For a few years, companies have initiated their digitization which has accelerated with Covid and the generalization of telework. This involves the development of solutions and applications dedicated to the professions of employees to facilitate their daily lives. For a few years, companies have initiated their digitization which has accelerated with Covid and the generalization of telework. This involves the development of solutions and applications dedicated to the professions of employees to facilitate their daily lives.
Why Develop A Business Application?
The main objective of a business application is to improve the management of your company’s activities while meeting the needs of your users and increasing their productivity. Your business application will allow you to automate specific tasks or optimize their execution. The solution you choose will depend on your activity sector, structure, needs, or even the problems you seek to solve…. This is why Hub One offers you its ten commandments for business applications to help you choose and set up your application!
The Ten Commandments Of Business Applications
Integrate The Application Into Your Overall Strategy
The business application is part of the digitalization of the company and its business processes. It must be anchored in the strategy and development of your company. If properly thought out and developed, it can become a lever of competitiveness, give a modern image and be a vector of innovation for your company.
Involve Your Relevant Employees From The Start
The collaborators concerned by your future business application will be the keystone of the success of its integration and its adhesion by the company. Discussing with them their current uses and future needs from the start of the reflection process is an essential element, essential to the implementation of the best business application for your company.
During the creation process, you can also ask your collaborators for their opinion on the design of the solution. Indeed, they will be the primary users. It is, therefore, essential that they understand the operation of the application and its objectives. Their feedback will allow you to refine and improve its functionality. The sooner your employees are involved in the process, the stronger their support for the new tool will be.
Define The Key And Main Objectives Of The Application
An application, as practical as it is, will only solve some of the company’s problems independently. It is, therefore, necessary to focus on the critical points of the application and its main objectives. Also, at this stage, the involvement of your employees will make it possible to understand and define your objectives. To do this, you will need to determine, among other things:
- The needs of employees,
- The scope of action of your tool,
- Its primary added value,
- A common vision.
Define Precise And Exhaustive Specifications
Once the phase of definition and prioritization of the needs of your application has been determined, it is then necessary to proceed to the stage of creation and implementation of the specifications. The more precise and detailed your specifications will be, the more it will help you to keep a common thread and to gain visibility during the different phases of realization.
This will also allow you to define the deadlines for applying and completing the deployment process. The specifications also aim to budget your project and measure your internal and potentially external resources needs.
Choose Whether Or Not To Personalize Your Application
When you choose your application, you will have several options:
- A so-called “off-the-shelf” application: that is to say, an application already designed by professionals in the field and which meets classic and generalist needs. Some can be “branded” in your company colors, but the customization stops there. It will then be necessary to ensure that this application addresses your needs and processes well.
- A tailor-made application: This is optimal and personalized. It meets the particular needs of your employees. It is designed for your business and will adapt to your requirements. You will be able to follow the process of creating your application.
Define Its Availability: Native On Your PC Or Only On The Web
A so-called “native” application must be installed on telephones, computers, and tablet operating systems. The use of such an application is recommended if it requires the use of advanced features such as Bluetooth, GPS, or Augmented Reality. Your user experience will be better. However, this implies a more consequent development.
Indeed, for your application to be used by everyone, it is necessary to develop it on each of the operating systems used by your employees. This state of affairs increases its development time, budget, and the number of people dedicated to it. Conversely, as its name suggests, a web application is only available from a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc.). It is, therefore, not installed on the terminal used by your employee.
In most cases, using the application requires web access. However, new applications are becoming available offline. The web application allows faster development and a lower budget. However, it forces the user to connect to it each time it is used and to keep the window open when needed. For both, you can restrict access to your application via VPN for your employees working remotely.
Think About The UX You Want To Give To Your Application
Ergonomics and user experience (UX) should be addressed. In today’s digital world, your employees are used to using many applications in their personal lives with a more or less successful customer experience. Therefore, they become increasingly intransigent on their course and, in particular, on the intuitive aspect of the application.
Here again, placing your employees at the center of the reflection and design of your business application will make it more valuable and accessible to them. They will then be aware of having an application that makes their work more accessible and more pleasant to use: they will adhere to it much more quickly and will even be a driver of change.
Take An Interest In Security And GDPR
If your application needs to collect data, the compliance of collection and exploitation governed by GDPR standards must be considered and respected. Indeed, since it is you who processes the data as a company, you are held responsible for their collection, retention period, processing, etc. In addition, you must provide your employees with documentation on best practices for using the application and its associated data. Finally, be sure to secure access to the app with solid passwords.
Think About The Maintenance From The Start
Maintenance is a crucial phase of your application: it allows you to stay up to date and to be able to be used in complete safety. There are thus two primary levels of maintenance:
- Preventive maintenance: which prevents failure or potential security breaches. It is often based on regulatory provisions, manufacturer/developer recommendations, and customer experience. Preventative maintenance can be performed periodically to ensure better monitoring.
- Corrective maintenance: implementation following a fault or failure to remedy it quickly and guarantee the proper functioning of the application.
Think About Its Future Evolutions
An application is made to live and evolve over the years. It is essential to think today about your future versions and the main changes you want to make: new features, a new design, enhanced security, etc. This vision and the roadmap of future developments must be shared as much as possible with your employees to mobilize them and raise their awareness to prevent them from being surprised or resistant to future changes.
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