Could your app be underperforming?

It’s easy to look for excuses when a product fails to meet its KPIs or performs below pre-launch expectations. Maybe the projections were overly optimistic? Maybe it’s due to the economic downturn?

I’m not going to discuss the validity of those maybes, as every company’s situation is different, and they may well explain the situation of some projects at your organization. But before you resign yourself to that conclusion, it’s good to give some serious thought to a very simple question. Could the quality of your product lie at the root of the issue?

Mobile apps, and all digital products for that matter, are incredibly complex. Their final quality is the result of both numerous strategic decisions and the technical intricacies of their implementation. The process gets even more complicated where there are several vendors at play, like when separate agencies provide advisory services, propose designs, build different parts of the software, and then perform maintenance and fixes.

Common reasons an app does not meet its potential

Learning typical issues that cause apps to underperform may not help you see them with the naked eye. However, it’s important to be aware of the typical problems that haunt digital products to help you consider which of them are worth investigating further.

• Performance issues: Slow loading times, crashes, and unresponsiveness are common performance issues. These problems can lead to user frustration and abandonment of your app.
• User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) problems: A confusing or poorly designed UI/UX can decrease engagement and make the overall experience unpleasant. If users find it difficult to navigate or accomplish tasks within the app, they are likely to abandon it.
• Compatibility and device fragmentation: The mobile ecosystem is diverse, with various operating systems, screen sizes, and hardware configurations. If your app hasn’t been optimized for all devices or updated for new operating system releases, it may suffer due to compatibility issues.
• Security vulnerabilities: Security breaches can severely damage your app's reputation. If your app is not secure, it could expose user data to hackers, leading to privacy concerns and potential legal issues.
• Outdated technology: Technology evolves rapidly, and an app built on outdated frameworks or using obsolete libraries may not perform well or offer the latest features and capabilities, delivering a disappointing experience to its users.

• Inadequate testing: Rushed development or inadequate testing can result in numerous bugs and issues that hinder the app's functionality and user experience.
• Poor app store ratings and reviews: Negative reviews and low ratings on app stores can deter potential users from downloading your app. Addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining a positive app reputation.
• Lack of updates and maintenance: Apps require continuous updates and maintenance to remain relevant and functional. Neglecting this can lead to a decline in performance and user engagement over time.
• Ineffective monetization strategies: If your app's revenue generation strategies are not well-implemented or poorly chosen, it may not be generating the expected income, causing underperformance from a business perspective. This can cause funds to be diverted away from the project, further exacerbating the problem and preventing the situation from ever improving.
• Analytics and data utilization: Not leveraging user data and analytics effectively can result in missed opportunities for improving the app.
• Compliance issues: Failure to adhere to industry regulations and compliance standards can result in app removal from app stores and legal consequences.

When problems lie hidden deep

In some cases, everything might seem okay at first glance… But getting satisfactory results in the short term does not guarantee that maintaining a positive trend will be possible in the long term.

The key concept to understand here is app maintainability, i.e., the ease with which a mobile application can be effectively managed, updated, and enhanced throughout its lifecycle. It encompasses various aspects of the app, including its codebase, architecture, documentation, and overall design.

A highly maintainable app can be modified, fixed, or enriched with minimal effort and without causing unintended consequences. Meanwhile, an app that was shoddily put together in an illogical, unintelligible way might seemingly work fine, but will completely paralyze a development team when any change or update needs to be implemented.

Maintainability problems can be especially nefarious because by the time you realize they exist, plans to develop the app further have often already been put in motion, but it suddenly becomes apparent that they are impossible without a significant refactoring effort. If the issue is especially serious, it may even be necessary to rewrite the app from scratch.

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App health check: much more than code review

If your product is yet to deliver the results you were expecting, or you’re worried about the underlying code base quality, you would likely benefit from Future Mind’s app health check – designed specifically to detect issues that might be making you lose the users, sales, and revenue that your app has the potential to achieve.

Our holistic technical audits check if the quality of your code may have a detrimental effect on your business. As we perform a thorough code review, we grade its long-run maintainability, security, and overall performance. Product managers can take advantage of an app health check to verify if they’re on the right track, gain comprehensive evidence that their projects are running smoothly, or receive actionable advice to turn a failure into a success.

That’s because our code review is just the beginning. What actually allows you to take your app to the next level is the recommendations we deliver based not only on your product’s current state but also on our experts’ in-depth knowledge of the mobile market and its possibilities. After your app health check, you’ll receive a list of recommendations that will help you improve your app’s security and performance, as well as an invitation to a free consultation with one of our business experts.

Thanks to our specialists’ unique combination of technical and business knowledge, performing an app health check empowers companies to not only fix problems but also supercharge their app's potential for growth, revenue, and long-term success in a competitive market.