Designing Apps for Success

Designing Apps for Success

by Matthew David, Chris Murman
Released February 2014
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781135048501

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Book description

In 2007, Apple released the iPhone. With this release came tools as revolutionary as the internet was to businesses and individuals back in the mid- and late-nineties: Apps. Much like websites drove (and still drive) business, so too do apps drive sales, efficiencies and communication between people. But also like web design and development, in its early years and iterations, guidelines and best practices for apps are few and far between.

Designing Apps for Success provides web/app designers and developers with consistent app design practices that result in timely, appropriate, and efficiently capable apps. This book covers application lifecycle management that designers and developers use when creating apps for themselves or the entities that hired them. From the early discussions with a company as to how to what kind of app they want, to storyboarding, to developing cross platform, to troubleshooting, to publishing, Designing Apps for Success gives a taut, concise, and pragmatic roadmap from the beginning of the process all the way to the end. Developers and designers will learn not only best practices on how to design an app but how to streamline the process while not losing any quality on the end result. Other topics in this book include:

  • Case studies that best showcase the development process at work (or not at work).

  • Global examples of apps developed all over the world.

  • Future proofing your apps

  • Post-publishing: Promoting and marketing your apps and keeping it relevant.

  • Consistent app design practices for consistently successful results.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Section One: Designing Apps to Work
    1. Chapter 1: Putting Apps to Work
      1. Defining How Mobility Drives Additional Business
        1. Mobility for the Sole Owner
        2. Small-Business Mobility Business Opportunities
        3. Large-Scale Mobility Solutions for Enterprises
      2. Just Get Started
        1. Mobilize Your Business
        2. Getting Started with Commercial Apps
      3. Creating Your Mobile Strategy
        1. Mobility for the Sole Owner
        2. Small-Business Mobility Opportunities
        3. Large-Scale Mobility Solutions for Enterprises
      4. Plan to Measure Success
    2. Chapter 2: Designing Your App
      1. Sketching Your App
        1. The Value of Sketching
        2. Sketching Tools to Use
        3. Tool #1: Pen and Paper
        4. Tool #2: iPad Apps
        5. Tool #3: Desktop Software
        6. Tool #4: Websites
      2. Applying Human Interface Guidelines to Your Work
        1. The Apple Way
        2. The Google Way
        3. The Microsoft Way
      3. How to Design with Images
        1. Choosing the Right Image Format
        2. Working with Resolution
      4. Applying Responsive Design Layout
      5. From App Planning to Team Creation
    3. Chapter 3: Defining Your App Creation Team
      1. The Role of the Client
        1. Choosing among Off-Shore, On-Site, and Near-Shore
        2. The Common Element: People
      2. The Business Engagement Team
      3. The Delivery Team
        1. Why Waterfall Works for the Purse Holder but Not for the Team
        2. Choosing Agile to Keep on Target and Deliver on Budget
        3. Iterative Releases for Visual Signs of Progress
      4. The Roles
        1. Business Leaders
        2. Designers
        3. Architects
        4. Client Development
      5. Quality Management
      6. Changing the World
  10. Section Two: Building Apps
    1. Chapter 4: Creating Apps with Adobe PhoneGap
      1. Building Apps with PhoneGap
        1. One Technology to Rule Them All—HTML5
        2. The Problem PhoneGap Is Solving—Cross-Platform App Publication
        3. Working with Cordova
        4. Developing with HTML5
      2. Building for iOS with Cordova
        1. Getting Started with Cordova for iOS
        2. Creating Your First App
        3. Using Objective-C Plugins
        4. When HTML5 Is Not Enough—Extending Your Xcode Project with Objective-C
      3. Using Cordova to Create Apps for Other Platforms
      4. Leveraging PhoneGapBuild
        1. Your Build Server in the Cloud
        2. Getting Started with PhoneGapBuild
      5. What PhoneGap Cannot Do
    2. Chapter 5: Leveraging ActionScript to Build Native Apps
      1. Building Your First Application Using Flash CC
      2. Designing Apps for the Android OS
        1. Interacting with Your Mobile Phone
        2. Working with Gestures and Multitouch
      3. Controlling the Use of Fonts
      4. Working with Image Files in Your Apps
      5. Leveraging Custom Device Hardware Calls with ActionScript
      6. Using Gestures in Your Apps
        1. Using a Single Finger to Interact with Content
        2. Dragging Objects across the Stage
        3. Adding a Long-Press Event to Your Code
      7. Working with Gestures
        1. Adding Two-Finger Tap Control
        2. Adding Pinch and Zoom
        3. Rotating a Movie Clip on the Stage
        4. Swiping Objects on the Screen
        5. Adding Two or More Gestures Together
      8. Which Way Is Up? Controlling Orientation with the Android Accelerometer
        1. Adding the Accelerometer to Your Apps with ActionScript
      9. Knowing Where You Are Using Geolocation
      10. Loading RSS Data into Flash
      11. Adding Permissions to Your Apps
      12. Loading Web Pages into the StageWebView
