How to optimize UX development and increase return on mobile app investment
In an increasingly interconnected world, it’s not difficult to see why the user experience – all facets of an end-user’s interactions with a particular product or service – can enhance or diminish a company’s business value. Consumers have a multitude of choices and demand the availability of products and services wherever and whenever they want them.
Not surprisingly, mobile has become the most important touchpoint in consumer engagement, accounting for 55% of Internet usage in the U.S., according to a recent study. More specifically, applications are dominating the mobile Web. They currently make up 88% of smartphone Internet traffic and surpass the percentage of traffic coming from mobile browsers by 76%, according to “The U.S. Mobile App Report.”
Any organization that relies on mobile to drive sales engagement, build stronger customer relationships, increase employee connectivity and raise brand value should be paying attention to these numbers and have a strategy in place to optimize the use of mobile applications. One of the most important strategies is developing a successful mobile UX. In doing this, every company will face its own unique business requirements to effectively allocate the appropriate resources and steps necessary for deployment, but there are overarching elements organizations absolutely need in order to deploy a UX that maximizes return on investment and boosts mobile engagement.
The key to getting the most ROI from mobile UX development means doing it right from the beginning.
UX is much more than just performance and functionality: UX is about adopting concept relevancy (i.e. geolocation, predictive analytics).
Adopt early: Focusing on usability early on in the development process can drastically boost ROI. “It’s 100 times cheaper to fix a design flaw on the drawing board than after product launch,” noted Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. and principal at Nielsen Norman Group.
Look from the outside in: Focusing on outside-in aspects, starting with the end user and developing a clear understanding of how, when and why employees and customers will use a service, is needed to develop an app fit for its intended purpose.
Context is king: A great UX is about meeting immediate and personalized needs. To demonstrate immediate value, prioritize core functionality and dynamically organize content so it’s relevant to the user’s context.
Conduct research: User research activities help to precisely identify a typical customer journey, complete with user needs and behaviors that will provide information about architecture and design implications.
Integrate end-user requirements into design: Once end users’ circumstances and requirements are understood, it is important that they are integrated into, and direct, the overall digital and mobility strategy to deliver competitive advantage.
Test and repair: Test solutions with the people who will use them and across the range of mobile devices they are likely to use. Be ready to make changes to functional prototypes based on feedback from these crucial end-user tests.
As mobile apps continue to dominate as the primary medium of consumer interaction, organizations that fail to acknowledge the connection between a strong UX and consumer engagement will be left behind by those who do.
Fernando Alvarez is VP and leader of Capgemini’s mobile solutions practice. A thought leader and mobile solutions/technology subject matter expert, Alvarez has worked closely with many multinational corporations as well as global independent software vendors with regard to their enterprise mobile needs and strategies. Prior to joining Capgemini, Alvarez was president, CEO and chairman of Abaco Mobile, an Atlanta-based software company that provided enterprise mobile software solutions for more than 21 years. In 2000, Alvarez was honored as one of the 100 Most Influential U.S. Hispanic Business Leaders by Hispanic Business magazine. He is also a past recipient of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Alvarez has a background in business, economics and law, and is a frequent guest lecturer at industry events around the world.
Editor’s Note: The RCR Wireless News Reality Check section is where C-level executives and advisory firms from across the mobile industry share unique insights and experiences.
