How to break down an Android mobile app development proposal — how many days per step?

Draft a specs document right away and send it to the agency. Set sprints for every delivery. For instance, make it a requirement to deliver a working APK file every two weeks. If you don't sign off on intermediate builds you haven't seen, you won't end up with half-baked work at the end of 90 days.

On the Android side, the most critical part of an itemized quote is the API integration and local database architecture. If your existing accounting software doesn't have a ready REST API, 30 of those 90 days will be spent just trying to pull data. Ask the agency upfront who will grant database access and provide documentation.

Were the devices the sales reps will use issued uniformly by the company, or will everyone use their own phone? If it's a single device model, testing time drops, but if everyone has different brands and Android versions, the testing line item should take at least 20 days in the quote.

Last year we started a similar field ordering app on a 360,000 TL budget and a 75-business-day commitment. Design took 14 days, coding took 40 days. But store approval and internal pilot testing slipped by 20 days. If the breakdown hadn't been written in stone, they would've blamed the delay on us.

An agency that just throws out 90 days with zero details might be planning to outsource the work. If a team can't provide a detailed work breakdown structure, their grasp of Android architecture is pretty suspect. Check how many senior Android devs they actually have and look at live apps they've launched on the Play Store.

Ask for these milestones in the revised quote: 1) Wireframes and flowcharts delivered 2) Clickable design prototype approved 3) First alpha build with API connections done 4) Closed beta build for field testing 5) Production launch and store approval.

we didnt account for the erp integration and the project was delayed by 3 months. tbh agency blamed the accountant accountant blamed the agency. make sure the erp developer joins the meeting before any quote is signed.

note: I wrote this based on my own experience, it might not apply to everyone.

The Technical Specifications document to be attached to the contract must clearly outline the start, completion, and acceptance criteria for each phase. It must stipulate that milestone payments will not be released for phases lacking a signed acceptance report.

Same here. Access credentials should be opened in the company's name, not personal accounts.

Mistakes made on the android mobile app development side are usually reversible but expensive. That's all, sorry if I went on too long.

My question might sound amateurish, sorry about that. Everyone rushing into android mobile app development gets stuck at the same point.

If you post the result here, it will help others too.

Quick summary for newcomers: If you don't write this down from the start, it leads to arguments later.

Hope this helps.

youre right. implementing a change request process doesnt slow thnigs down it speeds them up.

don't hesitate to ask; those who don't ask always pay more. just leaving this note it might be useful.

Theres a trap here let me mention it. like if you dont write this down from the start it leads to arguments later.

Im also curious if anyone does it differently.

Correct.

Same here.

I'm writing this so you don't make the same mistake. People defend habits, not processes. Resistance comes from there.

Looking at it as a process, the picture changes. Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix.

Proven by experience.

Let me clarify the technical side. The system lives on after delivery; maintenance is a separate line item.