Want to know why you must build a custom collaboration application? It is a crucial market trend that has so much scope and space for innovation. Besides the significant sums of money to be made, building a new application is an opportunity for you to influence people’s quality of life. You must consider hiring an android apps development company to build that app in the cleanest and effective manner.
This write-up will help you get a clear idea of collaboration app development with the help of some popular case studies.
Why is Collaboration Crucial in the Workplace?
- The prestigious act of collaboration helps an organization bring together diverse team members with varying corporate skills and competencies so that they can easily work towards a shared objective.
- Collaboration promotes extensive brainstorming, and this helps in enhancing the problem-solving nature of the team.
- A team has a powerful sense of purpose when all the team members collaborate.
- Instead of the traditional command-and-control technique, collaboration effectively empowers team members since they feel highly valued.
- Encouraging collaboration promotes self-analysis among the entire team, which enhances clarity.
- Team members learn new things from each other when they collaborate.
- Collaboration facilitates the pooling of competencies and corporate skills, and this enhances team efficiency.
- Promoting collaboration fosters a sense of belonging among the team and improves employee engagement.
Slack: An Example of Collaboration App
Reviewing an impressive example of a collaboration application will surely help you understand the main features, so this write-up is taking the example of Slack. This globally popular collaboration software is available on the internet; apart from this, you can utilize the Slack iOS and Android applications on different types of gadgets. Slack provides you with the following benefits and features:
- You can use Slack to organize team conversations.
- It enables files and documents sharing.
- Users can explore improvement data in archives.
- Businesses using Slack can integrate with various other tools like Dropbox, Asana, Salesforce, Google Drive, etc.
- It allows you to initiate video or voice conversations.
- You can also customize notifications on Slack channels and chats.
Creating A Custom Collaboration Application
While famous collaboration applications offer different functionalities, you might require a collaboration application to address your specific needs. This calls for developing a custom collaboration application, and the following steps will help you do so:
Project Scope and SDLC Model
We recommend you build a custom collaboration application with functionalities like those of Slack and launch a web app, an iOS app, and an Android app. It can become your MVP ” Minimum Viable Project.”
At the same time, you can improve it based on the user feedback you receive from your team members.
Build a Project Management Team
You have to assign the following roles in your project management team:
- Business Analysts
- A project manager
- UI designers
- Web developers with NodeJS skill
- Testers
- iOS developers with adequate experience in Objective-C
- DevOps engineers
Consider utilizing the Scrum method for this project since it’s an effective one to execute Agile projects.
Formulate an Effective Development Strategy
- Use a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) platform for building the web application, and utilize a Mobile-Backend-as-a-Service (MBaaS) platform to build the mobile app. This saves your time managing the IT infrastructure.
- Enhance the test coverage using a test automation aid.
- Use software development kits/ app programming interfaces (APIs) to develop core features like collaboration.
Sign-Up for a Collaboration API/SDK Solution
With an API/SDK solution to implement the collaboration, functionality will expedite the project; therefore, we recommend that you sign-up for a popular collaboration solution like Moxtra. Key features you must implement in your collaboration app:
- Task Management
- Messaging
- Co-browsing
- Cloud storage
- Document tracking
- Digital signature
- Chatbots
- Video chat
- Broadcast
- Annotations
- Virtual data rooms
Incorporate the Appropriate tools for Managing the Project
You would require the appropriate development tools for managing a custom collaboration application development project. You can use a tool like Asana, which is a robust development tool for managing Agile projects.
You can also consider using a data-driven process to handle the project. Apart from this, using a real-time dashboard would be a good idea.
Build, Test, and Publish the Android App
You must build code for the Android application with the help of Java since it has been the mainstay of Android app development for a big time. Every Android apps development company knows it well. Moreover, there are various helpful resources.
Building a custom collaboration application on Android involves the following steps:
- Code the application with the help of Android Studio, then add database resources to the application.
- Integrate the Moxtra Android SDK with your application.
- Test your application with the help of Espresso.
- Publish the app to Google Play.
Building the iOS App
You must use Objective-C to code your iOS application since almost every app development company working on Apple platforms knows this robust programming language. You have to take the following steps to build your custom collaboration iOS application:
- Utilize Xcode, which is the most suitable IDE for building applications for Apple platforms.
- Add various database resources on AWS Amplify, and integrate Moxtra iOS SDK with your application.
- Utilize XCTest and the Experitest mobile device lab to test the iOS application; at the same time, publish it to the Apple App Store.
Wrapping Up
You can use various platforms, frameworks, SDKs, and standard guidelines to expedite the app development project. However, building a custom collaboration application could be a complicated project. Consider hiring an android apps development company for such clear but complex projects.