      13. Controlling the Use of the Microphone
      14. Controlling the Camera
      15. Preparing Your Application for Deployment into the World
    3. Chapter 6: Developing Apps with Zero-Code Tools
      1. TheAppBuilder.com
        1. Rapid App Creation
        2. Development for All Platforms
        3. Benefits and Restrictions of TheAppBuilder
      2. GameSalad
        1. Games, Games, Games
        2. Leveraging Templates and an Active Community
        3. Publishing Your Games
        4. Benefits and Restrictions of GameSalad
      3. Appery.io
        1. Building Apps in the Cloud
        2. Extending Apps with Plugins
        3. Bootstrapping your Appery.io App with HTML5
        4. Benefits and Restrictions of Appery.io
      4. Creating Interactive Books
        1. Digital Books as Alternatives to Apps
        2. iBook Author
        3. HTML5 and iAd Producer
        4. Publishing Your iBook
        5. Benefits and Restrictions of Interactive Books
      5. What You Can and Cannot Do with Zero-Code Tools
    4. Chapter 7: Challenges and Successes of Native iOS Development
      1. Now That We Have That Out of the Way …
      2. What Is Native Coding?
        1. The Rewards of Native Coding
        2. It’s a Wild Jungle Out There
      3. Managing Your App Using Xcode
        1. Managing Source Control
        2. Improving Performance
        3. Running Your App with Simulator versus an Actual Device
      4. iOS Development with Objective-C: Speed, Speed, Speed
      5. Native Kits for Rapid iOS Development
        1. AppKit versus UIKit
        2. MapKit
        3. GameKit
      6. Submitting your App
        1. Getting Your Developer License
        2. New App Data
      7. How Can You Make Your iOS App Stand Out?
    5. Chapter 8: Developing for Android
      1. Myths and Facts about Android
      2. Know Your Design Elements
      3. Utilizing Android’s Simple Workflow
      4. Setup
      5. Use of Physical and Virtual Android Devices
      6. Development in Eclipse
      7. The Activity Life Cycle
      8. Selecting the Right Code Templates
      9. Debugging and Testing
      10. Development with Android Studio
      11. Publishing
      12. Google Play Distribution
      13. E-mail Distribution
      14. Website Distribution
    6. Chapter 9: The Dark Horse—Windows 8
      1. Windows 8—Phone or Tablet?
        1. Microsoft’s Post-PC Strategy
        2. Desktop versus Mobile
        3. Code Is Code
      2. The Tools You Need
      3. Introduction to Visual Studio 2013
        1. Rapidly Creating Apps
        2. Deciding Which Code Platform to Choose—C#, VB.Net, or HTML
      4. Working with Windows Phone App Studio
      5. Internet Explorer for Web Apps
      6. Beyond the Dark Horse
  11. Section Three: Marketing Your Apps
    1. Chapter 10: Publishing to App Stores
      1. Which Store Do You Publish To?
      2. The Value of Icons
      3. Apple App Store
        1. Why Developers Sell More on the iPhone
        2. Business Tools for Developers
        3. Control of App Release
        4. Managing the App Approval Process
        5. The Importance of Price, Reviews, and Features
        6. Release Often
      4. Google Play
        1. Attracting the 1.5 Million New Android Daily Activations
        2. A Business Approach to Selling on Google Play
        3. Build for Tablets
      5. Other App Stores
        1. Working with Amazon’s App Store
        2. Using the Barnes and Noble NOOK App Store
        3. Microsoft Marketplace
      6. The Enterprise App Store
        1. Building Apps for Your Own Company
        2. Managing App Policy
      7. A New Store for Every Day Ending in “Y”
    2. Chapter 11: Making Money from Apps
      1. Selling Apps
        1. Free Apps
        2. Advertising
        3. One-Time Charge
        4. Value-based Pricing
        5. Usage-based Pricing
        6. Subscription
        7. Rule of 17
        8. Freemium
        9. Which Is the Best Option?
      2. App Discovery
      3. SEO Your App
      4. Non-Metadata Marketing
      5. Utilize Your Users
      6. Marketing Is a Job for a Reason
      7. Advertising Options
      8. Final Thoughts
    3. Chapter 12: Promoting Your Apps
      1. Using Apps as a New Way to Drive Sales in Your Company
        1. Developing Your App Marketing Plan
        2. Working with Local Press to Build Awareness
        3. Becoming a PR Powerhouse
        4. Contact Radio Shows
        5. Public Speaking
        6. Guest Blogs
        7. Get Reviews for Apps You Create
      2. Cost-Effective Marketing
        1. Working Social Media
        2. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+ All Matter
        3. Join Debates, Ask Questions of Specific People, and Don’t Be Shy
      3. Cross-Promoting Your Apps
        1. Advertise Your Own Apps in Your Apps
        2. The Angry Birds Approach to Advertising, Merchandising, and Selling
        3. Don’t Forget Billboards, TV, and Traditional Advertising
    4. Chapter 13: Future-Proofing Your Apps—It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Ride
      1. How Can You Iterate upon What You Just Built?
      2. Remember Your Canvas
      3. The Great Talking Disorder
      4. Think Beyond Today’s Devices
      5. Which Device Is Your App Right For?
      6. Perception Is Everything
      7. Beware of Future Regulation
      8. In the End, Act First
  12. Index

Product information

  • Title: Designing Apps for Success
  • Author(s): Matthew David, Chris Murman
  • Release date: February 2014
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781135048501