The Idea
An app to enable dentists to record their continual professional development (CPD) activities.
The Approach
During the initial consultation sessions, we conducted thorough research into the CPD requirements of dental professionals in the UK. We also interviewed several dental professionals to find out how their CPD impacted their professional lives.
We found out that:
- CPD is mandatory for all dental professionals in the UK
- there are almost 100,000 dental professionals registered in the UK (dentists, nurses, hygienists)
- it costs an average of £150 per hour of verified CPD, when accounting for time required off work to attend seminars
- dentists are required to undertake a total of at least 250 hours of CPD over sequential 5 year periods throughout their professional lives
The General Dental Council regulates dentists & requires that they log their CPD activities with them each year either by post, email or directly within the GDC membership site. Dentists are required to keep records of their CPD activity over the years, including any certificates gained, as the GDC has the right to check the records at any time.
The initial idea was to develop an app which would allow the dentist to record his CPD acivities on his phone. This would provide the convenience of being able to make immediate records when attending a seminar or engaging in any other CPD-related activity.
The app should also provide an easy way for the records to be passed to the GDC; print or email are the standard methods although the GDC’s website allows dentists to record their CPD hours online & this would be the best method in terms of efficiency.
The expected price-point of this app would be in the range £2.99 – £9.99 as it is for use by professionals & the cost would be tax-deductable for many users. However, our standard practice is always to look beyond the obvious revenue-streams which would be generated solely by app sales. In this case, our research provided sufficient evidence to conclude that the dental CPD market is under-served by technology & most dental professionals find it inconvenient & costly to meet their obligations.
It became clear that an app which provided the user with the ability to obtain CPD at his or her convenience, whilst automatically logging the details of the activity, would fill a great need within this market.
The system we have developed allows users to choose & download learning modules onto their devices, complete them whenever convenient & obtain their CPD credits. All activity is recorded in their personal database which connects seamlessly to the GDC’s database. Our system is able to send users reminders when their CPD periods are coming to a close, and provide warnings of any deficiencies as well as recommending suitable modules to address those deficiencies.
The service is to be offered on a subscription basis, with prices ranging from £45 to £95 per user per year. The subscription provides the full amount of verifiable CPD required by the GDC i.e. a user can limit their verifiable CPD activities to our system & be assured of meeting their obligations.
In purely financial terms, this represents an average saving to the dentist of about £1400 each year. This, combined with the convenience & the ability to use small pockets of time (eg the train journey into work or whilst waiting in a queue) instead of days off work to fulfil their CPD makes, we believe, our system a compelling choice for any dental professional with an iPhone or iPad.
Further, once a user has his or her CPD records in our system, as long as we continue to deliver a high-quality experience, inertia will make it unlikely that he’ll move to any competitors who spring up.
The benefits of early stage planning in this case are significant as the system is far more complex than a single app. It has been designed to allow multiple authors to provide material for the modules, and to allow multiple users to access & interact with the content of the modules in real-time.
The App
The target audience is all Dentists & Dental Care Professionals registered in the United Kingdom.
The app is Universal in iOS. This means that it works on all iOS devices – iPhones, iPads & iPod Touches – and the User Interface is optimised for the size of screen being used.
The Person & Idea
Jo Collins is a legal secretary working in London.
She approached AutoMagic Apps with an idea to create an app that would enable people to make a Last Will & Testament
The Approach
During the initial consultation sessions, we researched the market for Wills & found that the solutions available for DIY Wills is rather poorly served. Interviews with several professional will writers yielded enough information for us to ascertain the key reasons for this.
With these issues in mind, we started a brain-storming process intended to find an elegant way to address the problems & significantly enhance the user-experience. In order to reach the high standard necessary, we sought the cooperation & agreement of the industry’s governing body: The Institute of Professional Will Writers.
The Institute has a clearly stated policy that it does not recommend DIY Will software. However, one of the main reasons for the policy is the lack of high-quality software. Another, unspoken, reason is almost certainly that DIY Will solutions may be perceived to harm the interests of the Institute’s members, all of whom sell their services to the same customer pool as the software would be addressing.
So, the questions became whether the Institute would be prepared to assist us to create software which would be good enough for them to endorse & whether we could develop a business model that would help, rather than harm, their members.
The answer to both questions is yes, and the result is The Will App.
The expected price-point of the app is in the range £19.99 – £29.99 but our standard practice is always to look beyond the obvious revenue-streams which would be generated solely by app sales. In this case, our consulations with the Institute of Professional Will Writers enabled us to uncover multiple opportunities, all of which enhance the value of the software to the end-user in a meaningful way.
Thus, Jo’s idea for an app has been dramatically transformed into a business model which encompasses a very high-quality app with a continual high-value back-end revenue stream. The app is the only software in England & Wales with the endorsement of The Institute of Professional Will Writers & we have secured all necessary permissions to mention the endorsement in our marketing.
