outline of how an app will look. Mockups often incorporate consistent color schemes, typographies, images, and layout elements - providing development teams a sneak preview into how their final app may appear and function.
When executed effectively, mockups should provide senior developers with a glimpse of how their product will function as planned.
Mockups have many advantages, including:
- The app can be redesigned by the developer.
- Its important to show potential investors your work before you begin coding.
- Explain the expectations of the development team.
5. Plan Great App Security
Security features should be a top priority when designing an app, to protect against cybercriminals attempting to acquire user data by hacking into it and siphoning off information for fraudulent gain.
Any breach in security could cost millions in dollars as well as thousands of users leaving.
You can ensure that the mobile app as well as mobile platform is secure by:
- Data Encryption: For sensitive data thats scattered around your business software, using encryption could provide added peace of mind and protection from theft or breach. Encrypting local databases or cache storage could provide another layer of defense.
- Applicable APIs: Software development relies heavily on application programming interfaces (APIs). Make sure the ones used for your app comply with digital platform standards for maximum business effectiveness and longevity.
- Strong authentication: Make sure your app uses strong cryptographic key management and appropriate user session authorizing mechanisms - or tokens. These tokens may be assigned to devices and may have different expiry dates depending on their duration in session.
- Software that detects Tampering: To stop hackers in their tracks, take mobile-specific security steps such as installing tamper detection software or third-party applications that detect it. Interprocess communication (IPC), for instance, provides communication among different apps and systems; Apple and Android-specific software as well as user interface security measures can all help defend against tampering attempts.
- Testing continuously: Testing continuously is of critical importance when developing apps; review your code throughout development to detect any possible security flaws before hackers gain entry and exploit your apps vulnerabilities.
6. Start Coding
As you start coding, a few points should be kept in mind. Coding can be broken into two distinct segments - front-end development (that which the user sees), and back-end development.
Front-end development refers to what can be seen by end users while back-end development represents what happens behind-the-scenes and controls how an app operates.
Imagine you are managing multiple developers (for instance some may specialize in front-end work while the rest in back-end).
In order to ensure an end product thats cohesive across the board, agile project management allows flexible coding practices with fast results.
Further, instruct your team to code within a testing environment. In order to create a successful app, setting up an environment dedicated to successful software execution tests - database server, front end environment, operating systems and networks are just some examples - is absolutely critical to its success.
You could designate an error reporting tool so as to guarantee accurate test data is gathered during development.
7. Multiple Tests Are Required
Quality assurance (QA), while it may seem unnecessary in complex projects with tight budgets, is still integral to creating successful apps.
Quality testing must occur throughout the development cycle to quickly detect bugs and make necessary modifications before going live with their app.
When testing, the QA team needs to consider:
- Functionality of the mobile app from the front-end and the back-end: Does the app look as it should on the users side? Does the app work as expected on the back-end? Does it disappear, for example, when you click on a popup message? The "X" that allows you to click away is displayed correctly.
- App compatibility: Its important to test the app on any operating system (Android & IOS or both). The QA team must also confirm compatibility between different operating system versions (e.g. Android 7.0 versus Android 10.0.0). Also, there are device-specific concerns like whether the app displays fit the screen.
- App integration: Is the integration functional if the apps main function interacts with other features such as the camera on the phone or another app, like Google Maps?
- App type: If your app is intended to be both a web and mobile app (hybrid app), you will need to test it for its full functionality on both service platforms.
- Install and store: Does the app work on the device and operating system you intended? Keep an eye out for the app size. A large app can take up too much space on the users device and discourage them from installing it.
- Security optimization is a hot issue: Verify safety by performing input validation, ensuring secure code and performing penetration tests. It is also recommended to take additional steps, such as confirming that HTTPS and SSL/TLS layers have been implemented.
The QA step is a great way to ensure that the app will be ready for the market.
8. User Feedback: How To Collect And Use It
Before releasing an app to customers, its essential that it passes muster with its test group. While development teams should ideally cater to customer requirements during development, having someone outside test and provide feedback can prove invaluable.
Your development team can gain a better understanding of user expectations from an app by conducting testing sessions across a spectrum of users, testing key features against each of them to optimize it before going live.
Once an app has been released, its critical to continuously gather feedback so as to make necessary updates or adjustments.
One effective method for gathering post-launch feedback can be to analyze analytics - this allows teams to observe customer behavior and pinpoint any confusing spots which need changes as well as providing valuable insight for pre-launch modifications.
9. Launch On The App Store
Step four is publishing your app in an app store, with regulations depending on where your app will be submitted to.
Different app stores demand specific things from apps submitted for consideration.
App Developers may consider only publishing their app to Apple App Store or Google Play Store as this can streamline the app development process; you and your team only have to build one application instead of multiple ones.
Apps built exclusively for Google Play or Apple may limit your audience, however. Both stores come with their own set of challenges - cross platform apps will ensure greater exposure and more potential users.
Conclusion
This article explored how to build resilient applications using application design and infrastructure considerations as the frameworks.
When making resilient apps, both aspects must be given equal weight; otherwise they will become less resilient products.
