Checklist that would help enterprises build apps.

The major determinants for mobile development, here is a checklist that would help enterprises build apps the right way.

1. Define Your Business Objectives

Behind every app idea of yours, there would definitely be a purpose. While the nature of this purpose can vary depending upon its users and your business type, it is integral that you clearly define your expectations about the application. Analyzing your industry, its requirements and scope can very well help in laying out a properly defined roadmap for the development process.

2. Decide on the Platform

Several factors such as the app utility patterns, information reach, cost and security constraints are to be considered while choosing the mobile platforms such as iOS, Android, Windows or Blackberry. Your business should have a clear perspective about their target platform before they narrow down their requirement specifications further. Multiple platform development is an option that you should consider invariably if you resort to an unrestricted deployment.

3. Understand What Differences Native and HTML5 can Bring About

Now that you are a business, Native and HTML5 are two techie jargons that might bewilder you. Make sure that you understand what differences these two approaches can bring about before you move on to adopt either of the two. If you are on the lookout for an exemplary user experience and performance, Native approach can best suit your needs.

However, you need to be aware of the extra efforts that are to be put in here that can make it a bit expensive. HTML5, on the other hand, is a relatively less expensive approach which promotes the development of a mobile website. Here, multiple platform support can be enabled with the help of changes specific to each platform. Major technologies such as Sencha Touch, jQuery Mobile, jQ Touch and PhoneGap can be utilized to support cross-platform development.

4. For HTML5 Approach, Select Your Target Devices

While HTML5 allows easier deployment to multiple platforms, the differences with regard to device specifications such as screen size and resolution can be a limitation. This calls for device specific tweaks and customizations that would make the development process long. A proper selection of target devices would avoid the futile expenses and simplify the process.

5. Be Clear About the Services to be Integrated

Development companies can help you in integrating a multitude of features and services into your app. But it is vital for the enterprises to be clear enough to choose what exactly is required for their business.

If you intend your app to perform as a promotion tool, social media integration can be helpful. If your app aims to be an e-commerce platform, a payment gateway integration becomes necessary. If revenue generation is your app’s objective, various models such as in-app advertising need to be incorporated.

6. Decide on the Content that Will Go into Your App

Coding is the developer’s business and the user has nothing to do with it. It is its design and content that would appeal any average user. Have a clear idea about how your app should look like, its design and animations. Your app can be a branding tool for your enterprise and it is up to you to decide on what it should be like – right from the layout, color, content, typography, icons and screens.

7. Ensure Data Security

Depending on the nature of content that will go into your app and its sensitivity, you will have to adopt various levels of security measures. Again, this is a factor that would rely largely upon your business type and it is important to discuss this with your developer. While permitting offline data access, third party cloud packages can be used to provide additional security.

8. Consider Building Companion Websites for the App

Most of the businesses today develop companion websites to highlight the features and functionalities of the app. As this would add on more to the development cost, it is good to analyse its scope before resorting to invest on an exclusive website. In case you think a website is crucial for the branding and promotion of your app, it is recommended to depend on the same team of app developers for its development.

9. Know About the App Deployment Procedures

Once your app is ready, the deployment procedure depends on the nature of your app. If your app is intended for external customers, the application has to be submitted to the specific app-stores and each submission requires separate registration and submission fees. For internal app deployment, the enterprise should have MDM (Mobile Device Management) systems installed within their organization.

10. Take Decisions on App Support and Maintenance

Your application would require version upgrades, maintenance and other support functions from time to time depending on its type and utility. Check whether your developer can provide you with an ongoing technical support. If not, identify a third party group to support and maintain your application.

It is for sure that a mobile application can bring about major changes to the way you do business.To ensure that your app stands out from the rest, the best key is to understand the processes involved with it, analyze the possibilities and complement the development team.

Checklist for Submitting an App to the App Store

Before you can release a paid app to the App Store, you must agree to all of the paid app contracts, and submit your tax and bank routing info. This should be done in iTunes Connect. For best results you should fill this out before you even begin working on any apps, because it can take several weeks for the contracts to be approved by Apple.

Preparation

1. Complete all of the coding and testing on your app.
2. Update the Appname-info.plist file in your app.

1. Set the bundle identifier (if you haven't already) to YourAppName. (Remove the com.apple.whatever stuff.) The Identifier should not contain spaces or funny characters - alphanumeric and dashes are ok.
   
