SWOT of 3 Competitors
A SWOT analysis is a technique used to determine and define your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats this can be applied to individual projects, organisations, and departments. I began searching different App Stores to see what is already available on the market. I downloaded each of the apps in order to explore them and see the similarities and differences between each one.
1. SoloLearn
SoloLearn is an app best for those who have no proper coding knowledge and want to start from the basics. Each section is broken up by chapters to break down the learning and at the end of each chapter, you are quizzed on your knowledge and must receive a passing score to move onto the next chapter. There are hundreds of different quizzes and activities on the 'code playground' section. They state you can "learn on the web and on the go, always pick up where you left off and it is more simple and enjoyable than ever" (SoloLearn, 2019).
Strengths/Weaknesses
This app is very interactive and educational. Firstly when you start up the app you have to create an account or sign in this is a personalisation feature that enables you to have your own personal profile to help keep track of your coding process. You can set custom daily goals in order to learn faster. Secondly, there are forums you can participate in and ask questions about things you may be confused on. Finally, users are able to post coding tips, articles, snippets and anything code related. They can also add skills, earn badges and see their activity so there is a strong sense of personalisation in this application.
However, there is too much on the home page on this app, people may get overwhelmed with the amount of choice and which programming language they want to learn. They have a total of 1638 lessons and 13,794 quizzes so users who want to learn the basics might not know where to start.
Opportunities/Threats
There is a big opportunity for this app to create more of a community as there is the Q&A section where you can see what is trending and most popular but it doesn't promote collaborative learning as much as they could due to the rigid Q&A structure. A potential threat could be the app needs internet connection for it to work and if the connection is slow or there is no connection at all users are unable to access and use the app.
2. Mimo
Mimo is an educational app that teaches programming by breaking lessons down into two-minute segments. It uses a gamified approach to motivate users by earning achievements. This app encourages you to "use your breaks and commutes and learn to code on the go" (Mimo, 2019).
Strengths/Weaknesses
A strength is that it uses bite-sized exercises that are easy to follow on the home page are the basics for HTML, CSS and JavaScript this tackles the weakness from SoloLearn as it is clear where to start as all the others are greyed out so you know what to complete first and follow the structure provide to learn the basics then you can branch-off and learn what you are interested in. Moreover, you can solve daily challenges and you can earn streaks which show you how much code you have learnt over the past week.
However, to be able to code you need much more than tapping on a mobile device filling out multiple-choice/gap questions. It involves a lot of problem-solving and trial and error so this app may give the wrong impression of what coding is like. Also, this app only benefits people who are new to code due to its simplicity it is not suitable for someone with developed coding knowledge.
Opportunities/Threats
There is an opportunity to implement a forum here to connect code newbies to feel like they aren't alone if they are struggling to get to grips with code for the first time. A threat could be a lack of money as new coders may not want to upgrade and spend money on this service as they are just testing the grounds.
3. Codecademy Go
Codecademy Go is a mobile app and supplemental tool for your Codecademy experience. You can practice coding, review coding concepts and read articles and stories that will get you closer to achieving your learning goals. They have a "global community of coaches, advisors, and graduates so there is always someone who has the expertise to answer your question" (Codecademy, 2019).
Strengths/Weaknesses
A weakness would be that in order to unlock more content you need to be a pro this may drive users/potential customers away to another app that is free of charge.
Opportunities/Threats
An opportunity would be that they could make this app available in schools to help start people coding at younger ages. A potential threat could be that the global community of coders with expertise may not respond to user's questions in a certain time frame.
Conclusion
In conclusion, after doing research on competitor analysis I struggled to find an app specifically targeted at women/girls who want to learn to code. The similarities in the features I found that streaks are popular to encourage daily coding, personalisation profile and breaking code down into manageable amounts. The differences were that the SoloLearn was more complex for the profile and the Codecademy Go enabled the users' choice for notifications. These competitions do have features I want to use in my own project however there is a gap in the market for my project as there are numerous apps for coding however these are not tailored towards women/girls. Also, they aren't focused on wanting to create a community for interactive learning and engagement with wider events and courses they can go to in the area as well as the activities on mobile.
1. SoloLearn
SoloLearn is an app best for those who have no proper coding knowledge and want to start from the basics. Each section is broken up by chapters to break down the learning and at the end of each chapter, you are quizzed on your knowledge and must receive a passing score to move onto the next chapter. There are hundreds of different quizzes and activities on the 'code playground' section. They state you can "learn on the web and on the go, always pick up where you left off and it is more simple and enjoyable than ever" (SoloLearn, 2019).
 |
| SoloLearn Logo |
Strengths/Weaknesses
This app is very interactive and educational. Firstly when you start up the app you have to create an account or sign in this is a personalisation feature that enables you to have your own personal profile to help keep track of your coding process. You can set custom daily goals in order to learn faster. Secondly, there are forums you can participate in and ask questions about things you may be confused on. Finally, users are able to post coding tips, articles, snippets and anything code related. They can also add skills, earn badges and see their activity so there is a strong sense of personalisation in this application.
