App Analytics
Something that’s often forgotten by companies/people developing their first app is analytics. It’s something I usually recommend if it’s not already in the app requirements or specification. It’s always easier to add this as you go rather than add at the end or after the app has been released. Why add analytics?- For marketing-based apps, to prove the effectiveness of a campaign.
- When seeking funding, customer engagement (sessions) is often used as a measure of app success.
- To fine tune apps to know what to concentrate on. To know what (the app features) the end users most want to use, rather than those you (or someone else) thought they might use.
- To work out the main types of device and hence customer segments, using your app.
I have also found that deeper analytics can also sometimes be used to aid support and resolve device or network specific problems. In these cases it’s best to have some kind of ’switch’ so you can turn deeper analytics on and off. However, you might need to balance the need for data against app information privacy.
