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As we dive into the creative process that takes place when we begin design of an iPhone app, it’s easy to get lost in the details and lose sight of the original objective. Therefore, here’s 5 questions to keep top of mind while designing an iPhone app.

How is this helpful?
I have an iPhone app that is a Zippo lighter. I can flick the lighter open, turn it on, and then turn it off. That is the absolute extent of my interaction with the app. It lasted about 25 seconds on my iPhone before it hit the trash can. How is this app helpful? It isn’t, and Zippo missed an opportunity to engage me, and open my ears.  An iPhone app needs to be helpful to the user, if you can create a better experience for the user now, when they have a need that you can fill, you’ll already have that relationship established.

What will  the user need in a hurry?
The key to a good iPhone app is giving the user something useful at an opportune time. Sure, Flickr is great, but, and this is for me personally, I only use Flickr when I have Lightroom open on my office computer. Flickr isn’t useful to me “on the go.” Do you know what is? UrbanSpoon. My wife and I are always trying to decide what to eat while we’re out and UrbanSpoon is there to fill our need.

What is the most important aspect of the app?

An expansive feature set is a definite requirement for any app, but don’t get bogged down in all the trash and trinkets. Your app needs to have a core identity, a core reason for me to go into iTunes and download that guy, even more so if you’re asking me to spend dollar bills. Take Block5’s QR Reader for example. It does one thing, and does it very well. It reads QR codes and then launches whatever the code tells it to launch. There are many other QR readers out there, but I solely use Block5’s due to it’s simplicity and ease of use. It knows its purpose.

Does this demographic make sense?

An iPhone not for everyone. Is your product for an iPhone owner? Currently, the hip thing to do is to have an iPhone app, but is it necessary? Often, brands who want to reach an audience jump the gun and start developing an iPhone app when their customer doesn’t even own a smart phone. They could have reached many more potential customers via an SMS campaign than they’ll ever see via an iPhone app.

Does mobile make sense?
This one is easier than most of the questions. More than likely, the answer is going to be yes. Today, nearly everyone has their mobile phone within reach for 80% of the day. If they’re anything like me, that number jumps to 99% as I tend to sleep with my phone next to me. It’s the first thing people look at in the morning and the last thing they check before they go to bed. Should your brand be there? Are there other questions that we’re missing? Discuss in the comments.

-Chris Bergman

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