When you think apps, you think app developers. You think all you need is a java nerd who codes like a wizard. Actually though, a good developer is only half the equation. You need a good solid team of UX/UI designers, platform specific developers, app marketers and a darn good project manager to keep all these different teams working in tandem.
A lot of people tend to undermine or even completely overlook the importance of having a project manager in your app development team. In this article today, I will show you just how indispensable a project manager is and how that is one area where you should not be cutting corners. So here are 5 remarkable skills that are crucial to the success of your app development project and that only a seasoned project manager can bring to the table:
1. Setting Clear Goals for the Team
All the different professionals working on your app have different individual goals. The designer’s job is to create a beautiful, functional and engaging design. The developer’s job is to make the design come alive with code, as well as make sure the app does what it’s intended to do, loads fast and runs smoothly. Despite the differences in approaches and methodologies, all the teams are after all working on one end goal – to create a stunning app for your business.
A good project manager helps all teams collectively maintain a clear vision of this common goal at all times.
2. Set up Open Communication Channels
As you now know, you will need multiple teams of various professionals in design, development and marketing, to work on your project. Each team has a different set of protocols, and works on the app at different stages. First comes the design, which is then handed over to the development team. Marketers tend to jump onboard around the time of launch. However, for well-rounded development, effective and open communication between all these different teams is detrimental right from the start.
A good project manager sets up open communication channels from the get go, making sure that all concerned people from different silos interact regularly and that both developers and designers, often even marketers, are a part of the initial design sprints to make sure everyone is on the same page.
3. Give You a Single Point of Contact
Your app was at the design stage for a month. Now it’s moved to the development stage. Whom do you contact if you want to make some changes, check the progress or just express an opinion? Having a project manager on board gives you a single point of contact for all your project related queries.
4. Improve Collaboration between Different Teams
Collaboration across different teams is absolutely critical for a well-rounded end product. Designers and developers can easily be caught at loggerheads, arguing about favoring beauty over functionality or the other way round. Designers feel that their designs are being over-simplified for functionality and developers feel that the designers are being a tad unrealistic. It doesn’t have to happen but it does. Having a project manager helps avoid any such friction. He/she encourages designers and developers to participate in each other’s brainstorming sessions and sprints, to better understand their process and collaborate for a better end product.
5. Keeping the Cost under Control
Budget constraints are a constant nemesis and you will always want to get more done in less money. An experienced project manager can do wonders for keeping the project within budget. Through cost control and efficient utilization of resources, the project manager will be able to eliminate redundancies and minimize spending, to give you a fully developed app without overshooting the set limits.
Wrapping up
Having a project manager in your app development team ensures a smooth all round development. Even if you are bootstrapping and cutting corners wherever possible, having a project manager will only help you save in so many ways, so it’s definitively better to have one than not have one. So if you are looking to hire an app development team for your business, be sure to look for a talented, experienced and reliable project manager who will keep the entire team functioning at their highest potential, giving you a truly remarkable app.