2. If you want your app to be named something different on the actual device than its name in Xcode, change the "Bundle display name" as well.
   
3. Update the bundle version. If this is your first time submitting this app, the version number should probably be 1.0.
   
4. Be sure the icon file is set.
   

3. Build the app for distribution.
4. Write a description for your app for the app store. The app upload page says the description should be 700 characters or less, but that limit doesn't seem to be enforced.
5. Choose a numeric SKU for your app. This can't be left blank, and it has to be a unique number for each of your apps. (I usually use YYMM, like 0902, but you can use whatever you want as long as it's a number.)
6. Assemble your screenshots. You'll need at least one primary screenshot, and up to four more secondary screenshots. Be sure they're the right size: 640 x 960 for high resolution iPhone screenshots; 1024 x 768 for iPad screenshots.
7. Prepare your iTunes artwork. This is a 512 x 512 pixel 72dpi JPEG. It should match your icon artwork as closely as possible - apps are sometimes rejected if these two images are dissimilar.
When you've got all that prepared, you're ready to set up your app in iTunes Connect.

iTunes Connect

When you log into developer.apple.com/iphone, there's a link to iTunes Connect on the right. Once you're logged into iTunes Connect, click on "Manage Your Applications", then "Add New Application".
The app details page asks for your app name, description, copyright info, version number, SKU, application URL and support URL and support e-mail address (all of these are required). The URLs you enter translate to:

iTunes Connect calls it:	What it shows on your app's page in iTunes:
"Application URL"	"CompanyName Web Site"
"Support URL"	"Appname Support"

If this is your first time uploading an app to the app store, and you enrolled as an individual developer, you'll be asked if you want to set a Company Name. Think carefully about this - once you set it, you can NOT change it without calling Apple and going through their phone support line. If you set a company name then all of your apps will show it.
This is also where you should upload the iTunes artwork and screenshots.
Ratings: You'll be asked to rate your app by indicating whether it includes any offensive material.
Pricing and availability: this is where you set the price and release date for your app. You'll get a chance to review this after you select a pricing tier. The page should show a link to the pricing tiers, but if it doesn't show one initially, just set the price to anything and let it refresh. The link should show up then.

Free
Tier1 - 0.99
Tier 2 - 1.99
Tier 3 - 2.99
Tier 4 - 3.99
Tier 5 - 4.99
Tier 6 - 5.99

And so on. Release date: This defaults to the current date, but you can set it to a date in the future* if you like. When your app is approved, you'll want to log back into iTunes Connect and reset the release date to the approval date; that way the app will show up at the top of the new releases section of its category. If you fail to do this, then when your app gets approved it'll show up buried several pages down - not very desirable.

*if you're submitting an app UPDATE, however, you shouldn't touch the release date until you get word that your update has been approved. If you change the release date of an update to sometime in the future, then your CURRENT app will vanish from the app store!

Once you've finished setting up info on your new app, go to the app details page and click on the Ready to Upload Binary button.

Submitting Your App

Starting with Xcode 4, apps are now submitted from within Xcode. You should build a release build of your app, and be sure it appears in the Archived list in the Organizer (Window -> Organizer).

To submit your app to Apple, you'll first need to Validate the app, then Submit it. Select your application from the list of archived apps, then click the Validate button on the right. Xcode will prompt you for your iTunes Connect login credentials, and proceed to validate the app. If all goes well, the Status column will change to "Passed Validation". Then you can click the Submit button to upload it to Apple. When the upload finishes, the Status column will say "Submitted":

Once your app has been submitted, the app's status in iTunes Connect will change to "Waiting for Review". Now you just have to wait for Apple to review and (hopefully) approve your app. This usually takes about a week, sometimes longer. If you log into the iOS Developer Center and go to the App Store Approval Process page, you'll find an App Store Review Status section that Apple keeps (more or less) updated with the percentage of apps that are approved within the past week.
While you're waiting for approval, you should set up a web page for your app.

After Approval

When your app is approved, you'll get an email saying your app is ready for sale. You should log back into iTunes Connect and change your app's availability date to today. This way your app will appear at the top of the "new releases" list in its category. You can only do this on the date your app was approved.
You can change most of the app details any time after your app is approved; if you want to re-word the description, or upload new screenshots, or change the price of your app, you can do so without having to go through the approval process again. The only time you'll have to wait for approval is when you submit an update (a new binary) to an app. Also, you can only change keywords or ratings when you upload a new binary.