Being a Successful App Developer – Part 1 – Defining Success

I get asked this a lot, so I thought I would try and put together a section on being a successful app developer.

The very first step to being successful in anything is to first decide what success is.  That may seem strange and perhaps even silly, but when you stop and think about it, many of us start off on projects / ventures and even careers without first defining what we see as the main goal of our quest.

Not taking the time to first define the success of the project or endeavor often leads to an unsatisfactory result or experience and usually leads to a great deal of wasted time as we shoot for an impossible, moving, blurry target.

Success is as diverse and varied as the individual or group seeking it.  What may define success for me, may not be what defines success for you, or perhaps anyone else.  The same can be said for the definition of success from one project to the other.

For instance, I wrote an app once, solely for the purpose of playing a prank on someone I knew.  The app went into the store so that the person could access it (they could not side load it), so realistically, the purpose for that app release was aimed at a single person / purpose.  That is the only instance of that in my app portfolio, therefore the definition of success was the yelp when the app i wrote scared the crap out of her .

Before you start your app, take a few minutes to define the app’s success, you will find that your ability to architect, scope and complete your projects will greatly improve.  It’s funny, defining the goal can lead to a better result even if you never actually reach it.  At least you know where and how you fell short and lead to better understanding how to target and resolve any issues leading to the outcome.

Remember that Thomas Edison once said “I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that do not work”.  If there was no definition of success, he would not have known even that.

Success is not necessarily money, or downloads even, it is varied and can even change as the project progresses and the app evolves.