National Custom App Rollouts

Owned by Christian Crumlish
Last updated: May 01, 2020
6 min read

Open Questions

What is a “Branding” at code level?

TBD, but assume some defined set of files, to include

  • logo

  • app name

  • any replacement text

  • defined set of languages supported.

Ideally we would have a repository of brandings, under version control.

Plus a pipeline that takes a new Safe Paths build, and for each branding under version control, creates branded versions of the App (APK / IPA files), ready for use in testing.

TBD whether this repository & pipeline belongs as part of the Safe Paths repo, or is external to that maintained & PM’d bey a different team. Probably makes sense for repo structure to match org structure - which I thinks points to this being external to the App.

However there are likely synergies, but also possibly tensions, with how we manage translations for text in the App, particularly when a partner wants to modify substantial parts of the text in the App and do so in multiple languages - this may point to tighter coupling with the main App codebase.

Team

  • @Christian Crumlish coordinating

  • @Elvira Dzhuraeva (Deactivated) product mgmt

  • @Ali Raizin UX strategy

  • @Jared Snider design system

  • Patty Michaud - content strategy

  • @Diarmid Mackenzie or @Diarmid Mackenzie (Unlicensed) testing

  • @Abhishek Singh (Unlicensed) to help identify a key dev contact, filling in until then

  • Sanket K - to lead deployment team

  • @Elvira Dzhuraeva (Deactivated) and @David Ganzi (Unlicensed) mobile app product mgmt

  • Lee Dorsey (legal)

  • @Sam Zimmerman the customer

Global Rollout contacts by country

  • t/k

  • when in doubt reach out in order to Susan Garfield, Khahlil Louisy, Sienna Leis, Francesco Benedetto

White Label App Architecture

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-WBFJWUiBR5MHiSXtmOg9VilDq14HyJ-RKvglCv9eEc/edit (Elvira’s doc)

UX

@Ali Raizin & @Jared Snider are working on this. There seem to be four broad buckets:

  1. Minimal co-branding

    1. Country name in app name

    2. Country or government name and logo on splash page, on start page, in design template

  2. Content delta(s)

    1. Release partners likely to request changes to the base copy in the app

    2. translations

    3. additions, subtractions, changes

  3. Custom (added) content

    1. Ideally minimal.

    2. Might include resource links or phone numbers

    3. Might include text or other resource content

    4. (Only necessary when the existing health authority news feed won’t suffice.)

  4. Marketing / Promotion

    1. Customized App Store and Google Play branding/text

Content

and content strategy

Dev

tbd

Testing

There are 2 key concerns for our internal Test team

  1. Are the branding process & pipelines fit for purpose? Is it well-documented, usable etc.?

  2. Actually testing the branded versions of the apps, ahead of use by a customer.

It is likely that as we get comfortable with the process, we will get a sense of where the key risks lie in Branding, and be able to tailorr the testing under 2 to just focus on these risk areas, rather than having to retest the whole app. In the short term, while we are still developing this understanding, we should expect to perform a pretty comprehensive test of the first few branded apps.

We also need to consider how the custmer will test their branded version.

  • For Android, we can distribute APKs

  • For Apple, we will presumably need to use TestFlight. Some thought needed to make that work.

  • (maybe we should put a “rough”version of the branded app - maybe not even branded at all yet - into the App store submission immediately at the start of the process, to reduce delays later)

Implementation

tbd

Operationalizing the Pipeline

We will need clear definitions for the customer regarding:

  • What they can brand

  • What they can’t brand

  • What assets they must provide for the things they want to brand, and what formats are acceptable (SVG, hi-red bitmaps etc.)

In the short term, the key for efficiency will be precisely defining this set of information/assets, so we can collect with minimal iterations.

Manual collection of these assets (and manual check-in into the Repo) is probably acceptable in the near-term, at least for the first few brandings. More automation here starts to be necessary as we move into 10s of brandings.

Assumptions / Restrictions

Selection of Health Authorities will be as per the standard app, with all HAs available for subscription, and recommendations/auto-subscriptions made based on location, rather than based on branding.

We won’t offer any means of pre-provisioning HAs, or restrcting access to other HAs.

Legal Issues

Lee Brody working on including these requirements in the MOU, Schedule A.

My proposed language

Attached please find my lay person's attempt to describe what I think we would like our government partners to agree to. I will follow it with the relevant language from Apple's announcement and a link to its source.

  • Our partner organization must be a government organization (or another recognized entity "such as health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions"). If they are not, we need a contact or partner in the relationship who is such a recognized entity.

  • This entity must be the legal owner of app store accounts on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

  • If the entity does not currently have such app store accounts provisioned, we will help the in one of the ways, based on their preference:

    1. We will set up the accounts (and store listings) for them.

    2. We will guide their IT staff in setting up these accounts and store listings.

  • The apps must be submitted to the stores by a developer affiliated with the entity's app store accounts. We have two methods for supporting this requirement:

    1. One of our implementation developer accounts can be (temporarily) added to the entity's app store account in order to accomplish the required signing of the app code, uploading of the package, completion of the store listing metadata, submission for review, management of the review process (such as responding to questions from reviewers and resubmitting in case of fixes required by reviewers), release management, initial version updates during pilot periods, and training of ongoing IT staff of the entity to handle updates going forward.

    2. We will guide their IT staff in the steps just enumerated.

The ask re handling submission officially

Ask: “Please ensure that legally we have a person who is submitting on behalf of the nation?

'Whatever whitelabel mvp we can create and help distribute, the app needs to legally be from the country we are supporting the app release from. So, we either need to support the country in creating account et et. Or we need to have some legal document that we can act on the nations behalf.””

Background

Ensuring the Credibility of Health & Safety Information

March 14, 2020

The App Store should always be a safe and trusted place for users to download apps. Now more than ever that commitment takes on special significance as the world fights the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities around the world are depending on apps to be credible news sources — helping users understand the latest health innovations, find out where they can get help if needed or provide assistance to their neighbors.

To help fulfill these expectations, we're evaluating apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable and that developers presenting these apps are from recognized entities such as government organizations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions. Only developers from one of these recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19. Entertainment or game apps with COVID-19 as their theme will not be allowed.

We understand the need to get these apps into the hands of customers as soon as possible. We encourage developers that meet this criteria to select “Time-Sensitive Event” on the expedite request form to ensure prioritized review since App Store review may take longer.

If you are developing an app on behalf of a client, please advise your client to add you to the development team of their Apple Developer account. If your client does not yet have an Apple Developer account, they can enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Nonprofit organizations, accredited educational institutions, and government entities that plan to distribute only free apps on the App Store can request to have their annual membership fee waived, if based in an eligible country.

https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=03142020a