Key Mobile Development Approaches
By: Ayo Oladele
Tags: Software Development, Project Management, Mobile App Development, Product Management, Mobile Apps

As a project owner, you may ask yourself: which mobile development approach will benefit my vision the most? The answer is: it depends on the project, although most mobile app development companies will say native development is the best.

However, the truth of the matter is that the most effective mobile development approach is the one that can accommodate all your requirements, optimize development time, and the production cost of the app you desire.

The mobile app development process can sometimes be challenging. Your list of requirements should include convenience and the ability to speedily apply changes that correspond to your business needs and market demands. You then have to think about how to reach and engage every user. Finally, you need to decide on numerous technical factors like operating systems, development tools, SDKs, and so on.

The purpose of this article is to put the spotlight on different mobile development approaches and guide you to the best way to develop applications based on what you need.

Native App Development

Native app development is the use of platform-specific programming languages, software development kits, and development environments offered by the OS providers. In other words, if you are planning an app for iOS and Android, these apps will be developed separately for each platform with the use of completely different technology stacks.

This approach has significant benefits and remains the most preferable among mobile app developers. First of all, native apps support all available features of the platform and compatible devices. At the same time, you can create a unique user experience with native tools and be sure that each OS user feels at home. Furthermore, native apps have higher performance and responsiveness.

Advantages of Native App Development Approach

Overall, native apps have the best performance

Platform-specific UI implementation

100% support of OS features

Total access to hardware-related features

Clear app update path and supported toolset

Native apps are highly reliable, secure, and responsive

Cross-Platform App Development

A cross-platform mobile application, as the name implies, simply means an app that can run on different platforms. The cross-platform approach is a good alternative to native development, as it solves the challenge of creating a separate application for each mobile platform. In other words, this concept allows delivering apps across multiple platforms simultaneously with the use of languages and tools different from native toolsets offered by Google and Apple.

Following this approach, developers use cross-platform frameworks and tools based on JavaScript or .NET/C#. As a result, if you decide on a cross-platform approach — be it for iOS, Android, or Web app — you need just one team with the same skills for all platforms. Moreover, when you need to release all your apps at the same time, you can do it without a compromise on team size and timeline.

Today, the most popular cross-platform technologies have wide support communities and continually evolve. Anyway, they inevitably lag behind the mobile OS updates, and there is a higher risk of an unclear upgrade path or major code rewrite.

Advantages of Cross-Platform Development Approach

Uniformity across all platforms

Effective for budget control or low funding

Implementation is easy

Publishing can be at once for all platforms

The source code can be reusable

High demographic coverage

Fast time to market

Rapid Mobile App Development: RMAD

The Rapid Mobile App Development approach is used to develop cross-platform applications in a short time. It involves the usage of specific code-free or low-code development tools to program simple apps for various business solutions.

To start with, this approach is very similar to rapid application development methodology based on little panning, initial prototyping, recyclable software components, and the use of the adaptive process.

Rapid mobile developers declare the functions and features of applications on the frontend and the backend translates the specifications into code. In this case, the frontend uses metadata to function. Effectively, this is done by summarizing the major information about the functions of an application like asset managers or user interface elements in a database. Thus, it cuts off the need for database coding.

Advantages of RMAD Approach

Little investment ratio to ROI

Low complexity in the development process

Fits multiple projects types

Low-code/no-code development

Developers require little or no experience

Reusable code base

Progressive Web Apps: PWAs

The last type of development approach, but not the least, which we cannot exclude is the Progressive Web App development. In this case, the engagement of HTML is principal here.

PWAs are actually not mobile apps, but they are similar in appearance and functions to any native app. They are web applications specially developed with an adaptable and user-friendly interface for mobile users.

There is no need whatsoever for a user to download the resulting application from an app store. Progressive web apps function without a regular browser and can be installed on the home screen of any mobile or desktop device. The beauty here is that they are specified to be responsive and connect independently.

With their browser tucked away, they have the disadvantage of being limited in implementation because you need a browser vendor APIs to access mobile hardware features.

Advantages of Progressive Web Apps

Easy app maintenance

The use of a single codebase

Mobile-friendly UI

You don’t need an app store to host or download

Works on and offline

iTwis provides custom software development services that cover a vast range of business needs. Our partners and clients are business owners from different private sectors. We have shown a strong capacity in IT consulting and delivered as a trusted software development team

Our consultant would be glad to discuss your software development challenges and come up with the most suitable solution designed for your business needs.