Mobile App Maintenance
Why care about app maintenance?
If your app is intended for external users, the following
variables will change within a few months of its release date and
have an impact on its performance:
Hardware:
As new mobile devices are released, obsolete apps may no longer function
properly.
Operating system: iOS and Android versions
are updated every year, and apps must be updated to be compatible with
newer versions.
Programming language: Apps will
also need to be updated as the programming language evolves (Objective
C to Swift, Java to HTML5).
Styles and designs: Prior to Apple and Android adopting material design, mobile UI used
to adhere to skeuomorphic design principles. This meant that all apps’
user interfaces had to be updated as well.
Libraries: Most apps rely on third-party libraries and dependencies, which change
on a regular basis. Unless the apps are updated, they will be broken.
Usage Patterns: As your app matures, so will your
user base, and the UI may need to be refreshed to reflect the changes.
Infrastructure: If the infrastructure on which your
app is hosted changes (for example, self-hosted to AWS), you must update
the app.
Security flaws: Apps can be affected
by security flaws at any time, and you must update the app to fix the
vulnerabilities.
The costs of app maintenance
Now that you understand the consequences of ignoring the app
update process, you must assess your costs.
The majority of
app maintenance agreements are signed on a yearly basis. While app
maintenance costs vary depending on the type of app and its
complexity, there are some hard numbers you can use as a starting
point.
According to Forrester, the average app development
cost of $50000-$150000 represents only 35% of the total cost over
a two-year period.
The number of updates is also on the rise:
according to another survey, nearly 30 percent of app developers
update their apps at least once a month.
Monitoring and User Engagement
After you’ve launched an app and placed it on one of the mobile hosting platforms (Google Play or Apple Store), you should monitor its performance. Gather analytics, for example, to gain insights into what your potential users like and dislike about an app, how many users downloaded the app and how many abandoned it, and, most importantly, what the cause was.
Questions about service
App maintenance is crucial for ensuring that your mobile application remains functional, compatible with new hardware and software updates, secure from vulnerabilities, and aligned with evolving user preferences and usage patterns.
The costs of app maintenance can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the app, frequency of updates, need for security patches, and infrastructure changes. Ignoring app maintenance can lead to higher costs in the long run due to issues like security vulnerabilities and user dissatisfaction.
After launching an app, it's essential to monitor its performance through analytics to understand user behavior, preferences, and engagement metrics. This data can help in making informed decisions for app updates, feature enhancements, and user experience improvements to drive user engagement and retention.