If one word was to be used to define the change from some years back to the life as it is lived today, the word would be speed. The pace of all aspects of our lives has increased significantly. Today we have faster cars, faster machines, faster processors, and faster applications.
If one word was to be used to define the change from some years back to the life as it is lived today,
the word would be speed. The pace of all aspects of our lives has increased significantly. Today we have faster cars, faster machines, faster processors, and faster applications. What this increase in pace has done to us is that it has reduced the time we spend doing things. So used are we to this rush, that our attention span has reduced. We shift focus from one thing to another very quickly, because if we don’t, something would have changed.
An outcome of the lowered attention span of the users, developers of mobile applications have had to radically alter the approach to SDLC. Instead of releasing one, fully featured product, which is tightly integrated, they go for an iterative model, where the basic application with the core functionalities is released, and additional features are provided as updates over short spans of time. Upgrades are a very important part of the mobile application development lifecycle. Some pointers to when and why should you update your application are given below.
Why update?
1. Addition of features – As discussed above, the core application gets launched initially, and the bells and whistles come later. All new features get addressed through the new releases. The competition with outshine really quickly if you don’t outshine them first.
2. Bug fixes – Even if you do not have anything to add to the application, you would certainly have something or the other to correct in the current one. Listen to the user feedback on your website, the play store, and your customer support helpline (if you have one). Evaluate the problems they are facing, prioritize them; club them into relevant groups, code, test, and then release.
3. Ecosystem change – If your software has plugins, integrations or hooks into other products, then if they change, so should your code. For e.g., if you allow upload to Dropbox, then whenever a new version of Dropbox comes out, that impacts the integration, you will need to come out with a new release so that the addresses the issue and allows the users to go to the latest version.
4. Platform change – Not just the apps, but also the smart device platforms themselves are evolving quite fast. Most smart device code uses the features for the operating system through APIs and system calls. Therefore, the code compatibility with the OS is paramount to its functionality. As a consequence, every time a new version of the operating system comes out, you will have to check for the compatibility of your product with the same, and come out with the revised version which works with the same.
4. User engagement – Unlike the PC and server world, where consistency and stability equaled a good software, in the mobile world the users feel better if they receive regular update from an app. They feel more engaged with a team that is listening to them, thinking, and bringing out newer versions to meet their requirements. The shorter attention spans cause the users to lose interest in an app that is not changing soon enough.
When to update?
1. The timing of the updates is as important as its reasons. Some points on the timing of the updates are below:
2. Bug fixes should be released as soon as possible. Major ones should be within 2 weeks of the first report if possible.
3. New features no more than every 45 -60 days
4. OS and ecosystem change related updates should happen within 2 weeks of the availability.
5. No fewer than one update a month overall
