The year of the pandemic was a year of technological advancement. And augmented reality (AR) has been one of those technologies that saw unprecedented growth in 2020.
All market leaders, including Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Amazon, leveraged AR technologies in their apps. As a result, global demand for AR solutions has gone up dramatically. According to MarketsandMarkets report, the current worth of the AR market has reached $15.3 billion.
Whatever niche you work in, you should consider developing an augmented reality mobile app for your brand. It’s a great way to make your business stand out and attract customers who are passionate about innovations.
Are you ready to take the first step? We’re here to guide you. Today, we will talk about how to write an augmented reality mobile app brief from scratch.
What is an augmented reality mobile app brief?
First of all, let’s clarify what a mobile app brief is and why you need one.
A mobile app brief is a written document that explains how an AR mobile app should look and what features it needs to have. It outlines the concept of the app development and specifies the purpose of the project.
You, as a client, need to write a mobile app brief to communicate your app design ideas to the app development team.
9 Steps to write a killer augmented reality mobile app brief
Now let’s talk about writing a brief in more detail and discuss what information you should include in this document.
Step #1 – Introduce your company
The first thing you should do is to describe your company and the industry you operate in. Here are a few important points you should write about in your mobile app brief:
- Introduce your company. You can write about how you started your company and what strategies you have used to achieve success.
- Share your vision and mission. Help developers understand why you are doing what you are doing and what short-term and long-term goals you strive to achieve.
- Describe your product range. Explain what kind of products and services you offer to your customers. Define your unique value proposition.
- Define your key competitors and their competitive advantages. Explain how AR mobile app will help you to beat your rivals. If some of your competitors have already leveraged AI technologies, don’t forget to specify that in your brief.
Try to keep your writing concise and to the point. Don’t overload the first section of your AR mobile app brief with too many details. You can be sure that if developers have questions regarding your company or your competitors, they will ask you additional questions.
Step #2 – Present your idea
In this section of your brief, you should discuss the basic concept of the augmented reality mobile app and present your ideas. You should cover the following questions:
- What has motivated you to develop an AR mobile app for your business?
- How will your customers use this app, and for what specific purpose? How will they benefit from it?
- What kind of AR mobile app do you need for your business (marker-based app, location-based app, etc.)?
Let’s consider an example.
Imagine you own a furniture company. You know that many of your prospective customers struggle to choose the item of the right size and color when shopping online. You can create an augmented reality mobile app similar to IKEA Place to address this issue and increase sales. Here is what you should write in your app brief:
Our company needs an augmented reality mobile app that will allow users to virtually place true-to-scale 3D models of our sofas and chairs in their very own space. We expect that this app will inspire users with new creative interior design ideas and help them make more informed buying decisions. We will use this app as a marketing instrument to engage our target audience and increase sales.
Step #3 – Define your target audience
The next thing you should do is to describe your target audience. You should define the demographics and psychographics of your customers and help developers understand who will use your mobile app and for what purpose. Here is a list of characteristics you should specify:
- Age
- Sex
- Marital status
- Education
- Income level
- Lifestyles and activities
- Moral and ethical values
- Attitudes and beliefs
- Level of tech-savvy (you should specify whether your target audience has previous experience using augmented reality mobile apps).
This information will help developers understand what features they should add and what interface they should create. It will give them an idea of how to design an app that will fit the target audience.
Let’s say you want to create a mobile app similar to QuiverVisioin, an app for kids that animates painted images. In your brief, you should write that your target audience is “children under 13 from middle-income and high-income families”. You should emphasize that even though most children know how to use mobile apps, the user interface needs to be simplistic and kids-friendly.
Step #4 – Talk about features
Finally, you can describe your augmented reality mobile app in more detail. You can list all the features you want your app to have and explain how these features need to work.
Imagine you own a cosmetics company. You want to create an AR makeup camera app similar to YouCam Makeup. Here is how you can describe the required features:
- Live makeup cam should allow users to try on all our products, including lipsticks, mascaras, eye shadows, and foundations.
- Face retouch should include such a feature as a “face shaper”. Users should be able to slim and reshape their cheekbones, chins, jaws, and foreheads.
- The app should come with a “fine-tune skin” feature, that removes pimples, acne, blackhead, dark circles, wrinkles, and other skin imperfections.
