Great question @dailyxe ! I've reached out to some others I know who have hands-on experience with the life cycle and process for creating apps. I hope to follow up with their perspective here soon!
@dailyxe Here's some advice from Brendan Norris - an Application Support Engineer: "Develop a crystal clear idea of what the app should do (which is more important than how it looks or how it works). Then try to flesh out if that vision is physically possible given what data and technology are available. Most successful software applications start with a real problem that needs to be solved. The meat of making the app (i.e. selecting the appropriate programming language to use, what kind of database to set up, etc.) really depends on what it needs to do, and those kinds of decisions would have to be made by an experienced Software Engineer."
@dailyxe I also was told by a self-taught former app developer who created a few small-scale apps: If you have the patience, time, desire, and potential need (due to lack of budget or otherwise): check out some YouTube tutorials to get your feet wet with what's involved in creating a basic app. This will give you a better idea of what's really necessary to get the shell of an app developed. I'm still waiting to hear back from one more industry contact, but I've done some research of my own here in Austin and found some helpful companies exist for those new to app creation: phonegap.com, bloxmob.com, and bubble.is are some relatively layman-friendly resources available for building apps. For app creation services: orangerobot.io, tipit.net, and phunware.com are some Austin-based full service app developers that came recommended from my own trusted sources. Hope this helps! - Charles
