Interview with Karl Mulligan, CEO - Appify

Karl Mulligan  

CEO, Appify

Give us a quick overview on Appify. When and how did you begin this journey and what were your motives to be successful in app development?

Appify is three years old, although we initiated our services in 2003.

I have worked with start-ups, SMEs, brands and major sports organisations for nearly 20 years and observed as they battled to create mobile tech that would engage with the audience, deliver value, and generate meaningful results. Many of these projects failed. This was not a coincidence because most app projects fail, and still do.

There are many reasons why apps fail. The tech may be poor. The business model may be unclear. There may be insufficient budget to properly activate an audience. However, most apps fail because they do not fulfill a need, in a meaningful way, better than competitors.

I founded Appify to help entrepreneurs, SMEs, brands and enterprises to get client focused apps released quickly, in a lean and agile manner. By getting MVP apps into the market rapidly and inexpensively, we can test the business case hypothesis and user approval at minimal time and cost risk. Adopting an iterative approach, our clients learn from user experience and continuously improve their applications to achieve greater levels of satisfaction and success.

What is your role in the management and development of Appify?

I am the founder and Chief Executive of the company. I may be the boss but I have an exceptional Board of Directors that make sure I keep everything on track!

Tell us about your biggest achievement in the industry

Thankfully, there are several.

One thing that we have done since our foundation is to try to always have at least one socially meritorious project in development. We do these projects at preferential rates based upon the fact that we like being involved with apps that truly make a difference.

For example, we recently launched an app called RecoverMe. It is designed and built to deliver a suite of leading-edge interventions for people with problematic gambling behaviors. The app delivers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy sessions, a diary feature that recognizes risk triggers, and a range of emergency assistance solutions should the user feel gambling urges. The app has been incredibly well received. The user feedback is amazing. This type of work is enormously gratifying.

How do you schedule the development phases of the apps to promise the timeline to your clients?

We do this in a couple of different ways, depending upon the client’s preferred delivery methodology.

Where possible, we like to produce apps following proprietary agile methodologies. This allows the client to be fundamentally involved in the process and close to all decisions.

We break all of the proposed app’s functionality into ‘User Stories’ and then into bite-sized development tasks. All tasks are loaded onto a cloud-based Project Management platform which we give clients full access to. Tasks are categorized as completed, in progress, or ‘to-do’ on our Project Management tools. The client can view all of this progress in real time so that they are completely aware of the project status at all times.

At fortnightly meetings we review progress with our clients. The client can delve into the minutiae of the project in whatever depth they wish (or not!). The client is then involved in the selection of tasks for the forthcoming fortnight. Following this cycle, the client is always aware of progress on the project, always involved in shaping the deliverables and always up to date on the expected outcomes and timings.

How do you help your clients in choosing the right yet profitable platform for app development?

We do this in consultation with our client. We educate our client on the merits and demerits attached to the available technologies in terms of development costs, user experience, scalability, maintenance implications and industry trends. We offer advices based on a fundamental understanding of client requirements. Ultimately, the client chooses their preferred technology but, the decision is based upon the excellent information and advice.

Which would you suggest for a successful and profitable business progression, Native or hybrid apps? How do you define the factors that influenced you to make this choice?

This decision is always based upon the client’s requirements, budgets and circumstances. We are experts in both native and hybrid so we can remain neutral in the decision-making process.

Building a single cross platform application is obviously cheaper than building multiple native applications. There can be some compromise in terms of functionality and slickness, however. We explain the alternative approaches, any cost versus user experience tradeoffs, and then facilitate the client making an informed decision.

How do you scheme your pricing model? How do you fix your budget?

We can do this on a Time & Materials or a Fixed Price contract basis.

In the case of Time & Materials, we normally spin up a bespoke, dedicated squad for each client. The squad works in fortnightly cycles and can remain on project for whatever duration the client requires. The cost of the squad depends upon the blend of skill sets and experience within the squad but tends to be highly competitive.

This agile approach to tech development, generally speaking, is most efficient. It removes the necessity for laborious advance planning, production of rafts of documentation, CapEx sign offs, etc. This advance planning is typically a waste anyway, given that priorities and requirements almost inevitably change during the project.

We do of course offer a Fixed Price alternative.

How helpful are the mobile apps developed by your team, for enhancing your clients’ business?

Apps which we have developed provide a myriad of benefits for our clients. We have developed apps that do all kinds of things that assist our clients…

• Sell products and services

• Drastically increase average customer app dwell times using gamification and in-app entertainment.

• Track staff / sub-contractor time and tasks.

• Automate back-of-house processes including sales admin, deliveries and invoicing.

• Facilitate client requisition, design sign-off and production automation.

• Enable off-site sales teams to check inventories, generate pricing, project delivery periods and process orders.

• Schedule building operations, order materials, book labor and produce site meeting documentation.

• Generate legal documentation, facilitate remote document review and signature, organizes, and secure legal files.

What according to you are the best practices to attain client satisfaction?

We do numerous things to maximize client satisfaction. These include,

Formulating a very clear understanding of the clients’ vision, core value proposition, business objectives, functional requirements, time & budget constraints

Providing transparent and understandable pre-development advice on approach, technology stacks, maximizing user value, planning for sustainability and scalability

Ensuring that the client is close to the development process. Clients are intrinsically involved in all decision making and have open, transparent, and real-time access to our Project Management and Messaging tools.

Distilling all functional requirements into highly specific micro tasks so that all functional inputs are closely aligned with agreed outputs

Engaging and deploying market leading talent across our development squads.

Implementing Appify’s proprietary agile production methodologies, refined since 2003, across all our development squads and projects.

Adopting a ‘Right First Time’ approach, using peer and automated testing cycles to ensure quality of output

All of the above is important but is based upon approach, process and tools. In reality, the main reason why we have five-star status across multiple independent review platforms is that our people are highly committed to great relationships that tend to last for years. This means, we do the hard grind when necessary to sort the things can be lost in processes and tools.

How do you update your business system to be in pace with the technological advancements?

Because we embrace an agile philosophy throughout out business, we are constantly adapting and growing with advancements in technology.

Our Head of Strategy and Innovation is a recognized thought leader in the mobile technology space. This requires a commitment to continuous learning and an extraordinary curiosity, both of which he embodies, much to the advantage of our business and our clients.

We are always committed to the engagement of new talent. This keeps our development teams fresh and their capabilities ahead of trend.

We like to lead, not follow!

What are your thoughts about AR, VR and Internet of Things (IoT)?

These are no longer notional concepts for the future but very much of the here and now. Some of these technologies are still expensive to build and deploy because of their relative novelty. This will change quickly though as they become more main stream.

What do you think will be the future of Mobile technology?

In an increasingly on-demand society, mobile tech is the optimal pathway for the delivery of what people need and want, when they want it and where they want to consume it. Whether those wants happen to be products, entertainment, social engagement, healthcare, financial services or customer care, consumers increasing want to engage via mobile tech. This demand shift will continue at pace.

Building mobile apps will become increasingly inexpensive. This will happen for a number of reasons including the continuous improvement of hybrid technologies, globalization of mobile product development and the increasing availability of high-quality API’s to fulfill several popular functional requirements.

The ever-increasing demand shift towards mobile services, coupled with the reducing cost of deployment, means the proliferation of usage of mobile technologies and solutions in all territories and in all industries is set to continue at pace.