Abstract
The proposed project based on the development of a mobile application for learning grammar and supporting Seamus Company’s other products directly solves the problem of extending its product portfolio and focusing on innovation. The mobile application will address Seamus Company’s requirements as it will be cost-efficient, based on emerging technologies, and easily integrated into the system of the company’s products.
This application will support specific tasks from the company’s grammar books, using the same characters: Patricia Present, Calvin Continuous, Peter Past, and Petra Perfect. Seamus Company will benefit from applying the application through increasing the customer base and profits or sales. Thus, it is possible to expect increases in the company’s customer base by 15% and profits from promoting the application by 10%. The overall cost for completing the project will be $125,600, which is lower in comparison to the market’s averages. The reason for selecting this project is that the authors have more than ten years of experience in developing mobile applications and software for various clients.
Proposed Solution
Seamus Company (SC) is facing the problem of integrating technology-supported solutions in order to contribute to innovation in the company and extending its product portfolio. The company is interested in receiving the solution that is based on the integration of the latest technologies in teaching grammar to address learning modules and students’ learning styles. Thus, the solution is expected to be cost-efficient and innovative.
To address these requirements, it is necessary to propose the design and development of mobile applications for learning grammar based on SC’s grammar books. The mobile application will work appropriately on iOS Android, and Windows platforms and be available for students on their smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The application will provide grammar-related activities and exercises for students from different grades, and they will be able to select their level. The grammar content will support topics and tasks from SC’s grammar books with the help of using the same familiar characters: Patricia Present, Calvin Continuous, Peter Past, and Petra Perfect.
While implementing this solution, SC will expand the product portfolio with an innovative product that requires minimal costs to be designed. SC will not require implementing more expensive solutions like virtual reality, games, and simulations as these functions can be partially covered in the application. Therefore, SC will benefit from introducing the mobile application that can be sold along with other products as a supplement. The company’s goals regarding the expansion of the product portfolio based on emerging but cost-efficient technologies will be addressed.
Related Works Review
Many publishing houses and companies specializing in producing learning tools and books for learning grammar and other language aspects have launched mobile applications to address their customers’ needs. According to the expert reviews by specialists from App Advice LLC, Bluster! designed by McGraw-Hill School Education Group is one of the most popular mobile applications in the field of learning grammar.
It is free and appropriate for school-aged users, but it also has paid add-ons (“Bluster!,” 2019). McGraw-Hill gains profit through advertising its books through this application and promoting add-ons. This review indicates the possibility of following the same model for SC.
One more publishing house that introduced a mobile application known as Mad Libs belongs to Penguin Group. The application is free, but it allows in-app purchases while providing school-aged users with opportunities to train their English grammar with the help of a game (“Mad Libs iOS app,” n.d.). The focus on promoting applications allows for attracting more users who need to spend only a few minutes to download the app, and this approach is also working for SC.
Blufish LLC offered their variant of a grammar textbook while changing a traditional approach to presenting rules and exercises to the framework of a mobile application. The comparably low price of the app allowed for increasing the customer base interested in the product and loyal to the company (“English Grammar by Blufish LLC,” 2019). This model can also be imitated by SC to promote its other products and reach more potential customers.
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables
- Goal 1: SC will increase the company’s customer base and profits by developing an innovative mobile application for learning grammar.
- Objective 1: By the end of the third month of the project development, SC will develop and introduce the 100% completed mobile application for learning grammar.
- Deliverable 1: The first outcome to achieve is the discussion and development of the project’s objectives, plan, components, learning modules to include, and necessary resources.
- Deliverable 2: The second task is the design of the mobile app to address requirements and the integration of SC’s products with the app.
- Deliverable 3: The third task is the development of the mobile app with a focus on the target audience and determining components.
- Objective 2: By the end of the project development, SC will increase the company’s customer base by 15% and profits from promoting the app by 10%.
- Deliverable 1: The first task is the revision of the app to address customers’ needs.
- Deliverable 2: The second outcome is the expansion of the app functions and options.
- Deliverable 3: The third task is the development of more paid user-oriented add-ons.
- Objective 1: By the end of the third month of the project development, SC will develop and introduce the 100% completed mobile application for learning grammar.
Projected Timeline
Resources and Costs
To develop a mobile application, it is necessary to hire experts and apply hardware and software to design and develop the product. For this project, laptops, smartphones, tablets, software, servers, and web cloud services are expected to be used and paid for. The following table provides the list of different required sources with a focus on their costs to determine the budget for the product. Two servers will be purchased additionally for this project with an average price for each of $1,000 (Gildred, 2018). Thus, identified costs were estimated after retrieving the market information and focusing on average costs.
Outcome
The effectiveness of the solution for the company will be measured in terms of its possibility to attract new customers and increase profitability. It is expected that the development of the mobile application for learning grammar will increase the number of SC’s new customers by 15% by the end of the sixth month. Furthermore, overall profits associated with selling the mobile app will increase by 10% within a year.
Justification and Proposal Highlights
Currently, SC is facing the problem of finding an effective technology-supported solution to make the company more innovative and expand its product portfolio. The proposed solution is based on the idea of developing a mobile application for learning grammar based on and integrated with the company’s other products. The project will cause changes in SC’s product portfolio while attracting more customers because of the high availability of the developed application. The benefits of the solution are in the possibilities to increase the customer base, guarantee higher profits, and improve customers’ loyalty while developing a cost-efficient but innovative application.
The company proposing this solution is an expert in developing different types of mobile apps. While selecting Mobile Solutions Era, it is possible to save resources because the company has a large resource base for conducting the project within the set deadline and at minimum costs. If SC chooses to fund this project, it is possible to observe entering a new market of mobile applications and expect customers’ high interest in this new project popular among school-aged children as the target audience.
References
Bluster! by McGraw-Hill School Education Group. (2019). Web.
English Grammar by Blufish LLC. (2019). Web.
Mad Libs iOS app. (n.d.). Web.
Gildred, J. (2018). 5 best affordable servers for small businesses. Web.