The Definitive Guide to Application Development
There’s a reason why the phrase “there’s an app for that” went viral. Today, most businesses – even small and midsized ones – rely on dozens, if not hundreds of applications. Task-specific apps can speed up processes, simplify work, cut costs, and increase customer satisfaction. Business applications that sit on top of core cloud ERP and other systems allow companies to quickly add functionality and adopt technology needed to meet shifting priorities and spark innovation. While there are some excellent off-the-shelf applications, most businesses choose to develop their own personalized apps to meet their specific needs and short-term challenges. Self-built apps can also be more easily and tightly integrated to support storing and operationalizing enterprise data captured by ERP and other systems. And now, low-code/no-code (LCNC) tools and AI technology make it much faster and easier for companies to develop these personalized apps themselves and carve out a competitive edge.
What is application development?
Application development is the process of building a software app designed to perform a specific business function, such as expediting your sales order process or automating work orders. It consists of a series of phases that include planning, designing, creating, testing, and deploying each software application. This process can be carried out by teams or by individual freelancers, generally using cloud-based application development software.
Fast-track app development
A powerful, visual, low-code app builder for companies of any size
Fast-track app development
A powerful, visual, low-code app builder for companies of any size
The benefits of building business applications
Business applications can be built to meet virtually any need, from engaging employees to boosting operational efficiency and generating data insights. Easy-to-use, customized apps lead to a better user experience every time:
Engage customers and employees with apps tailored to their expressed wants and needs, and delivered through their chosen devices.
Operate more efficiently with apps that automate workflows, help you submit digital paperwork on the fly, and integrate in real time with core systems such as your ERP.
Be more competitive with the ability to seize upon opportunities. When you spot a gap or a need, build the exact right app and get it up and running fast.
Automate data collection and gain advanced insights with custom database applications that integrate with your systems and deliver business analytics to your team members wherever they are.
Optimize maintenance services through an app to create, assign, and manage work orders from a mobile device, helping your technicians work more efficiently in the field.
Streamline logistics services in real time, such as through applications that automatically track the location of delivery trucks and cargo.
Overcome sales order challenges with an app that can track orders in real time, and then integrate with your e-commerce software.
Simplify procurement maintenance with business apps for tracking and analyzing procurement spend or for automating key procurement processes, such as e-invoicing and supplier contracting.
Six steps in the application development life cycle
There are typically six key steps in the application development lifecycle:
- Planning. This involves gathering all the information needed to build an effective application, including customer requirements, user research, and departmental and organizational feedback and goals. Determining the app’s purpose and key features also take place in this step.
- Designing the application. This phase is all about designing the application according to the requirements and goals identified in step one. Generally, this includes coming up with a concept design, UI and UX, a wireframe blueprint, or often, a prototype model. Determining which tools and technology will be used, as well as choosing a methodology, can also take place here or in the next step.
- Developing the application. Here the app is developed, including the front-end UX and UI as well as the back-end and server-side capabilities.
- Testing. This involves testing across multiple scenarios to detect bugs or quality and usability issues.
- Deployment. In this step, deploying to a production server and/or build environment allows for more in-depth relevant testing and the application of fixes and tweaks.
- Maintenance and support. This final, ongoing phase focuses on fixing any customer issues or bugs that may arise, and on managing general software changes and updates.
This is a summary of some of the standard app dev stages. Different teams may organize and combine these steps in slightly different ways depending on their chosen methodology and other factors.
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Simplify development with tools and services designed for extending SAP apps.
Agile vs. waterfall vs. RAD development methodology
There are two main application development methodologies: waterfall and agile. We will also look at a third method called rapid application development (RAD) which falls under the agile app dev umbrella. Each method has pros and cons depending on the type and purpose of the application in question. And each method will affect the structure of the development process, including how the project is managed, and how and when changes are made.
Here’s an overview of what’s involved in each methodology and when you might want to use it:
Waterfall application development
The waterfall method is a traditional linear approach to development where teams need to complete each phase of the application project before moving on to the next. Each phase produces a tangible result. This methodology is best suited for smaller application development projects with well-defined requirements, fixed budgets, and straightforward goals.
Agile application development
In contrast to waterfall, the agile application development methodology breaks up projects into smaller iterations, called sprints, to accommodate easier changes. In this approach, the team moves through phases quickly – evaluating requirements, plans, and results before moving through another cycle. This allows teams to spot issues in complex projects early on, gather feedback throughout the project, and respond to change faster.
Rapid application development (RAD)
Based on the agile framework, RAD is also iterative but works to build a working prototype of the app in the shortest timeframe possible – incorporating feedback, and then continuously releasing updated versions. This approach can produce working products in less time while allowing more flexibility to make changes on the fly.
Pro-code, low-code, and no-code development
In the past, professional app developers used a “pro-code” approach to app building using various programming languages and specialized developer tools and environments. Today, the expansion of low-code and no-code (LCNC) app dev solutions has reduced the back-end complexity of development and opened it up to a whole new world of people. These business experts are the “citizen developers” – those in your organization who know the most about their specialized operational areas and can now be empowered to build the right apps for the right jobs. In fact, according to Gartner®: “Gartner predicts that by 2026, developers outside formal IT departments will account for at least 80% of the user base for low-code development tools, up from 60% in 2021.”1
And the beauty of the best modern LCNC app dev solutions is that they have security and compliance measures baked in. This means that you can give your citizen developers the power to customize their own apps yet keep guardrails in place to ensure governance and centralized oversight by your IT teams.
Pro-code application development typically involves the use of various programming languages and specialized developer tools and environments. Pro-code delivers the most robust and customizable outcomes, particularly for complex, high-function, high-risk types of applications.
