Stakeholder Engagement At Startups: Determining The Success Or Failure Of Mobile App Projects
To design a mobile app that stands out, interested parties must first embark on the journey themselves. As the CEO and founder of SolveIt, a mobile development company, and an entrepreneur, I have witnessed the challenges faced by businesses in the mobile app industry, which boasted a staggering market value of $167 billion in 2023. However, statistics reveal that only a mere 0.5% of Apps manage to achieve true success.
The Role of Stakeholders
The trajectory of mobile app projects rarely unfolds in isolation, with stakeholders actively engaging in such initiatives and playing a significant role in their progression. The idea of a stakeholder was first introduced by the Tavistock Institute in london during the early 1970s, referring to individuals or a group of people who have a personal interest in a project or organization.
Defining Internal Stakeholders
Internal stakeholders, including founders, product owners, C-level executives, investors, consultants, and partners, are crucial in shaping the vision and concept of the future product. They play a pivotal role in the success of Mobile app projects. Effective stakeholder engagement serves as cement in building strong collaboration with a contractor.
Overcoming Obstacles to Drive Stakeholder Engagement
It’s worth considering that simply handing off a project to a remote team or outsourcing it doesn’t guarantee its successful completion. Low proactivity from stakeholders can lead to decision fatigue, resulting in a startup being a constantly changing system with a huge number of variables that require attention. Share responsibility and use tools like mapping, matrices, or registers to categorize and prioritize stakeholders based on their area or level of influence and interest.
When scaling a Mobile app, it’s disheartening when the project’s ethos and overall vision get lost, leading to difficulties in securing additional funding, attracting customers, or gaining market traction. Before overcoming stakeholder resistance, it is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of its underlying causes. Listening is key.
Scope creep, caused by uncontrolled expansion of project scope due to low stakeholder engagement, can result in extra resources being spent and often leads to project failure. To counter this, foster a collective approach and ensure stakeholder understanding and alignment with project goals. Formalize the process for changing the scope to maintain project integrity.
The CEO’s Perspective
As a CEO, it falls upon me to discern opportune junctures that call for the resolution of concerns by building transparency and clear communication. In the vast realm of app development, contractors provide expertise, technical know-how, and unwavering commitment, but they cannot breathe life into a project without the active engagement of its stakeholders.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the success or failure of mobile app projects is heavily reliant on stakeholder engagement. To Design a mobile app that stands out, interested parties must first embark on the journey themselves, wielding their vision and passion as guiding forces. It becomes evident that greatness isn’t born solely in the hands of contractors. Stakeholders are key players in determining the success or failure of mobile app projects.
Source: forbes
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