Customized Application - Checklist in Practice

You hired a software factory or a team of developers to create your custom application. The contract is signed. And now? How can you ensure that what will be delivered is what you imagined?

Managing this project “in practice” is where most companies fail. They wait 6 months to see the result and are disappointed.

This practical checklist is for the project manager (be it the company owner or a PO) to monitor day-to-day development.

Phase 1: Discovery and Prototyping (Before Code)

Wireframes: Approve simple designs for each screen. Don't worry about colors now, just the flow. “You clicked here, where are you going?”
High Fidelity Layout (Figma): Now, colors and final design. Approve screen by screen. It's much cheaper to change a drawing in Figma than to rewrite code later.
Functional Specification: A written document describing the business rules. "If the customer has debt, the purchase button turns gray."

Phase 2: Agile Development (Sprints)

Don't accept the "Waterfall" model (delivers everything in the end). Demand Scrum.

Fortnightly Meetings (Review): Every 15 days, the team must show you the working app (even if incomplete). Take your cell phone in your hand and test it.
Approval Environment (Staging): The app must be installed on your cell phone, in a trial version. Do not trust videos or prints.
Prioritization: What is most important for the next fortnight? Login or Cart? You decide.

Phase 3: Testing and Quality (QA)

"Happy Path" Test: Does the main flow work?
"Unhappy Path" Test: What if I enter the wrong password? What if I run out of internet? Does the app warn or crash?
Load Test: Can the app support 1,000 people at the same time? (Important for launches).

Phase 4: Delivery and Deploy

Repository Transfer: The source code must go to your company's GitHub/GitLab.
Credentials: database passwords, API keys, store accounts. Everything must be handed over to you.

Conclusion