Rsearch and Development checklist for product owner who works for an app development firm
Product Research and Analysis
- Create user personas based on demographic and psychographic information
- Conduct surveys and interviews to gather insights on user preferences and pain points
- Analyze data from analytics tools to understand user behavior and patterns
- Identify direct and indirect competitors in the app market
- Analyze competitor apps to understand their features, pricing, and user reviews
- Research market trends and industry forecasts to identify potential opportunities and challenges
- Clearly define the problem that the app solves or the value it provides to users
- Set specific and measurable goals for the app, such as user acquisition, retention, or revenue targets
- Align the app's purpose and goals with the overall business objectives
- Read user reviews on app stores and other platforms to understand common complaints and suggestions
- Identify patterns and recurring themes in user feedback to prioritize improvements and new features
- Use sentiment analysis tools to gauge overall user satisfaction and sentiment towards similar apps
- Evaluate the app's technical requirements and determine if they can be met within the available resources
- Identify potential risks and challenges related to app development, such as compatibility issues or data security concerns
- Consult with technical experts and stakeholders to assess the feasibility and mitigate risks
- Identify key features and functionality to be included in the app
- Determine the priority and sequence of feature development
- Estimate the time required for each feature development
- Create a timeline chart or Gantt chart to visualize the development schedule
- Break down the app's functionality into small, manageable user stories
- Include acceptance criteria for each user story to define success
- Document detailed product specifications, including UI/UX design, technical requirements, and any integrations
- Review and refine the user stories and product specifications with the development team
- Identify potential risks and uncertainties that could impact the app development
- Assess the likelihood and impact of each risk
- Develop strategies and contingency plans to mitigate or manage the identified risks
- Document the risk assessment and mitigation plan for reference throughout the development process
Requirements Gathering
- Schedule meetings with stakeholders to gather requirements
- Facilitate discussions to gather input from stakeholders
- Document all functional and non-functional requirements discussed
- Conduct interviews or surveys with potential app users
- Identify user needs and goals
- Translate user needs into user stories and use cases
- Document all user stories and use cases
- Evaluate each requirement based on its potential impact on the business
- Consider the technical and financial feasibility of implementing each requirement
- Assign priority levels to each requirement
- Organize all gathered requirements into a structured document
- Use clear and concise language to describe each requirement
- Include any necessary diagrams or visuals to support understanding
- Review and revise the documentation for clarity and completeness
User Experience (UX) Design
- Create a list of targeted users to interview
- Prepare a set of interview questions to gather insights on user expectations and preferences
- Distribute surveys to a larger user base to collect quantitative data on preferences
- Create wireframes and mockups to visualize the interface layout
- Use design principles such as consistency, hierarchy, and simplicity to guide interface design
- Consider user feedback and iterate on the design to improve usability
- Recruit participants who match the target user profile
- Prepare a test plan with specific tasks for participants to perform
- Observe participants during usability testing and collect feedback for further improvements
Technical Feasibility
- Review the app's functional and non-functional requirements to identify any technical requirements or constraints.
- Consider factors such as performance, scalability, security, and data storage.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to gather all necessary information.
- Determine the target platforms for the app (iOS, Android, Web, etc.).
- Research the specific technical requirements and limitations of each platform.
- Ensure the app's features and functionality can be implemented on each platform.
- Identify the programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools needed to build the app.
- Consider factors such as development time, maintainability, and community support.
- Determine the required infrastructure, such as servers, databases, and hosting services.
- Identify any external systems or APIs that the app needs to integrate with.
- Evaluate the compatibility and documentation of these systems or APIs.
- Consider factors such as data exchange formats, authentication methods, and security protocols.
Development Planning
- Identify the key features and functionalities required for the project
- Divide the project into smaller tasks based on the identified features
- Ensure that each task is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART)
- Assess the complexity and scope of each task
- Consult with developers and team members to gather their input on effort estimation
- Consider any dependencies or constraints that may impact the effort required for each task
- Identify significant stages or deliverables in the project
- Set clear and realistic deadlines for each milestone
- Ensure that the milestones align with the overall project timeline
- Assign appropriate resources (developers, designers, testers, etc.) to each task
- Consider the availability and skill sets of the resources when allocating them
- Identify potential risks or obstacles and create contingency plans to mitigate them
Agile Development
- Choose a specific agile methodology such as Scrum or Kanban
- Train the development team on the chosen methodology
- Implement agile practices such as daily stand-up meetings and sprint cycles
- Break down the product features into small, manageable user stories
- Write clear and concise acceptance criteria for each user story
- Create tasks for each user story to outline the necessary development steps
- Hold a sprint planning meeting at the beginning of each sprint to select user stories for development
- Review the progress and demo the completed user stories in a sprint review meeting
- Conduct a retrospective meeting at the end of each sprint to discuss lessons learned and improvements
- Regularly gather feedback from stakeholders and users
- Use this feedback to prioritize the product backlog
- Update the backlog by adding, removing, or reordering user stories
Quality Assurance (QA) and Testing
- Recruit a group of real users who match the target audience for the app
- Prepare test scenarios and scripts for the users to follow during UAT
- Provide clear instructions and guidance to the users for conducting the testing
- Collect feedback and observations from the users during UAT
- Analyze the feedback and identify any issues or improvements needed
- Document the results of UAT and share them with the development team
- Select a bug tracking system/tool to use for tracking and managing reported issues
- Set up a process for users and testers to report bugs and issues
- Assign a responsible person/team for triaging and prioritizing reported bugs
- Ensure regular communication and collaboration between the development and QA teams
- Resolve bugs based on their priority and severity
- Test and verify the fixes before closing the bug reports
Deployment and Release
- Perform a comprehensive test of the application to identify any remaining issues or bugs
- Document and track any issues found during testing
- Work closely with the development team to resolve the identified issues
- Re-test the application after the issues have been fixed to ensure they have been resolved
- Communicate with stakeholders, including clients and team members, to inform them about the upcoming app release
- Provide clear instructions and guidelines to stakeholders regarding the release process
- Address any concerns or questions raised by stakeholders
- Coordinate with the development team to ensure all necessary steps are taken for a smooth app release
Post-Release Maintenance
- Use analytics tools to track key metrics and identify areas for improvement
- Regularly review user feedback from app stores and other channels
- Monitor server logs for any performance issues or errors
- Stay updated with the latest industry trends and user expectations
- Collect and analyze user feedback to identify new features or improvements
- Regularly release updates to address user needs and stay competitive
- Regularly test the app for bugs and issues
- Address security vulnerabilities and apply necessary patches
- Optimize app performance by analyzing bottlenecks and making necessary improvements
- Gather ideas for new features and enhancements from user feedback and market research
- Prioritize and plan future updates based on user needs and business goals
- Create a roadmap for implementing new features and enhancements
Use in Manifestly