Application Development from Prototype to Beta : A Case Study of the Application SeafarerCV

Abstract

When the prototype of a software product is completed and approved, development of a betaready resource is often the natural step toward a future final release. This process contains many steps that may prove vital to the eventual success or downfall of a future product. Technologies must be chosen, design methodologies must be followed, and care must be given to provide the final product with a solid foundation to build upon. This thesis follows such a development process for the development of resources for beta-testing. This process, as well as the human centered design approaches, and the resulting resources, are evaluated compared to relevant theory of the field. In addition, an external team was outsourced development of a mobile application. This thesis gives insight into of some of the considerations, as well as some of the pitfalls, that can occur during a process to take a prototype to a beta-ready stage. It concludes that although the research questions can be answered and the goals of stakeholders were largely met, there is still a significant amount of structured work required to elevate the result to a desired level of quality. Keywords: Application development, human-centered design, single authentication service, development process, application success factors. i