Chapter 2:

Mobile Business
Analysis and
Models
SKR4307
Semester I 2022/2023
26th October 2022
1. The Business Concept
• Process of creating a mobile app – NOT
LIMITED to coding
• Involves many stages:
 Idea description and clarification,
 Communication with a software development company,
 Cost estimation,
 Prototyping,
 Design,
 Back-end and mobile development, and
 Release and marketing.
• It is complex – but the game is certainly worth the
candle!
 1.1 The • THREE steps to success:
 IDEA description and
App-Making requirements analysis
Process  DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT
and

 MARKETING
1.2 Idea Description & Requirements Analysis
• Contact a software development company
and give a general description of the app.
 E.g., “I need a food ordering app, like
Domino’s, with the restaurant menu
displayed on the home screen."
• Choose the target platform
• The Time & Material model – more
suitable for complex and knowledge-
intensive mobile app projects dealing with
cutting-edge technologies
 E.g., IoT, AI or AR
1.3 App Design &
Development
• UI – just the tip of the iceberg.
• The mobile app logic – enabled by a
server, which is built with web
development technologies like
PHP, .Net, Ruby, etc.
• Great mobile app – set of modules
which can be developed and deployed
independently.
• Design decisions should be based on a
through user research.
1.4 Mobile app marketing
• Think of an app feature that will help stand out from
the competition.
• Build a simple WordPress promo website with an
explainer video and information about your project.
• Then start a Google AdWords campaign to get some
traffic and encourage users to subscribe for updates.
• Run a blog documenting the app making process
and share news on social media.
• Start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and
conduct early tests to refine your product.
• Plan a soft launch to test your business model.
• MVP Vs Prototype Vs POC — A Complex Choice of Strategy Made Simple:
https://hackernoon.com/mvp-vs-prototype-vs-poc-a-complex-choice-of-strategy-
made-simple-f0875811b995
2. Overview
• Significant shift in technological advancements in recent years
• The computer evolutions:

• Every year – number of smartphone users rises by tens and thousands

• Mobile app development – not an option anymore; it’s a necessity!
 … cont.
• Path to success in business starts in different
ways
• Tend to choose a plan that will help pass the
way as easily – it written on the map
• Need to consider a huge number of things
concerning ”analysis”, “planning” and
“implementation” of the entire project
• BP – collect all the elements of the puzzle to
create an overall picture of the project from
start to finish.
2. The startups

• Need to design mobile apps to target more

users and reach the millennial population.
• A well-thought mobile app BP – the 1st
step to develop an app.
• The BP must cover the entire cost of app
development, including planning,
designing, marketing, and after-sales
support.
 • It’s not enough to launch
… cont. the app on the app stores.
• B2C versus B2B industry –
a lot of competition in the
mobile app market.
• So, a sufficient portion of
the budget will go in
MARKETING TACTICS
to get users to search for
and download the app.
https://bersondeanstevens.com/most-effective-and-difficult-digital-marke http://www.marketinglabafrica.com/digital-marketing-tactics-in-2017/
ting-tactics/
 3. What is BP ?

just a plan for how the business

is going to work, and how
you’re going to make it succeed.
• If you’ve ever jotted down
a business idea on a napkin
with a few tasks you need to
accomplish
• You’ve written a BP
OR
• At least the very basic
components of one.
 3.1 BP – guide turns ideas to action

• As a rule – should start with visualizing the project

and formulating its key ideas that will provide the
basis of the BP.
 BP will be the roadmap on the business adventure.
• During the planning process, must handle lots of
information.
 Cost of writing a BP – related to the costs that are
required to launch the project.
 In order to save money – can use business plan
templates or tools (e.g., PlanBuildr)
… cont.
• TWO reasons why mobile app startups write a BP:
 To attract funding
 To attract founders
• The content of the BP for a startup depends on the startup’s main goal.
• To attract founders, it’s enough to create a business model canvas
(BMC) —
 More flexible model of the traditional BP that can easily adapt to iterations that
are characteristic of technology startups.
• Consider the BP as a tool that will help get funding and monetize the
mobile application ideas.
 Give advice on possible aspects of a BP for launching a mobile application.
Amazon BMC
3.2 How LONG should your plan be?

• BP is longer than a list on a napkin.

