How to Tame the Data Gathering Beast

Tips for Collecting What You Need for Your Mobile App

The data gathering step in the mobile app development process can often be the most time-consuming stage of the process.

If you’ve been tasked with managing your organization’s mobile app development, collecting all of the data and content you need for this project can sometimes feel like ‘content wrangling’ more than gathering. It can be tough to get everyone on your team to deliver what you need from them on time and in the formats you need.

Here’s how you can make the process easier, faster and less work for yourself:

Have clear objectives for your mobile app

The content-gathering process can be overwhelming if you aren’t clear on what you want to achieve through your app. Without knowing your goals, you don’t have a lens to view potential content through and it can be difficult to decide if it should be included or not.

If your objectives are clear, you can then ask yourself and your team, “What content do we need to include to ensure the app can help us achieve these objectives?” You can immediately narrow the search down to only what really matters.

Define your content requirements

Start by defining the type of content you need, such as text, images, or videos. This will help you focus on collecting only the content you need. It can be tempting to fill your app with written content, but if you’ve ever used a mobile app before, you know how important visual elements like graphics, icons, photos and videos are to improve the user experience, enhance the branding, and increase engagement.

Keep the end-user and your objectives in mind when you develop your content requirements–what would a user like or need in terms of content to help you achieve your goals?

Create a content plan

Develop a plan for collecting the content you need, including deadlines and milestones. Organize your content and data needs by what is existing and what, if anything, needs to be created. Clearly define who on your team is responsible for what and outline the expectations and process for delivering the content to you.

This will help you stay organized and on track and hold your team members accountable. Remember, any delays during this step can impact the timelines of the overall project. It’s important everyone involved knows that if they don’t deliver their parts on time, they’re putting the app’s launch date in jeopardy.

Leverage existing content

Look for existing content that you can use or repurpose for your app. For example, you could use public domain images or creative commons-licensed content. If you have existing blog posts, webinar recordings, directories, or other useful information on your website, ask your mobile development team for ideas on how to repurpose this content in a way that is optimal for a mobile app.

Prioritize quality

Without quality data and content, your app won’t be useful for your audience. And if the app isn’t useful, you won’t see the kind of engagement you’re likely hoping for. Use the content format guide that your mobile app development team provides to ensure you’re submitting content in the right file formats, and sizes and make sure that data is organized and complete.

Focus on ensuring that the most important and relevant content is accurate and high-quality versus trying to collect as much content as possible to include in your mobile app.

A client-focused mobile app development team will provide you and your team with training on how to use our mobile app platform and content management system, so you can always add more content later when you can be sure that the content is quality.

There is the potential to get caught up or delayed during the content-gathering phase of app development. But with the right planning, clear objectives and explicit directions to your team, you can ensure the process doesn’t require too much wrangling on your end.

Karim Mansour is an Inside Sales Representative at 14 Oranges, the creators of the Info Grove platform.