At Moonward, we always use the following expression when we are talking about starting a project:

What’s the best way to eat an elephant?

One bite at a time…

Have you ever sat at your desk, looked at a task, and thought “This is just way too hard…”

That’s what most of our clients think before they reach out to Moonward. People often say to me; Andrew, I’ve got this awesome idea but I don’t know where to start. And in truth, Software development is hard, it’s complex, and it involves a lot of moving parts. That’s why Moonward is on a mission to break down the barriers and demystify what it takes to build a software product.

So, here is our 3-step plan to get you out of the procrastination zone and take you into the activation zone!

Before I jump in, if you have an amazing app idea that the world needs to see, click here to contact us and I’ll personally reach out within 1 business day!

Step 1: Start with the end in mind‍

We all know software and technology are moving at an extremely fast pace, but it’s still important to start with the end in mind. What’s the goal or the problem we’re trying to solve? Why are we doing this in the first place?

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Starting with the end in mind will force you to delve deeper into your idea and go beyond a surface-level plan. It’s really important you document your end goal so that whoever you engage as your development partner, understands the long-term purpose of your mission. At Moonward, we always align our team with our client's goal using our client's words, we believe this adds an extra level of accountability and vision.

Step 2: Who and how

Once you have mapped out the long-term vision for the project, the next step is to identify who is going to benefit from your software and how it’s going to be delivered. The reason we suggest outlining this is to ensure your target market and technical solution is cohesive. For example, if you’re targeting large corporate CEOs, we probably wouldn’t use Facebook as our single sign-up option, we would consider a business email. Refining your target market and technical approach also assists with future decision making and we find it actually makes the design and development process far more streamlined.

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Step 3: Blueprint

Ok, so by now you have a really good understanding of your product and what problem it is going to solve, who is going to use it and how you’re going to deliver it - now it’s time for the rubber to meet the road. As they say, ideas without action are useless.

It’s time to take your idea to the next stage in the process. Developing an app is similar to constructing a house (in a roundabout way). Before you start laying the foundations or building the framework, you need a really clear floor plan. App development is exactly the same, before we start any code, here at Moonward we build what we call an App Blueprint. This is essentially a fully designed interactive prototype, displaying exactly what your app will do, look like, flow and feature, all of this done before anyone starts writing code. Our App Blueprint process has many vital benefits namely:

- It helps clarify or refine all of the pre-planning I mentioned above.

- It provides an opportunity to explore your features, ideas and concepts further.

- It provides you with a tangible concept to present to your target market.

- It provides you with an interactive product to present to potential partners or investors.

- It provides the exact blueprint/framework for our development team to begin developing your app with laser focus, timeframes and budgets.

So there you have it. Our 3-step process from ideation to tangible product. Our 100% in-house Australian design and development team is always on hand to assist with questions and ideas. Should you have any questions about the steps I’ve outlined above, I’ll be happy to jump on a call. Feel free to click here to reach out and we can chat more!