• It is possible and sometimes ideal – to write the
entire BP on one page.
• In practice, and for most real businesses:
 It can be as simple as the Lean Plan
 Has a few bullet points to focus strategy,
tactics, milestones to track tasks and
responsibilities, and the basic financial
projections you need to plan, cash flow,
budget, expenses.
4. Who needs a BP?
i. Startup businesses
• The most classic business planning scenario
• BP helps the founders break uncertainty down
into meaningful pieces, e.g., sales projection,
expense budget, milestones, and tasks
ii. Existing businesses
• BP to strategically manage and steer the business,
not just to address changes in their markets and to
take advantage of new opportunities
• Use to reinforce strategy, establish metrics,
manage responsibilities and goals, track results,
and manage and plan resources including
critical cash flow
 4.1 How should present the
BP ?

• A note on format: should only become printed

documents on select occasions, like when need
to share information with outsiders or team
members
• Otherwise, they should be dynamic documents that
maintain on computer
• The plan goes on forever – meaning that
constantly tweaking it
• Regularly evaluating business health, so the printed
version is like a snapshot of what the plan was on the
day that it was printed
5. What does a formal plan include?
i. An executive summary.

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Often called the “sections” or “chapters” of the business plan.

 • Review schedule – the
most important element of
BP
• Set specific times to review the
progress toward the goals.
• E.g., “the third Thursday of every
month”
• Specifically, it’s the time to
review the progress on
milestones and to compare
the actuals against the
financial projections
6. How often should revise • A real BP is always wrong
• Hence the regular review and
the BP ? revisions—and never done,
because the process of review
and revising is vital
7. How BP look like?

• The main question that a BP should answer is whether it’s profitable to

produce the product

• When writing a mobile app BP for startups – need to estimate the COST of
development and commissioning as well as the timing of the return on
investment in the project

• Mission should be to create a reliable and stable mobile apps for either
enterprises, individuals, or non-profit organizations
7.1 Executive summary (ES) – an important part
• The 1st an investor will read
• The ES should be clear and concise, without detailed information about how
the product/app works.
• Address the situation in the market, who is target customer, and what
unique problem the application can solve.
• Make proposal unique – create unique value proposition (UVP)
• Distinguish the company
• Use imagination – think ES as the trailer for a movie, investor as a spectator
• Specify goals – based on business analysis
• Investor will check whether goals meet their needs?
• Must determine the goal of the exit plan.
… cont.

• Increase the attractiveness – need

to make a list of funding
requirements and the proceeds that
will be used
• Important factors in the success of
a startup BP for the mobile app –
ensuring maximum transparency at
each stage
… cont.

4. App rating:
• Improve the ranking in search results in app stores
• Need to improve its characteristics, for example by
optimizing the mobile application in term of load times
• High position in search results will draw the attention of potential customers

5. Product growth:
• Massive advertising attack only makes sense in markets where consumers
understand the product or service and its usefulness
• Applications that have successfully implemented massive marketing
campaigns. Food panda, etc.
7.9 Financials

• Clearly understand what kind of financing need to move forward.

• When reading this part of the BP, a potential investor should also
understand the funding needed.
• The financial model includes
 As a rule, a 3 to 5 year forecast of all the main forecasted models,
including profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheets, start tables,
and valuation.
• E.g., in order to write a successful web application BP need to predict
the expected revenues and costs of the app.
… cont. – Startup costs/funding required

 Inform investors about estimated costs.

 Place reasonable estimates and leave room for extra expenses.
 Designate all types of costs:
 One-time costs
 Periodic costs (regular expenses, for example rent and insurance)
 Fixed costs (costs that will remain unchanged regardless of the state of your
business)
 Variable costs (e.g. salaries).
… cont. – Monetization strategy

• Most common ways:

 Advertising
 Charging for the application – need to convince the consumer why they must
pay and what they’re paying for.
 In-app purchases – common model of monetization in iOS and Android apps.
 Subscriptions – quite popular and works until the user decides to cancel the
subscription; in most cases, subscription apps have an onboarding or free trial
period)
8. BP template

• A well-crafted, detailed, and insightful business plan is the first step

towards a potentially successful mobile app startup.
• Ensure that cover all areas for a descriptive analysis for your company
as well as investors.
• A mockup business plan for a startup.
 Please keep in mind that, although the business plan itself is structured
according to all the rules, the calculations are completely fictional.
 Check out the business plan example.
The World’s Fastest & Easiest to Use Business Plan Software
PlanBuildr - https://planbuildr.com/
References

i. How to Write Business Plan for Mobile

App Idea?:
https://themindstudios.com/blog/business
-plan-for-mobile-app/
ii. How to make a solid business plan for a
successful mobile app startup:
https://www.cubix.co/blog/mobile-app-bu
siness-plan