Step #5 – Describe a user flow
You will help developers a lot if you describe a user flow. Do you know where users will go after downloading your app? Do you know what actions they will take and in what order? Specify that in your brief, and you will take the usability of your mobile app to the next level.
Step #6 – Set deadline and budget
In this section of your mobile app brief, you should cover two important questions:
- When do you need your AR mobile app to be released?
- What is the budget of your project?
The more complex your project is, the more time it will take developers to complete it. So please, try to set realistic deadlines and make sure that the development team will not have to work under pressure.
Also, you should discuss the budget of your project. You should specify the amount of money you will pay to developers upon the project completion. If you clarify these points upfront, it will smooth your communication with the app development team.
Step #7 – Add examples and other useful information
Do you want to share any other information with developers before they start working on your project? Feel free to include any other details in your brief.
If you’ve found inspiration in other AR mobile apps, you can mention those apps as examples. You can even add images or screenshots to visualize your ideas.
Here is an example.
You can write: “I want my AR mobile app to enable users to draw on the environment, just like Vuforia Chalk app does,” and add the following screenshot of Vuforia Chalk app.
Step #8 – Proofread your AR mobile app brief
Once you finish writing your document, you should jump to proofreading. You should check the correctness of your statements and polish your grammar.
At this stage, you can opt for finding proof help or using online grammar checkers. Most people can’t catch their own typos, so it will be wise of you to seek professional assistance rather than try to proofread important documents by yourself.
You should remember that even one typo can lead to miscommunication. And if you want to create a winning AR mobile app brief, you should take proofreading seriously.
Step #9 –Format and structure your document
Each section of your AR mobile app brief should have a relevant subheading. Each page of your document should be enumerated. That will help readers navigate through your brief and find the necessary information fast.
Also, when you format your mobile app brief, you should use bullet points where possible. It will improve the readability of your document and make it look more visually appealing.
Speaking of fonts, you shouldn’t use fancy ones. A mobile app brief is a business document, so you should use professional fonts such as Helvetica, Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial.
FAQ questions about mobile app brief writing
Do you still have questions about writing an augmented reality mobile app brief? Check the following section of this article to find answers.
Who should be responsible for writing a mobile app brief?
Writing an augmented reality mobile app brief is a challenging yet very important task. So you may be wondering who in your team should be responsible for it.
Basically, it should be the person who clearly understands why your company needs an AR mobile app. It should be a person who knows your target audience, its needs, and preferences. It can be a business owner, chief marketing officer, or any other qualified team member.
You shouldn’t delegate this writing task to someone who doesn’t know your business well enough. A person who doesn’t belong to your team will not write a winning AR mobile brief.
When should you start writing a mobile app brief?
You should start writing a brief as soon as you decide that you need an AR app for your brand. Why shouldn’t you delay this task? Since the AR market is developing fast, your AR app idea may become irrelevant. So the sooner you start working on your project, the better.
Besides, if you create a mobile app brief in advance, it will be easier for you to find the right mobile development team. Since everything will be specified in one document, you will not waste time explaining your vision to different teams.
How long should the final document be?
There is no such thing as “an ideal length” of AR mobile app brief. The document can be three or ten pages long – it all depends on the specification of your app. You should provide the software development team with all essential information while omitting unnecessary details.
Is a mobile app brief a formal document?
An augmented reality mobile app brief is a formal document, and it means that you should stick to formal writing. The text of your document should be clear, properly framed, and well organized.
You can use professional terms and acronyms, but when and only when you know that developers are familiar with these words.
Is the mobile app brief worth writing?
App brief writing is a time-consuming process. But we can assure you that it’s totally worth it. If you spend a few hours on this task and create a winning mobile app brief, you will save your time in the long run.
Since all important points will be covered in your brief, developers will not bother you with too many questions. Also, you will not waste your time on revision requests. The brief will inform developers about your preferences and requirements and help them create an ideal AR mobile app for your brand.
Wrapping up
An augmented reality mobile app is exactly what you need to make your brand more innovative and attract new customers. If you are ready to jump into this opportunity, we highly suggest you follow this guide to write a killer mobile app brief. It will help you avoid many mistakes and design an app that will perfectly fit your target audience.
