CONTENT
- 1. Warranty period
- 2. Postrelease additions and fixes
- 3. Stable infrastructure and costefficiency
- 4. Making it work together
- 5. What matters the most
Developing an app or a website does not end with the delivery of the final product. It is vital to ensure its reliable functioning through continued support and maintenance. Having a systematic approach towards post-development support can make a big difference. After all, no one wants to buy a car without the service stations available for its upkeep.
1. WARRANTY PERIOD
The majority of goods and services offered today come with a fixed warranty period. App development is similar, but the warranty period is much more critical because it may affect the entire business process associated with the respective product or service. Thus, the warranty period offered by the developers adds value to the finished product.
When considering various types of warranty periods, it is possible to sort them into several categories depending on the time allocated for support and maintenance. The developing company would be fixing any defects or bugs detected after the development of an app. The duration of the warranty period varies, but it generally ranges between several months and a year. It is possible to allocate specific time for the warranty period depending on the time spent on the developed apps.
While the warranty period conditions vary, the most common approach is to divide them into two stages depending on the time reserved by the development team for fast responses to any type of issue:
- Active support stage: the team dedicates several hours a day to support a specific app or a website with short response times. This stage also involves monitoring of an entire system, such as detection of crashes, infrastructure testing, end-user feedback, and others. The availability of appropriate tools for monitoring makes a substantial difference.
- Passive support stage: the company does not reserve mobile or web developers for the project. The response time increases to several days, and the company does not conduct infrastructure testing. The passive stage commonly represents the majority share of the entire warranty period.
2. POST-RELEASE ADDITIONS AND FIXES
Irrespective of the project type, it is essential to allocate time for the additions and fixes occurring after the release. These updates may be necessary upon the customer’s request or because of the identified bugs that occurred during the development. The company may allocate a specific amount of time per team or app developer for making additions and fixes.
Communication allows decreasing rework and increasing the reliability of the finished product. Similarly, recognizing the need to allocate time and resources for post-development support matches expectations and enhances planning. In this regard, determining the compensation for this stage during the initial negotiations benefits the quality of the delivered service or product. Developers usually make bug fixes free of charge within the conditions of the warranty. At the same time, interference from third parties may void the warranty.
3. STABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND COST-EFFICIENCY
The post-development support may include a range of services, from managed hosting to updating plug-ins to and malware protection. TRIARE may perform audits on-demand as a part of the maintenance procedures. It is possible to receive services from experienced experts communicating in various languages across different time zones.
Stable infrastructure prevents major crashes and allows testing of any modifications before their deployment. The business application lifecycle management entails having consistent backups and isolated environments for testing fixes and additions. Kubernetes allows TRIARE to maintain consistency in configurations, updating files, and keeping artifact records for instant rollbacks upon necessity.
Cost savings are possible through the collocation of apps on the same machines without affecting each other. The scaling does not affect users because of the lightweight clusters with the resulting ability to support large development units. It is common for companies to focus on their business models without noticing the smaller technological components that are underperforming. Post-development support allows identifying these issues and addressing them directly.
4. MAKING IT WORK TOGETHER
Each development project is a combination of approaches, goals, and guidelines aimed at ensuring the highest possible quality at the lowest cost and in the shortest possible time frame. The post-development support adds value to the process through:
- Addressing possible shortcomings;
- Monitoring the implementation, and
- Offering timely fixes.
The warranty period, as well as post-release additions and fixes, are the main elements of the support that contribute to the infrastructure stability and significant cost savings. For instance, quality support offered during the development of the Taxi Smile app by TRIARE contributed to the project quality and reliability of the introduced functions.
The warranty is a vital security element that ensures a smooth launch and decreases volatility in the early stages. Active and passive components of warranty offer varying response times and system testing, which is why communicating with the developers removes ambiguity and contributes to the transparency of the processes. Additions and fixes allow customizing the product or service while removing any bugs in the shortest period possible.
Each company seeks cost efficiency and reliability in its apps and websites. TRIARE is using Kubernetes for achieving these goals in the post-development support stages. The simplification of processes, separation of tasks, consistent isolated testing, timely implementation, and avoidance of technical debt ensure process quality.
5. WHAT MATTERS THE MOST?
The level of expertise, compliance with the standards, and effective communication define the post-development support. These elements allow projecting the potential issues and preventing their occurrence in the development phase. However, the constantly evolving infrastructure and differences in system requirements make maintenance service a necessity. Thus, having a clear understanding of their scope, timing, and implementation prevents ineffectiveness and avoids operating issues. Communication is the key element of post-support development, alongside the systematic approach towards the process.
