App Accomplished

Carl Brown (@CarlBrwn) started writing software for client companies while working at EDS in 1993. He became enamored of developing for mobile connected devices in 2005, starting with the Palm VII and moving on to Windows CE. Since 2008, he’s been focused primarily on the iOS app market (with some Android thrown in). He’s worked on dozens of apps, starting with the Calorie Tracker for LIVESTRONG.com. He’s also been brought in to rescue a number of troubled or failing app projects, with varied success. He’s a frequent speaker at the annual 360|iDev iOS developer conference and a speaker and organizer with CocoaCoder.org, the largest Mac and iOS developer meet-up group in Austin, Texas, where he lives with his wife and daughter.

Foreword   xi
Preface   xiii
Chapter 1: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?    1
App Projects Are Not Small and Easy   1
Apps Are Not Easy to Program   5
Poor Skill Set Fit   8
If You Get a Good Developer, You Still Have to Worry   10
The Idea Is Not More Important Than the Execution   12
Unwillingness to Delegate: Micromanaging   15
Bikeshedding   16
Poorly Defined Requirements   16
Out-of-Date Requirements Documentation   18
Constantly Changing Requirements   20
Leaving the Worst for Last   20
Cost Overruns   24
That Last 10%   26
The Whack-a-Mole Problem   27
Poor Communication   29
Abdication of the Management Process   31
Wrapping Up   31
Chapter 2: The App Development Life Cycle   33
The Design Phase   34
The Development Phase   39
The Testing Phase   45
Repeating the Cycle as Needed   49
Wrapping Up   52
Chapter 3: Prototyping and Wireframing Your App   53
Focus on the Core Experience   54
Wireframe the App   58
Build an Interactive Prototype   76
Prototyping Tips and Tricks   91
Wrapping Up   95
Chapter 4: Determining Your App’s Components   97
Dealing with Devices   97
Native, Web, and Hybrid Apps   104
Dealing with Third-Party Frameworks   111
Dealing with Analytics   119
Dealing with Video and Audio   120
Dealing with Peripherals   121
Dealing with Accessibility   122
Dealing with Custom or Complex Animations   122
Dealing with Conditional Formatting   123
Dealing with Localization   124
Dealing with User Preferences    125
Dealing with Data Storage   125
Dealing with Servers   131
Dealing with Syncing   133
Dealing with Push Notifications   134
Dealing with Background Tasks   134
Wrapping Up   135
Chapter 5: Finding the Right Tools   137
Selecting Tools for Your Project Size   138
Source Control   138
Bug Tracking   144
Project and Schedule Tracking   148
The Development Environment   154
Continuous Integration   157
Beta Testing Distribution   159
Crash Reporting   160
End-User Feedback   161
Wrapping Up   162
Chapter 6: Skill Gap Analysis   163
Programming   163
Testing and Quality Assurance   168
Server Support and Troubleshooting   168
User Experience Design   169
Graphic Design   173
Sound Design and Music   176
Copywriting   178
Marketing   179
About Games   181
Wrapping Up   183
Chapter 7: Finding a Developer   185
Template App Sites   185
App Developer Matchmaker Sites   189
Local Versus Remote Developers   191
Creative Agencies   194
App Development Companies   196
Independent Developers   199
Grow Your Own Developer (Maybe Even You)    203
Wrapping Up   204
Chapter 8: Interviewing and Selecting a Developer   207
Nondisclosure Agreements   208
Setting Up an Interview   208
Previous Work   210
Gap Analysis   212
Contingency Plans   213
Estimating and Planning   214
Working Relationship   217
Wrapping Up   224
Chapter 9: Managing to Milestones   227
Never Agree to “30% Down, and I’ll Talk to You in Three Months”    227
Minimizing Risk with Frequent Milestones   228
How I Learned to Stop Grumbling and Love Milestones   229
Milestones Are Not Sprints   230
Organization, Sequencing, and Focus   232
Let Conway’s Law Be Your Guide   235
Scheduling Software: Strongly Suggested   237
Remember That Estimates Are Only Estimates   239
Renovation Versus New Construction   243
Estimates and Entomology   245
Plan Reevaluation and Project Feedback Loops   246
Wrapping Up   246
Chapter 10: Understanding What You’re Getting   249
Living Within Your Means   250
The Ticking Clock   251
Justifying Effort for Your Project Size   253
Get the Code, Even if There’s Nothing to See in the UI   253
Comments in Source Control   254
Comments in Code   256
Build and Run the App Yourself   258
Third-Party Libraries   260
Source Code Project Organization   261
Automated Test Coverage   262
Detecting Plagiarism   262
Compiler Warnings   264
Duplicated Code   264
Commented Out Code   265
Magic Numbers   265
Huge Combinatorial Complexity   266
Useless, Ambiguous, or Confusing Naming   266
The “UI Thread” or “Main Thread”    267
Wrapping Up   267
Chapter 11: Pulling the Plug Early   269
So You Missed a Milestone   270
Stop the Presses! Figure Out Where You Are   270
Discussing Failure   271
Milestone Hit but Bugs Abound   272
If Your Developer Is Proactive   274
If Your Developer Isn’t Honest   275
If It Might Have Been Your Fault   275
Evaluating the Recovery Plan   277
How Far Gone Are You?    282
Trying to Salvage a Project   283
Fair Compensation   284
Transitioning to a New Developer   284
Wrapping Up   285
Chapter 12: Communicating Using Bugs   287
Vocabulary   287
Bug Trackers as Communication Tools   288
One Bug per Bug Report, Please   290
Anatomy of a Bug Report   291
Feature Request Versus Bug Fix   292
Placeholder Issues   294
Bug Trackers as Business Continuity   295
Bug Trackers Versus Code Comments   295
Writing Useful Bug Reports   296
Attaching Files to Bugs   298
Data-Specific Bugs   299
Reproduction: There’s the Rub   299
Bug States   300
Reopening Bugs Versus Creating New Ones   301
Splitting Bugs   303
Two Bugs, One Cause   303
Saving for Posterity   304
Wrapping Up   304
Chapter 13: Testing   305
Types of Testing   305
Failures of Imagination   306
Your Testing Schedule   308
Approaching Deadlines   311
Your Testing Team   311
Getting and Incorporating Feedback   319
Wrapping Up   327
Chapter 14: Submission and Beyond   329
Getting Your Marketing Material Together   330
Reviewer Instructions   331
Last-Minute Plea for Sanity   333
Pushing the Button   334
Dealing with Rejection   335
Resubmission   340
Launch   340
Getting Feedback   340
The Next Release   342
The Red Queen’s Race   343
Wrapping Up   343
Index   345