iPhone App Development

It is no secret that Apple has very stringent policies when it comes to the quality of application allowed on the App Store. This quality check helps maintain a standard of applications that can add some value to the user’s everyday lives. It definitely becomes tricky for developers and companies to ensure those quality standards are met.

Before getting an iOS app made, it is wise to ensure that your iPhone application development company is well familiar with some best practices which ensure a quality product is developed. Choosing just one will not necessarily be enough, rather an amalgamation of which complement your business idea most is a better idea.

To produce high-end iPhone apps, there are many tools and techniques out there which are tried and tested. To leverage the benefits for them, here are a few things your iPhone application development company should keep in mind.

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Follow The Steps

To create an exquisite iPhone application, going through a series of certain steps is very important. The idea is to have a process pertaining to some steps which not only streamline the entire development cycle but also keep the concerned stakeholders like the developers, project managers, and clients all in one loop to understand what is happening at each stage and why.

Once an initial build is created, more code is just added to the existing code repository like GitHub. A continuous integration system is then engaged with the code which enables automatic testing of the code being added simultaneously.

The entire process is completed in a cycle and involves the following steps:

Code Signing: This is the process of assigning specific profiles to different builds which can later be distributed for different purposes. These profiles are located on Apple’s developer portal, each pertaining to a specific ID. Following variations of profiles are made:

  • Team Developer Distribution Profile: Team developer distribution profiles are where code is written and edited. These builds are directly installed to devices from Xcode.
  • App Store Distribution Profile: These are created specifically for App Store acceptance. They can only be assigned to specific developers. For apps to be accepted, they have to be assigned to a developer’s app store distribution profile.
  • Ad-hoc Distribution Profile: This profile is specifically created for quality assurance purposes. It can only be installed on testing devices
  • Enterprise Distribution Profile: These create builds that can be used only for internal business purposes however can be accessed on any device.

Configuration Building

This step includes developing and creating a build that is signed for specific uses. The iOS app created has to be in an always ready to be deployed state. The build entails all recent updates and prior tested code, in short presenting the latest version at all times.

You must ensure that the iPhone application development company that you hire not only provides solid controls that reflect build quality but also can give a sneak peek of how the app operates under different circumstances.

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Continuous Integration

For this particular step, it is advised to use a good software like Jenkins. This software helps developers in automating build management. With this step, any time update or new code is included in the repository, it is automatically tested to rule out any errors or functional disorders.

Once test results are complete the iPhone application development company deploys its developers to analyze whether there were any errors and if yes, how to immediately fix them. After each debugging iteration tests are repeated until no error comes up and the app runs seamlessly. That is when it is committed into the master codebase for build generation and not before to prevent master codebase from any contamination with erroneous code.

Continuous Delivery

Once the builds are aggressively tested, they are uploaded in a continuous delivery service. Normally two are used, Test Flight or HockeyApp. For app store profile builds Test Flight is usually used and for ad-hoc, developer, and enterprise distribution profiles HockeyApp is normally effective.

Through these services the created and tested builds are downloaded as needed. In a way, these services act as a portal. If your iPhone application development company follows this practice then you can rest assured that there would be no deployment lags.

Automation

The amalgamation of the entire process explained above including its testing, verification, and documentation collectively termed as automation. This phase comprises implementing various project management tools that can help streamline the overall workflow, task assignment, keep a track of revisions being made and track the progress of the iPhone application development project.

Through GitHub, multiple revisions that are merged into the master codebase are documented. This happens during the process when changes are being made, developer open pull requests on GitHub where snapshots of the changes are added along with some notes from the developer to provide a reason for the change. This practice facilitates in bringing the development team in sync and better coordinated with the progress of the app.

Conclusion

Thus, in a nutshell, the best practices which can basically make your iPhone app development process a striking success is ensuring that all code is maintained in a continuous deployable state to ease the process of adding any changes, a continuous state of testing throughout the development process ensuring no change causes any hiccup anywhere and maintaining a transparent and smooth communication within the internal teams for better coordination and efficiency. 

With the help of these practices and some tools, it is possible to create an engaging iPhone application that can target the intended users correctly and keep them hooked and engaged. Any user feedback should also be later incorporated in the app and newer versions should be launched to keep your app relevant to changing times and changing needs of the users. 

If you would like to hire an iPhone app development company that is experienced in creating winning apps and has all the expertise of leading technologies then get in touch with Origami Studios. 

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