Mobile App Governance Framework
Overview
TL;DR
To improve the consistency and quality of the Mobile App user experience, the Mobile App team has established guidelines and requirements for apps published on the platform. We have created detailed checklists of these requirements organized into several categories, but they can be summarized in one sentence:
Apps on the Mobile App platform must be consistent in design, performant, high quality, and provide delightful, mobile-first experiences for our users.
The Mobile App team will review all new apps prior to publication to the platform, as well as apps already on the platform. Apps found to be non-compliant will be given detailed feedback and the opportunity to remediate, but the Mobile App team reserves the right to take action against apps that do not meet our requirements, up to and including removal from the Mobile App platform.
Why Build Your App on the Mobile App Platform?
The Mobile App platform allows you to quickly and reliably create mobile-tailored apps visible and accessible to all Company employees without the overhead of building, maintaining, distributing, and marketing a standalone mobile app. Mobile App provides the following advantages to apps published on the platform:
- Login authentication
- Logging, metrics and dashboards
- Push notifications
- Testing
- UI components
- Build with familiar tools
- Code once, deploy to Android and iOS
- Distribution to all Company mobile-devices
- Built-in user base/visibility
Mobile App App Guidelines
We drafted these guidelines to help you build successful apps that provide delightful user experiences. We hope these guidelines help you sail through the app review process. This is a living document; rules may be added or modified at any time.
Guiding Principles
Our guiding principle is simple: we want to ensure apps created on Mobile App are consistent in design, performant, high quality, and provide delightful, mobile-first experiences for our users. To that end, please consider the following when designing and developing apps for Mobile App:
- Mobile App is best-suited for lightweight tools tailored for the mobile experience. Apps requiring large screen real estate or heavy-duty work like extensive typing or coding are not suitable for Mobile App.
- Consider the value of having a mobile app. Don’t duplicate your web app. Mobile apps should compliment desktop apps to enhance overall productivity. Would this app serve your user’s needs just as well as a desktop app? Does it utilize mobile-specific features like push notifications or location services? Will _Company_mates need to access it while away from their desks?
- Clearly define the unique value of your app. Apps should serve use-cases not already served by the Mobile App platform. Don’t duplicate the functionality of existing Mobile App apps.
- Mobile App is only available to Company FTEs. Mobile App is not available for visitors, contractors, or 3rd parties.
- Align your app with Company’s mission and values as well as company priorities.
Detailed Checklist of Requirements for Mobile App Apps
We have organized more detailed requirements for Mobile App apps into the following categories: Performance, Ownership, Design, Legal, Privacy, and Feed Cards. Please see the Detailed Checklist of Requirements for Mobile App Apps to assess whether your app meets these requirements. The same standards will be applied by the Mobile App team when reviewing your app for publication to the platform.
Review Process
For New Apps
1. Intake
To publish an app to the Mobile App platform, start by filling out our App Submission Form. Please do so as early as possible in your development/planning process so the Mobile App team can provide guidance, feedback, and support.
If your team does not yet have some of the items requested in the form, please submit this form anyway with as much information as you currently have. Additional items can be submitted to the Mobile App team as you go through your app’s development process.
2. XFN Review
App submissions will be reviewed by the Mobile App XFN team including but not limited to:
- Product Manager
- Engineering Manager
- Lead Engineer
- Product Designer
- Documentation Engineer
- User Experience Researcher
- Data Engineer
If your app doesn’t currently meet all of the requirements, the Mobile App team will provide you with detailed feedback to help bring your app into compliance.
3. Publish to Test Sandbox
Once your app has passed all required reviews it will be published internally for final User Acceptance Testing by the Mobile App team. Upon successful completion, the Mobile App XFN team will give final approval for your app’s publication to the platform.
4. App Published to Mobile App Prod
Once all necessary reviews and checklists have been completed, your app will be published to the Mobile App platform. Some apps may have a phased rollout at the discretion of the Mobile App team.
5. Publish Launch Communication
As a final step, publish an awareness launch post in your dedicated group that will be cross-posted to the Mobile App group.
Triggered Reviews of Existing Apps
Apps on the Mobile App platform are continuously monitored by the Mobile App team. Apps are monitored for usage, stability/performance, bug resolution, active ownership, and user feedback. Apps that fall outside the following thresholds may trigger a review:
- Declining usage: Is usage of your app increasing, decreasing, or staying level? A quarter over quarter decrease of Weekly Active People (WAP) by 30% or greater may trigger a review of your app.
- Excessive errors: Apps that exhibit excessive errors may be reviewed. A spike in the 7- or 30-day rolling average of the number of errors in your app may trigger a review.
- Bug resolution: Is your app being actively maintained? Are bugs/feedback resolved in a timely manner? Bugs and tasks filed for your app that are not viewed in a timely manner may trigger a review of your app.
- Negative user feedback: The Mobile App team monitors user feedback submitted through the app’s bug reporting function as well as in our Mobile App groups. A significant amount of unresolved user feedback or feedback reflecting a severe impact on the user experience may trigger a review by the Mobile App team.
- Lack of active ownership: Apps on the Mobile App platform are required to have active and responsive product ownership and support. Apps that do not have an active product owner and oncall may be reviewed and considered for removal from the Mobile App platform.
The Mobile App team will reach out to your app’s listed owner and oncall with the results of our review and a list of needed changes before any further actions are taken.