But while we may have the resources of a large development studio, we’re lean at heart. We practice Agile development – a methodology that prioritizes functional programming and fast iteration over comprehensive plans – in everything we do, and that goes double for mobile app development.

Our approach is to build a working product as quickly as possible, get it in front of users, then keep improving the product based on that user research. By taking the app to users in the earliest phases of development, we can be sure we’re creating something that real people actually want to use. Build first, test, and iterate. That’s the approach that has let us launch more than 250+ successful software products.

Of course, if you’re just looking for coding ninjas, we’ve got you covered. Our team is the cream of the crop, and we can code with the best of them in just about any language. No matter the industry, the vertical, or the technology, chances are we already have a project in our portfolio with relevant expertise. Name a language, name technology, name a specialty – here are just a few of the tools of our trade:

• Ruby on Rails
• Swift
• JQuery
• HTML5 Mobile App Development
• HTML5 Web App Development
• iOS & Android Development
• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality
• Unity3D & Game Design
• API Development
• JQuery
• CSS3
• Javascript
• Sass
• Compass

We’ve won awards for our dev and design work, and we’re trusted by some of the biggest celebrities, brands, and Fortune 500 companies in the world. Whether you have an idea for a simple, single-function mobile app or this is just the first step to building your empire in Chicago and beyond, we’ll support you through every phase of the process.

Roadmapping by Rootstrap is a distinctive pre-development product workshop that focuses on answering the big questions before spending the big money on development. In Roadmapping, our mission is to make sure an app is worth building before we build it. Roadmapping helps you define your concept, validate your idea in the marketplace, and understand exactly what you need to build to satisfy users. We answer the big questions of who will use the app, why they need it, and how the app provides key benefits to users. Then, we create a clickable prototype and a prioritized backlog of features that you can use to wow users and investors alike.

The Roadmapping process takes between two and four weeks, consisting of four key phases:

• Define: First things first – we have to understand what we’re building. In the initial phase, we work to completely define your app concept. Not just what it does, but how it helps its users –the key value proposition it provides. Understanding this lets us put the rest of the design and development process in perspective, giving us the power to build strategically and make decisions that meaningfully serve users.
• Sketch: In the next phase, we explore all the different ways we could build your app. Sketching is about leaving no stone unturned: we want to explore every structure, every framework, and every business model that would satisfy the needs of users and deliver on the key value proposition. Nothing is too crazy. To find the most effective, efficient model for your app, we have to see how big the world is and understand all the ways we could go about the mobile app design process.
• Prototype: With our sketches in hand, it’s time to choose the optimal model for your app and start making it real. After deciding on an overall architecture, we’ll create a detailed, clickable prototype complete with high-fidelity branding and design. The point here is to render the vision in full color. While the prototype won’t have functional code, it will be a clickable model with accurate screen flows that anyone can explore and be amazed by – and that means potential users and investors alike.
• Refine & Prep: After building out the prototype, we’re ready to set everything in place for development. In the final stage, we’ll create a detailed product backlog: essentially a comprehensive feature list that you can bring to any Agile development shop in the world. We’ll then prioritize that backlog – a process called grooming – so you know exactly what you need to build to get a functional v1.0 of your app, as well as what’s most important for subsequent builds. This process is vital for maximizing the return on your development investment. In fact, we’ve slashed dev budgets in half after just a single session of backlog grooming – and that’s money you can reinvest in acquiring users and growing your business.

And when we say enterprise-ready, we mean it. Our team has developed apps for the likes of Tony Robbins, Snoop Dogg, and Epson, and we bring that expertise to every project we work on. We’re happy to run lean in the early days of the project, but we also have the resources to hit the gas when the time comes. Starting your app development project with Rootstrap means you get a partner you can trust for the lifetime of your business.

To us, full-service means more than just knowing a lot of languages. We go beyond just technical chops: our team features UX architects, user interface designers, user testing ninjas, business strategy pros, product development badasses, and real artists that are all dedicated to seeing your project succeed. We’re equally happy to execute on your vision as we are to help you form one – and we have the capability to help you craft the technical architecture, the business model, or the go-to-market strategy all the same. When we say we make apps, we mean we make app-based businesses, and it’s our multi-specialty team that lets us do that.

We’ve also found that user acquisition is much cheaper and more cost-effective on Android than iOS. This means that if you’re just launching your app for the first time and need to build a brand, the process is less capital intensive with Android. This means you can build initial traction on Android, then launch on iOS after you’ve built momentum.

We’ve also found that user acquisition is much cheaper and more cost-effective on Android than iOS. This means that if you’re just launching your app for the first time and need to build a brand, the process is less capital intensive with Android. This means you can build initial traction on Android, then launch on iOS after you’ve built momentum.