Mobile Phone Survey Questions

Question

We're considering writing mobile versions of our applications, so we're putting together a survey for our customers asking what they want for stuff on their phones. So far, questions such as:

• Do you have a smartphone? If so, which OS does it use?
• Would you like to use on your phone?
• How much would be worth to you on your phone

etc.

We don't know much about mobile development - are there any "obvious" questions we should ask that a novice might not think of? If you're a mobile developer, what do you wish you could have asked your customers before you started developing mobile applications?

Answer 1

I wouldn't ask what OS there phone has because they are unlikely to know which one they have. Ask what model phone they have (they can usually look on the back of the phone/box the phone came in to find out). If you know what model phone they have you can do a quick google search to find out what OS it uses.

Try to avoid technical questions when talking to non-technical users.

Answer 2

The answers to your question will only be as good as the questions you are asking. I guess you should look much more carefully at possible uses you can think of yourself and where you think you can make a difference with a certain application in making the life of the users more efficient.

Using these examples you might ask the users what they think about your proposed solutions.

Answer 3

Make sure to ask questions about exhibited behavior (what apps have you bought) as well as stated behavior (what you would like to buy). Sometimes people as for something that they might not actually purchase.

Also think through your analysis well in advance of designing the survey. Most survey designs fail because people don't think through the analysis phase sufficiently in advance.