Releasing and submitting what they create to app stores takes up the least amount of time for developers, according to a recent survey released by Evans Data Corp. The company fielded responses from more than 400 developers in multiple languages as part of its research.
- For Android developers the largest group (36 percent) say that testing/debugging is the phase of development that is most time consuming.
- The largest group of iOS developers (31 percent) say the actual coding takes the longest time.
- Windows Phone developers found design was the biggest time suck, at 30 percent.
- Android developers wanted help with the test and debug phase from manfuactuers.
- iOS developers were split evenly between wanting coding and design help from manufacturers, while Windows Phone developers wanted help with coding.
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The study also found that 86 percent of developers in North America are likely to moonlight. |
"It's not surprising that Android developers spend so much time in the debug and test phase," said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data Corp. "The fact that many device manufacturers support Android has provided the largest market for developers targeting that platform, but the other side of it is that the market has become fragmented and developers must test with numerous devices to assure quality."
What may be most interesting in Evans Data's survey is what doesn't take the most time, other than releasing and submitting an app. Across the major platforms, for example, time spent on performance and user interface optimization took up less than 20 percent of developers' time, even though consumers are quick to abandon apps or mobile games that crash or prove too difficult to use.
Maintenance, updates or upgrades, meanwhile, took up single-digit percentages of time, suggesting that developers might want to allocate more resources toward continuing to improve or iterating versions of their app that substantially improve the end result for consumers.
For more:
- access the study abstract here
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