Low-code development is achieved through a mix of traditional coding and drag-and-drop tools. So, while it does require some coding skills, it nonetheless simplifies the app dev process, reducing costs and complexity. Low-code platforms also support agile development methods and DevOps tools.
No-code application development tools eliminate the need for any coding, relying solely on visual, drag-and-drop tools through a GUI. This type of development is where your citizen developers can really go to work. And of course, your IT team can still be involved, providing their skills and knowledge to ensure compliance and smooth deployment.
Different types of application development
The range and diversity of applications that companies will need and use is as varied as the business landscape itself. But the most common types of application development include the following:
Custom application development. Custom apps are built to meet specific organizational or process-oriented use cases or for a particular group of users. This helps your teams avoid the risk of clubbing together different programs and third-party apps to achieve their needs. It leads to better integration, security, and user experience.
Mobile app development. Modern business applications must meet user demands for device agnostic business tools. Mobile app development includes tools for developing device-friendly apps, connecting backend services for data through APIs, and testing on target devices.
Enterprise application development. Focused on building and deploying large, scalable, or multi-tiered applications for complex business requirements, enterprise app development results in apps with robust capabilities – such as automating workflows and modernizing legacy systems for governments, agencies, or large organizations. They typically include enterprise-grade features like massive data storage and processing capabilities.
Database application development. Database applications are developed primarily for entering, storing, and retrieving information from multiple sources. They can help users retrieve data and customize reports according to their own roles, launch workflows, and more.
Web application development. Web apps are often used when there is a need to maintain tight control and security for applications that have large numbers of users accessing them via the internet, on personal devices outside the confines of company networks. E-commerce and banking sites are good examples of this.
IoT app development. This relates to apps that are specifically developed to interact with devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT apps facilitate information flow between connected devices by gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data generated by connected hardware and assets.
Today, most businesses will use a combination of different business applications – which are increasingly augmented by technologies like AI and machine learning.
AI in app development
Already trained on millions of other use cases and programs, AI helps developers avoid pitfalls and build better applications faster. When using AI, teams can quickly recognize patterns in a program’s code, detect errors, move more efficiently through the development process, and harness suggestions for improvements. It can also trigger prompts for creating faster logic flows and adhering to best practices.
But perhaps the true power of AI for app development comes from its ability to automate and accelerate many steps in the process – from tedious tasks like debugging and testing to generating code. Automatic code generation, as a component of generative AI, is rapidly transforming the application development process.
Examples of great apps built for business
Organizations around the globe are creating innovative apps that are changing their business landscapes – and society – for the better.
Pif Paf, one of the largest Brazilian food companies, developed a mobile app to digitalize and automate their machinery maintenance process. Technicians used to have to print multiple maintenance orders, and then manually enter updates each day. Now all maintenance information is synced in real time – and with a tap of their mobile app, technicians can download and transfer information automatically. This led to a 10% reduction in paper waste and a 30% savings in data entry costs. Plus, by using a low-code/no-code app builder, the organization was able to develop and launch this app and start reaping the rewards in just three weeks.
Experience management (XM) company Qualtrics wanted to build a mobile app that helped their customers more easily join, share, and participate in their XM Advocates Program. With no off-the-shelf apps available to meet their needs, Qualtrics used low-code enterprise app dev solutions to custom build what they needed. Using visual programming tools, a single business user developed an app in six months that met all their requirements, with minimal IT involvement – and for a fraction of the cost of traditional development. The application featured all the functions that users would expect, including push notifications, chat, profile pages, search, animation, sound, and user authentication. Now the XM program’s onboarding processes are twice as fast as they were before launch.
As the war in Ukraine continued, EY (Ernst & Young) sought a way to make a meaningful contribution. Using SAP solutions, they developed and donated the EY Emergency Response Application (EY ERA) to help refugees arriving in Poland. It was built to help aid organizations compile and list which types of resources were available across their 162 donation centers – and is automatically translated into Ukrainian. EY created the mobile app focused around one guiding principle: simplicity. They knew that the easier the app was to use, the more effective it would be. To keep development simpler too, the firm used one platform that unified data, analytics, AI technology, application development tools, automation, and integration.
The building blocks of modern application development
Today’s users have a wide set of criteria for the applications they use. They must be flexible, easy to use, fast, adaptable, secure, and more. Below are some of the building blocks of the best modern business applications:
Cloud-native architecture. Cloud-native collections of loosely coupled services can greatly speed up the process of building, optimizing, and integrating applications. Containers for example allow apps to be packaged, secured, and isolated with all their associated files. You can then easily move them between environments without disrupting any functionality or security. Microservices are another type of cloud application development service that allows developers to add “bite-sized" capabilities as quickly as needed through APIs or messaging services.
Multi-platform capabilities include all the tools needed to develop for various platforms, such mobile, web, and IoT.
Easy-to-use tools. Today’s businesses increasingly employ low-code and no-code app dev solutions, empowering “citizen developers” to build customized applications and data models, faster and more effectively than ever.
AI. With AI-assisted development capabilities, teams can quickly add chatbots and AI interfaces – as well as enhance business logic for search, add personalization, speed up document processing, detect anomalies, and so much more.
Integration tools such as out-of-the-box connectors and API management capabilities help to streamline connectivity.
Continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD). A method for bringing automation capabilities into all stages of app development, CI/CD allows for continuous app integration, delivery, and deployment. It eases the process of integrating new code and is supported by development and operations teams and workflows.
Security. The best application development platforms include built-in security features, such as advanced identity management, user management and governance, and secure encryption.
Begin your app development journey
Learn how to develop enterprise apps with drag-and-drop simplicity.
Begin your app development journey
Learn how to develop enterprise apps with drag-and-drop simplicity.
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