App Savvy: Turning Ideas into iPad and iPhone Apps Customers Really Want

by Ken Yarmosh

Overview

How can you make your iPad or iPhone app stand out in the highly competitive App Store? While many books simply explore the technical aspects of iPad and iPhone app design and development, App Savvy also focuses on the business, product, and marketing elements critical to pursuing, completing, and selling your app — the ingredients for turning a great idea into a genuinely successful product.

Whether you're a designer, developer, entrepreneur, or just someone with a unique idea, App Savvy explains every step in the process, with guidelines for planning a solid concept, engaging customers early and often, developing your app, and launching it with a bang. Author Ken Yarmosh details a proven process for developing successful apps, and presents numerous interviews with the App Store's most prominent publishers.

• Learn about the App Store and how Apple's mobile devices function
• Follow guidelines for vetting and researching app ideas
• Validate your ideas with customers — and create an app they’ll be passionate about
• Assemble your development team, understand costs, and establish a workable process
• Build your marketing plan while you develop your application
• Test your working app extensively before submitting it to the App Store
• Assess your app's performance and keep potential buyers engaged and enthusiastic

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781449389765
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/20/2010
Pages:	338
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Ken Yarmosh is a product strategist focused on building exceptional mobile applications. Before getting into mobile apps, he orchestrated the development of desktop and web applications for products as diverse as the financial accounting system for the United States Courts and the automated search marketing platform for Clickable.



With his startup experience of transforming rough ideas into polished products, Ken uses his technical background and business know-how to tackle and conquer new market innovations. While helping clients with iPad, iPhone, Android, and web apps, Ken's own portfolio includes the perennial bestseller AudioBookShelf. He maintains a blog at http://kenyarmosh.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword 1

Preface 3

Strategy

1 You Have An App Idea...Now What? 17

The ?New? App Store 18

Looking at the Numbers 19

Evaluating Your Idea 20

The App Store 20

Quantifying Your App 28

Know Thyself and Thy Resources 39

Interviews 41

Digital Post: Mike Rundle 41

Mobclix: Krishna Subramanian 46

Recap 50

2 Finding Your Inner App 51

Getting Familiar with Apple Devices 51

Before That...Think First, Design Later 51

Breaking Down Devices and Device-Related Features 52

iOS4 63

Approaching App Innovation 68

Your Heart and Brain 68

When Being Blue Doesn't Mean You're Sad 69

Other Differentiators 76

Interviews 77

Smule: Jeff Smith 77

Sophiestication Software: Sophia Teutschler 79

Recap 83

3 From Idea To Concept 85

Customers Are the Key 85

Why Customers? Why Now? 86

Who Are Your Customers? 87

How to Find Your Customers 90

What to Discuss with Your Customers 97

Creating a Concept App 101

Artistically Challenged 101

Understanding Wireframes 102

Reengaging Customers 107

Interviews 108

KISSmetrics: Cindy Alvarez 108

Balsamiq Studios: Peldi Guilizzoni 111

Recap 113

Development

4 For Hire: Identifying Help 117

Your App Team 117

Skills 118

Vetting Help 122

Costs 124

Finding Resources 129

Streamlining Solicitations 130

Where to Look 130

Make Your Decision 134

Interviews 136

GetAppsDone.com: Davide Di Cillo 136

AppStoreHQ: Chris DeVore 139

Recap 142

5 Getting A Working App 143

The Development Process 143

Your App's Roadmap 145

Releases, Features, and Updates 145

Defining v1.0 148

Your Apps Description 152

Design and Development 154

Design 154

Development 166

Managing Your App's Progress 171

Staying Organized 171

Screens and Prototypes 174

Interviews 175

Tapbots: Paul Haddad and Mark Jardine 175

Agile Web Solutions: Roustem Karimov 178

Recap 181

6 Making Your App Better Before it Reaches the App Store 183

Installing Your App 183

UDID 184

Registering a Device with the Provisioning Portal 185

Mobile Provisioning File 186

Development App 188

Going Beta 190

Cultivating Beta Testers 191

Quality Assurance and Feedback 192

Make Testing ?Real? 193

Feedback and Bugs 193

Going Deeper with Nasty Bugs 195

Funneling Feedback 198

Interviews 198

Hog Bay Software: Jesse Grosjean 198

Mariner Software: Michael Wray 200

Recap 203

Launch

7 Preparing For The App Store Submission 207

Finishing Development 207

Analytics 207

Your App Store App ?Binary? 211

iTunes Connect 212

Checklist for App Store Submission 212

App Store Submission 214

App Store Approval Process 221

Interviews 225

TapMetrics: Christopher Brown 225

PoweryBase: Dominik Balogh 227

Recap 229

8 Building Your Marketing Crescendo 231

Changing Your Marketing Mindset 231

The Best New Way to Market...Doesn't Exist 233

How to Use This Chapter 233

Your Marketing Crescendo 234

Phase 1 235

Phase 2 240

Phase 3 244

Phase 4 249

Launching Your App (Phase 5) 260

Promo Codes 260

Launch Checklist 261

Additional Promotion 264

Interviews 269

tap tap tap: Phill Ryu 269

Grades: Jeremy Olson 273

TouchArcade: Arnold Kim 277

Recap 280

9 Measuring Success And Future Development 281

Into the App Store 281

Monitoring Feedback 282

Keeping Customers Engaged 290

Listening and Learning 291

App Updates 293

Assessing Your App's Future 299

Closed for Business? 299

Beyond Warning Signals 301

Toward the Future 302

Interviews 303

Flurry: Peter Farago 303

Lumos Labs: Romain David 305

appFigures: Ariel Michael 307

Recap 312

Afterword: When Mobile Is No Longer The Exception 313

Tips And Tools

Appendix: Tips And Tools 317

Index 327