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1) how much did it cost other people to build similar apps (comparative analysis) 2) that you are able to build the product successfully (reducing technical risk) 3) that the price is low enough that the estimated Rev will produce a return (ROI)
- If you can present those points clearly you will be in a much better position to make more money with less frustration
This is a general problem with custom software, not just iOS apps. Most businesses outside major corporations didn't start commissioning custom software until the rise of the commercial use of the internet in the late '90s, when all kinds of small and medium sized businesses wanted their own website. Websites were relatively simple back then, and the people willing and able to make them cheap. Hell, even though I was…
The second being many times custom development shops don't weigh customer needs with COTS. For example in our shop we many times have customers that come in looking for a web presence. When we analyze their needs, it is apparent that Wordpress and a template will fit the bill and get them to market the quickest. I am not a huge fan of PHP on a personal level, but if Wordpress fits the bill I would be doing my client a disservice to not steer them down that path. I think for quite a few custom development shops everything looks like a custom development problem. I think if they would take the time to learn some of the cheaper solutions that will work for lower budget clients, then they can offer a product portfolio that matches the budgets of the client.
As a "business person" I need to know three things to hire someone: 1) how much did it cost other people to build similar apps (comparative analysis) 2) that you are able to build the product successfully (reducing technical risk) 3) that the price is low enough that the estimated Rev will produce a return (ROI) - If you can present those points clearly you will be in a much better position to make more money with le…
As a "business person" I need to know three things to hire someone: 1) how much did it cost other people to build similar apps (comparative analysis) 2) that you are able to build the product successfully (reducing technical risk) 3) that the price is low enough that the estimated Rev will produce a return (ROI) - If you can present those points clearly you will be in a much better position to make more money with le…
Our app (shameless plug: itunes.apple.com/us/app/little-heroes/id477247738?ls=1&mt=8) cost $15K to make by a Toronto-based developer. We were able to keep the costs that low (I think that's a pretty good price for a better than average iPad app) because (1) all of the art was done in house and (2) all of the server side functionality was done in house. Our app developer just had to wire up the various pieces. (I say…
So $15k was the cost the iOS developer charged you? What was the cost of having the art assets and server side functionality done in house? Adding that to the $15k seems to be the actual cost of the app. Also how much time was spent designing the app before art assets were made or server side programming started?
I did the server side work, my co-founder did the artwork, both at a > 0 opportunity cost I'm sure.
We designed the app ourselves, again, at some non-zero opportunity cost.
As a "business person" I need to know three things to hire someone: 1) how much did it cost other people to build similar apps (comparative analysis) 2) that you are able to build the product successfully (reducing technical risk) 3) that the price is low enough that the estimated Rev will produce a return (ROI) - If you can present those points clearly you will be in a much better position to make more money with le…
Not sure why someone down-voted you, but as someone who has been hired to build lots of iOS apps, it sounds like what you're saying is NOT that it should be cheaper to build iOS apps than it is, but that being able to explain how the developer is delivering commensurate value will let a "business person" justify that high price.
Please raise your hand if you're approached by on a weekly/monthly basis by some bright-eyed, overly optimistic, non-technical person who wants you to build them an "app", of any kind, for the quoted price of somewhere between $10K - $20K. That's the price of a demo.
The iOS and Cocoa Touch APIs are really robust, and with libraries like RESTKit, it's not that big of a deal to whip up an app that works well. Indeed, I've done it a few times myself.
The problem is that no one is ever satisfied with the UI kit that Apple provides. Browsing Navigation views of Tables, and doing simple CRUD to a simple backend (e.g., Rails on Heroku), is a weekend project, IMO.
I think OP is really talking about how unrealistic people's expectations/requirements are – not how difficult it is to make a working iOS app.