The benefits of early stage planning in this case are many. However, the most important are that the app is guaranteed to be the best available in England & Wales and that it enjoys exclusive official backing within the industry.
The Deal
Jo opted for the Type 1 deal.
We have provided full funding & expertise to produce the app & Jo receives 25% of all profits.
The base price for this app is £29.99 in the UK iOS App Store & £39.99 in the UK MacOS App Store. It is not intended for markets outside of England & Wales.
We expect to sell 10,000 copies of the iOS app in Year 1, yielding revenue of approximately £175,000 after Apple’s deductions.
We expect to sell 10,000 copies of the MacOS app in Year 1, yielding revenue of approximately £230,000 after Apple’s deductions.
We expect to sell 20,000 copies of the Windows app in Year 1, yielding revenue of approximately £775,000 after online sales processing deductions.
There are several back-end income streams which may be generated by each sale. We make a conservative estimate of the extra income by assuming that 20% of the apps that are sold generate some back-end income and that the amount generated per app is at the low end of the scale at £15
This implies back-end revenue in Year 1 of approximately £115,000 after payment processing costs are deducted.
Jo can expect to earn over £300,000 by the end of The Will App’s first year.
The App
Named The Will App, its target audience is any person or couple over 18 in England & Wales without a Will or with a Will that requires an update.
The app replicates, as far as possible, a consultation with a human Will writing professional, conveniently & at significantly lower cost.
The app is Universal in iOS. This means that it works on all iOS devices – iPhones, iPads & iPod Touches – and the User Interface is optimised for the size of screen being used. Obviously, the user experience on the iPad is the best because of the device’s larger screen.
A version of the app is also being made for use on the Mac Operating System. This will be sold separately to the iOS version & provides the customer with the ability to work at his desktop/laptop instead of an iOS device.
A version of the app is also being made for use on the Windows Operating System. This will be sold separately from the Mac & iOS apps, initially directly from a purpose-built website and, possibly, also directly from the website of The Institute of Professional Will Writers. When a Windows-based App Store becomes available, this version of the app will be sold from there, too.
Visual User Interface
It was important to us that whilst the app should be perceived by potential buyers as unassailably high-quality & professional, its User Interface should be friendly, fun to use and not at all intimidating. In other words, the opposite of a boring interface that just looked like a group of forms to fill out.
For the icon, we needed something that symbolises the Will.
The result is simple, beautiful yet informative and wholly in keeping with Apple’s own design guidelines.
Speak & Listen
Since one of our goals was to make the iWill user experience as close as possible to a real-world interview with a human will-writer, we decided to enable the app to speak & listen. Users are guided through the entire process by a friendly voice which asks questions intelligently, taking previous answers into account to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Users can simply speak their answers and the result is a far more interesting and satisfying experience than filling out countless forms.
Mark davies is a professional dog behaviourist from Stevenage in the UK.
He approached AutoMagic Apps with an idea to create an app that help dog owners learn how to train their pets
PackLeader K9 Trainer on the App Store
The Approach
We hired a studio, equipment & personnel so that we could film Mark as he discussed & demonstrated the lessons for the app.
The result is a series of 15 professionally shot lessons that give the user everything they need to apply to their own dogs.
To give our customers even better value, we developed and added a unique (harmless) feature which acts a a ‘doggie remote control’
The Deal
Mark opted for the Type 2 deal.
We have provided partial funding & expertise to produce the app & Mark receives 50% of all profits.
The base price for this app is £2.99 in the UK iOS App Store & $4.99 in the US iOS App Store.
We hope to sell 1o0,000 copies of the iOS app in Year 1, yielding revenue of approximately £175,000 after Apple’s deductions.
An in-app purchase upgrade is available which adds more features to the doggie-remote control. We make a conservative estimate of the extra income by assuming that 20% of the apps that are sold generate an in-app purchase for £1.99
This implies in-app purchase revenue in Year 1 of approximately £23,000 after payment processing costs are deducted.
Mark can expect to earn over £75,000 by the end of PackLeader’s first year.
The App
The target audience is anyone who has any trouble with their dog’s behaviour.
The app is Universal in iOS. This means that it works on all iOS devices – iPhones, iPads & iPod Touches – and the User Interface is optimised for the size of screen being used. The videos look best on the iPad is the best because of the device’s larger screen but the app may be most useful to customers on their phones which are on their person at most times.
Visual User Interface
We wanted to appeal to all types of dog-owners and to project a friendly, fun image.
For the icon, we needed something that would be instantly recognisable.
The result is simple, beautiful yet informative and wholly in keeping with Apple’s own design guidelines.