However, there is too much on the home page on this app, people may get overwhelmed with the amount of choice and which programming language they want to learn. They have a total of 1638 lessons and 13,794 quizzes so users who want to learn the basics might not know where to start.
Opportunities/Threats
There is a big opportunity for this app to create more of a community as there is the Q&A section where you can see what is trending and most popular but it doesn't promote collaborative learning as much as they could due to the rigid Q&A structure. A potential threat could be the app needs internet connection for it to work and if the connection is slow or there is no connection at all users are unable to access and use the app.
2. Mimo
Mimo is an educational app that teaches programming by breaking lessons down into two-minute segments. It uses a gamified approach to motivate users by earning achievements. This app encourages you to "use your breaks and commutes and learn to code on the go" (Mimo, 2019).
 |
| Mimo Logo |
Strengths/Weaknesses
A strength is that it uses bite-sized exercises that are easy to follow on the home page are the basics for HTML, CSS and JavaScript this tackles the weakness from SoloLearn as it is clear where to start as all the others are greyed out so you know what to complete first and follow the structure provide to learn the basics then you can branch-off and learn what you are interested in. Moreover, you can solve daily challenges and you can earn streaks which show you how much code you have learnt over the past week.
However, to be able to code you need much more than tapping on a mobile device filling out multiple-choice/gap questions. It involves a lot of problem-solving and trial and error so this app may give the wrong impression of what coding is like. Also, this app only benefits people who are new to code due to its simplicity it is not suitable for someone with developed coding knowledge.
Opportunities/Threats
There is an opportunity to implement a forum here to connect code newbies to feel like they aren't alone if they are struggling to get to grips with code for the first time. A threat could be a lack of money as new coders may not want to upgrade and spend money on this service as they are just testing the grounds.
3. Codecademy Go
Codecademy Go is a mobile app and supplemental tool for your Codecademy experience. You can practice coding, review coding concepts and read articles and stories that will get you closer to achieving your learning goals. They have a "global community of coaches, advisors, and graduates so there is always someone who has the expertise to answer your question" (Codecademy, 2019).
 |
| Codecademy Go Logo |
A strength of this app that it allows you to set notifications from two options occasional notifications about your coding journey and practise reminders which are daily ones to review and practice your code. Also, you are able to review and practice code this is divided into manageable amounts. Moreover, the streak feature which I discovered in the Mimo app is also available here which shows you days of practice, current streak, and best streak.
A weakness would be that in order to unlock more content you need to be a pro this may drive users/potential customers away to another app that is free of charge.
Opportunities/Threats
An opportunity would be that they could make this app available in schools to help start people coding at younger ages. A potential threat could be that the global community of coders with expertise may not respond to user's questions in a certain time frame.
Conclusion
In conclusion, after doing research on competitor analysis I struggled to find an app specifically targeted at women/girls who want to learn to code. The similarities in the features I found that streaks are popular to encourage daily coding, personalisation profile and breaking code down into manageable amounts. The differences were that the SoloLearn was more complex for the profile and the Codecademy Go enabled the users' choice for notifications. These competitions do have features I want to use in my own project however there is a gap in the market for my project as there are numerous apps for coding however these are not tailored towards women/girls. Also, they aren't focused on wanting to create a community for interactive learning and engagement with wider events and courses they can go to in the area as well as the activities on mobile.
Bibliography:
Codecademy. 2019. Join the millions learning to code with Codecademy. [Online]. [Accessed 16th October 2019]. Available from: https://www.codecademy.com
Mimo. 2019. Learn to code, build apps and much more. [Online]. [Accessed 16th October 2019]. Available from: https://getmimo.com
Mimohello GmbH. 2019. Mimo: Learn to Code. (version 4.1) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 16th October 2019].
Ryzac, Inc. 2019. Codecademy Go (version 1.9) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 16th October 2019].
SoloLearn. 2019. Join the largest community of mobile code learners today. [Online]. [Accessed 16th October 2019]. Available from: https://www.sololearn.com
SoloLearn Inc. 2019. SoloLearn: Learn to Code. (version 3.1.0) [Mobile app]. [Accessed 16th October 2019].
Comments
Post a Comment