1.
Work with Perspective

2.
Trello
• Visual collaboration tool that creates a shared
perspective on any project
• 10,000,000+ users & growing 100,000+/week
• English, French, German, Brazilian Portuguese,
Spanish
• 4,500,000+ downloads across iOS and Android
• Editor’s Choice on Android

3.
Today
• Great apps
• Featuring

4.
It’s tough out there.

5.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/
1,200,000
iOS apps
1,600,000
Android apps

6.
• 14% make $100,000/mo [1]
• 51% of developers make less than $500/mo [1]
• Four companies own 71% of all unique users [2]
• Users spend almost half their time in one app
[1] https://www.developereconomics.com/reports/developer-economics-state-of-the-developer-nation-q3-2015
[2] http://mobiledevmemo.com/the-problem-with-app-store-distribution-in-3-charts/
Winner takes all

7.
1. Make a good app
2. ???
3. Profit!
How to succeed?

8.
1. Make a good app
2. Get featured!
3. Profit!
You get featured!
NO

9.
The infinite loop of mediocrity
1. Make an app
2. Try to get featured/???
3. App is not good enough
4. Change one thing
5. GOTO 2
6. Profit?

10.
Featuring myths
• Lots of downloads!
• New users will love my app and come back!
• It will last forever!

11.
Featuring myths
• Lots of downloads!
• New users will love my app and come back!
• It will last forever!
• Some downloads!
• They won’t and they’ll leave you a bad rating.
• As long as forever is a week.

12.
Well then, how do I succeed?

13.
You want to make a great app.

14.
Your app sucks.

15.
How do I make a great app?

16.
Great apps
• Solve one problem extremely well
• Innovative
• Simple
• Delightful
• Mobile-first
Great apps
are
well-designed

17.
1Number of things
your app should do

18.
1Number of things
you have time to focus on

19.
Awesome
one thing
Rate my app!
Settings for
the advanced feature
Advanced feature
It’s good enough.
Ship it.

20.
Build for 80% of your users.

21.
Build your elevator pitch.

22.
Great apps are well-designed.

23.
Good design
• Focused on content and functionality
• Consistent
• Predictable
• Self-explaining
• Accessible

24.
Good design is as
little design as possible.

25.
Sprinkle delight and magic.

26.
[1] https://www.developereconomics.com/reports/developer-economics-state-of-the-developer-nation-q3-2015

27.
Sprinkle delight and magic
• Pleasantly surprise your user
• littlebigdetails.com
• Animations
• Play around, see what comes out!

28.
Mobile first
• A WebView is not an app
• One with the device
• Plays well with resource constraints

29.
First user experience is core
• If I can’t use your app I won’t use it
• Your app is MUCH harder to use than you think
• Simplify over manuals and tutorials

30.
There are known knowns; there are things we
know we know. We also know there are known
unknowns; that is to say we know there are some
things we do not know. But there are also unknown
unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't
know.
- Donald Rumsfeld

31.
Wait what?
• Known knowns: You know where your app is
failing
• Known unknowns: You don’t know if a feature
has problems, but you suspect it might.
• Unknown unknowns: There are things broken in
fundamental ways that you could not imagine.

32.
Downloads Users
Why it matters

33.
usertesting.com
useronboard.com

34.
Getting featured

35.
5 steps
1. Make a great app
2. Make a great app
3. Really, make a great app
4. Think like Google and Apple
5. Make them aware of you

36.
What is important?
•Great app
•Unique & innovative
•Excellent first user experience
•Latest and the greatest

37.
Make them aware of you
•Your interests are aligned! They want you to make
a great app.
•Featuring is a side effect of a great app.
•Networking!
•Try your luck with appstorepromotion@apple.com

38.
To summarize
•Great apps solve one problem extremely well.
•Great apps are well-designed and simple.
•Delight your users.
•User testing is awesome.
•Your goal should not be to be featured, but if you
make a great app you will be.

39.
Q&A
@hamidp