It is certainly a major achievement to develop and build an app that has real value and solves a tangible problem, that is usable, and that can be built given the available time and budget. Many apps never get to this point. However, there is one more risk to address – the app you build must also work for the various parts of your business. In this article, we take a look at what is business viability risk, how to test if you have a viable business case and we describe Polymorph’s collaborative approach to supporting clients to mitigate business viability risk.
Testing whether you have a viable business case
As mentioned, business viability risk entails finding out if the app that you plan to build will work for the various parts of your business. For example, when considering business viability risk, you will have to establish whether the product fits into your marketing and sales channel and is consistent with your brand message. There are also considerations such as legal compliance and whether the app will be able to function within the agreed legal parameters where it is used. Further considerations include whether you can afford the cost of building and provisioning it. Addressing business viability risk ensures that your app also falls within the core competencies of your business and that the entire company will be able to deliver on it. The journey of developing and building an app should always include testing your app to find any caveats as early as possible before spending money on it.
How does Polymorph support clients in mitigating business viability risk?
Polymorph believes in a collaborative approach to app development with a particular focus on being adaptive rather than reactive. While the team at Polymorph (as experts in app development) focuses on the costs involved in building an app and offering technical support, the product owner (as the expert in their specific industry and of their client dynamics) should continuously collect reliable information during the entire process of building the app in order to pre-empt a potential impact on the existing business and its various aspects. This information should be fed back to the team to implement by, for example, effecting any app design or UX design changes to align with your marketing strategy.
You should also read our complete series on the Big Risks to your App Development in the following order:
Understanding these 4 risks will help you build a successful app
Software development product discovery techniques
Mitigate Usability Risk – Make sure your mobile app is easy to use
Software development: Don’t get caught building software with no real value
Can it be done?” is not the right question to ask when building custom software
