Justin Coetzee, Go Metro

Businesses looking to create a consumer app should challenge received wisdom by rolling out before the app is pristine, according to Justin Coetzee, founder of Go Metro.

Speaking at the ITWeb Mobility Summit, Coetzee emphasised the benefits of treating an app as a work in progress. “Launch quickly – don’t launch pretty, don’t wait for things to happen, don’t wait for everything to be in place. If you do this, you’ve given up time where you need to gain user acceptance. You can launch with gaps, and early adopters will see where the product’s heading and fill in the gaps, running on faith.”

Early ‘super-users’ can provide a valuable ‘workshopping’ experience, he noted: “They are your real product development. team. We rolled out a basic sketch to 50 users, and they filled in the blanks. Your super-users are going to buy into what you’re going to do before you’ve done it and tell you what they like and don’t like.” The first and most vital step in building an app is identifying the user, said Coetzee. “Once you know who your user is, who you’re connecting to, you can layer actions and services around that.”

South African enterprises should not forget the extent of their market, Coetzee added, noting that Go Metro’s user base is the LSM 4-7 market: “Our market is very different: we designed for feature phone first, and social equity first. People ask when we are coming to Apple – well, we’re not. You can accomplish what you need through the Web and mobile browser, and it doesn’t make sense for us to cater to that market.”

When establishing the design of the application, lean and clean is the way to go: “Designing for mobile means you have to be quick, convenient, and take the user through a dedicated decision flow.”

Considering whether to use a pipe or platform approach is another important consideration, he said: “A pipe approach is like a highway: you generate content, with the value produced upstream, then consumed downstream and shared. Platforms are more collaborative, facilitating relationships between users.”

Finally, considering feedback is vital, Coetzee emphasised. “When users see a suggestion put into action, they’ll volunteer more information that improves your product. Listen, and adapt, and you’ll get more loyalty and more feedback. And keep your ear to the ground – you have never cracked user requirements.”