Artificial intelligence in the post-deep learning era
7 Lessons we learned from iOS development
1. 7 lessons we learned
from iOS development
Robert Mao &Haitao Li
Co-Founders of PixoMobile
Seattle iOS Developers Meetup
9/25/13
2. Who we are
Robert Mao: Co Founder of PixoMobile.
Former Microsoft Research guy, serial
entrepreneur, worked in China, Europe
and USA. (rob@pixomobile.com)
HaitaoLi: Co Founder of PixoMobile.
Former Microsoft guy, developed Internet
Explorer, Windows 7 and Windows 8.
(haitao@pixomobile.com)
3. Our apps - PhotosPro
- Featured by Apple as “New & Noteworthy”
- Widely reported by media and review sites
- Peak download per day: 120K
- High daily active users
App link: http://pixomobile.com/photospro/
4. Our apps - Levitagram
- Reached #2 grossing photo app in US Store
- Remain on top chart since today
- Widely reported by media and review sites
App link: http://pixomobile.com/levitagram/
5. Our apps - PoshLight
- Our latest app in the AppStore
App link: http://pixomobile.com/poshlight/
9. What we did it right
Focus on data analytics
Fast execution
Not staying focused while staying focused
10. Data, data, data!
App analytics
Google Analytics
Focus on the user retention
User interaction path, is it as you
expected? Drop off rate?
Real time analytics is very valuable
Crashlytics
You can‟t fix every bug
AppAnnie
Know your number, know your
competitors number even better
Find hype vs reality
11. Fast, fast, fast!
Fast iteration
2 weeks development cycle
Limit everything in 2 weeks, seriously!
What if the goal is too big for 2 weeks?
Cut features! K.I.S.S.
Is it the right thing to do?! Cut the whole thing!
Can you guys seriously FINISH EVERYTHING in 2 weeks?
NO. : )
YES. : )
Lack of resource is your biggest advantage to compete with
big players
Other things need to be fast
Your code need to run fast
Bug fix
Customer support (User Voice)
12. Lesson #1 - Product
Build something your users want to buy not just get interested
Don‟t listen to your users (especially early
adopter, professionals) … observe them
K.I.S.S - Don‟t add up features.
Your idea is not original (enough)…
AppAnnie data
AppStore reviews
13. Lesson #2 - Naming
Which of those app name sucks less?
Photos Pro
PhotosPro
PhotosPro: Photos App Reinvented
Levitagram: levitation photography for dummies.
There are so many bad named apps in the store, include some „famous‟
apps
Bad naming patterns
Common words
Single word
Meaningless word
14. Lesson #2 - Naming
Naming strategy
Name after popular app or not?
Unique + meaningful
Do appstore search AND web search first
Our naming process
Brain storm 15~20 names (eliminate obviously bad names)
Vote to eliminate to ~5 names (purely personal taste)
Ask „experts‟ to decide for us from name candidates
Our experts:
Kids
Female friends
15. Lesson #3 - Design
Icons
Are app icons important?
YES, very important
How much does it cost ?
For us: $5 ~ $29
Is it worth spending X dollars to ask someone design for it?
NO. Unless you have a great designer friends/partner, or you have too much money to
spend
Is it worth bidding on sites like 99 designs?
No, you get what you paid for : )
What makes a good App Icon?
Unique
Easy to remember
Not ugly
16. Lesson #3 - Design
App design
K.I.S.S
Try no to reinvent the wheel
Try the best to follow standard UI guideline
Our practice (may not work for everyone)
Prototype with real code. Sketches only, no
mockup, all real code.
Implement multiple designs and pick the best.
Reuse the design (and also the code)
Don‟t listen to „experts‟, „professionals‟ or even
„users‟, instead observe user behavior from
analytics
Experiments and analytics on everything
17. Lesson #4 - Pricing
Don‟t be afraid to ask users to pay
Always think of building a paid app even you want it to be free.
Benefits of not being free
You can make money
You can use „free promotion‟
You can get free deals from promotion sites
You can stay in top chart much longer
0.99 vs 1.99 vs 2.99 vs …
18. Lesson #5 - Promotion
Most paid promotion are useless
Paid review sites
Paid „expedited‟ review sites
Small but focused app review sites can be 10X more effective than big name media (use
your time wisely)
Don‟t promote it too early (or it‟s wasting time, money and resource)
Some focused app promotion sites are extremely effective (however they are very
expensive!)
But we get it all FREE!
If you have a great app, they will come to you!
Build long term relationship with partners
19. Lesson #6 - Growth
Retention, engagement is the key to the growth
Without retention, promotion won‟t get you the growth
Design a product for growth
Build the viral loop
20. Lesson #7 – User engagement
Don‟t set the user expectation too high
Always under promise and over deliver
Your name, description and screenshots could make a
difference
Review matters, esp. for paid apps
Engage users from all channels
User voice, email, facebook pages, instagram…