作者：Jen Gordon

iPhone的出现带出了前所未见的变革，应用开发社群圈内圈外的人均参与其中。但是对那些处于开发世界之外的群体而言，这个过程仍然充满神秘感。

这个教程将指导你逐步把iPhone应用想法变成现实。如果你计划制作自己的首款iPhone应用的话，这篇文章将为你提供可能会用到的各种想法、技术、技巧和资源。

1、产生想法——优秀的想法

你要如何知道想法是否优秀呢？第一步，先考虑你的想法是否有内涵；第二部，想法是否含有至少一个的成功要素，包括以下几个方面：

应用能否帮助用户解决某个独特的问题？在电灯泡发明之前，有人大加抱怨在烛光下看书很不方便。你需要知道用户存在何种问题，应用要如何让用户的生活变得更为舒适。

应用是否为某个特定群体提供服务？尽管App Store上没有这方面的相关数据，但是App Store内应用数的增加就预示这应用的使用人数也在增加。找到适合应用的群体（游戏邦注：比如热爱养宠物的人），制作一款偏向某个群体的应用。

应用能否让用户开心？这是个很显而易见的问题。如果你的想法有趣，那么肯定是找对了方向，你的想法或许就是个绝妙的想法。

现存的成功应用是否缺乏某个很重要的功能？你能否做得更好？你需要提供的可能不仅仅是个酒类列表，而是能够与顾客交谈的服务员。

应用是否具有很强的互动性？我们必须面对这个问题，成功的游戏和应用都是通过动作来吸引用户。

提示：你的应用想法是否属于上述之一？如果是这样的话，就要开始准备必要的工具了。

2、工具清单

以下是你需要的工具（游戏邦注：加星号的是必须要有的东西，其余的最好能够具备）

加入Apple iPhone Developer Program *

拥有iPhone或iPod Touch *

拥有基于Intel的带有Mac OS X 10.5.5操作系统的Mac电脑

准备保密协议 *

如果没有的话，下载和安装最新版本的iPhone SDK

准备一本笔记本 *

提示：准备所有必须用到的工具。

3、了解自己的长处

你有什么技能？你是个对编程比较反感的设计师？还是个离开电脑便无法工作的开发者？抑或前两者都不是，只是个有着把某个想法推向市场的普通人而已？设计成功的iPhone应用就像开办一家小公司。你扮演的是调查人员、项目总监、会计、信息建筑师、设计师、开发者、营销人员和广告商等诸多角色。

记住所有优秀企业家都认同的说法——铸就成功的产品需要团队合作。当然，你也可以一人独揽，但你或许会在此过程中浪费大量的时间和精力。别着急，看看下面的列表，然后问自己最适合哪些工作？然后寻找其他有才华的人来补足空缺。其他人员的参与会让产品变得更为精妙！

技能列表

辨别哪些做法能够在现有iPhone应用中发挥作用的能力

市场调查

概述应用功能（游戏邦注：负责制作站点地图）

素描

GUI设计

编程

应用推广和营销

记住让参与者签署保密协议。在合同中告诉参与者：我很看重这个项目，因此不可随意泄露想法。

提示：先选择适合你自己的技能需求。对于那些你无法完成的工作，请雇佣专业人员。

4、市场调查

通俗地说，市场调查就是看看其他人在做什么同时避免犯同样的错误。从App Store中的优秀和劣质应用处吸取经验教训。先分析其他的应用（游戏邦注：包括同类应用），然后寻找富有创意性的应用开发和设计解决方案。即便你看到的是大量设计差劲的应用，你也会从中吸取教训，知道哪些是不该有的做法。

提示：回答以下问题：应用将解决什么问题？你见过哪些产品同样可以解决这个问题？成功应用如何向用户提供信息？你要如何在解决问题的基础上制作出独特的应用？应用能够给用户带来何种价值？

5、了解iPhone和iPod Touch的UI（游戏邦注：即用户界面）

如果你想要制作的是iPhone应用，那么你需要理解iPhone的功能及其界面。

好消息是，你不用去死记百科全书般的Apple User Interface Guidelines中的内容，来了解iPhone应用可以或不可以采用哪些做法。尽量多下载体验应用，然后思考要在产品中添加何种功能。

你需要注意以下几点：

设计精良的应用是如何从一屏切换到另一屏？

其他应用如何组织信息？

它们向用户呈现多少信息？

它们如何利用iPhone的独特功能，如加速计等？

提示：下载体验每个类别排名前十的应用。参考Apple Guidelines来规划UI设计，列举出至少5个你希望融入到应用中的功能。

6、决定用户类别

假设你已经断定应用对用户有价值而且你足以吸引大量对应用忠诚的用户。那么这些忠诚的粉丝究竟是些什么人呢？他们在应用中需要采取何种行动才能实现自己的目标？

如果你的应用是款游戏，或许他们想要的是赢取最高分。对于那些首次接触游戏的玩家，他们的体验与那些资深玩家有何不同呢？

如果这是款实用型的应用，假设用户想要迅速地找到咖啡店，他们需要在应用中采取何种操作来寻找咖啡店呢？他们寻找咖啡店之时身处何处？通常是在车子里面。能否设计需要多次点击和阅读的用户界面吗？或许你不能这么做！你需要考虑到用户真实生活中的情况来设计应用。

提示：列举出使用应用的不同种类的人群。如果你想让你勾勒的画面尽量真实，甚至可以为这些群体命名。

7、草拟想法

询问自己如下问题：

每屏需要呈现哪些信息？

我们要如何将用户从A点导向B点再导向C点？

屏幕上的元素要如何做到比例恰当、大小适中（游戏邦注：比如图标能否点击得到）？

将想法细化并写在纸上可以进一步发挥你的创造性，这笔在脑中构思应用更有效！你也可以购买iPhone Stencil Kit来迅速在纸上草拟应用用户界面原型。

提示：应用每屏都需要进行规划和草拟。试验各种导航方案、按键上的文字以及各屏的连接方式。如果你想将你的草稿转变成数字形式，iPlotz是个值得参考的工具。

8、设计

如果你是设计师，需要下载iPhone GUI Photoshop模板或iPhone PSD Vector Kit。在设计开始时，这两个iPhone GUI元素集都可以为你节省大量的时间。如果你在草拟的过程中已经将应用布局具体化，那么绘制屏幕就更像是真正的应用设计。

如果你自己不是设计师，那么就雇佣一个！这就像是雇个电工来从事电气工作一样。你也可以去Home Depot购买工具自行尝试设计，但应该不会有人愿意冒这个风险。如果你遵循了步骤1至3的做法，那么你应该已经有了所有设计师开始工作所需的东西。

在寻找设计师时，尽量寻找那些有过手机应用设计经验的人。他们可能会为你的草稿提供某些有价值的反馈和建议。你可以在Coroflot、Crowdspring和eLance这些地方寻找设计师。在发布职位招聘时应该详述要求，而且要做好看大量简历的准备。

提示：如果你是个设计师，就开始用Photoshop工作。如果你不是个设计师，应该开始招聘设计师完成这项工作。

9、编程

虽然这个教程是按步骤来列举做法，但是最好能在准备设计资源的同时就准备好应用程序员。与程序员交谈可以帮助你制定技术上可行且成本在你预算之内的项目。

如果你是个Objective C或Cocoa程序员，那么就打开Xcode开始工作吧。以下这些论坛值得你注册参加：Apple Dev Forum；iPhoneSDK；iPhoneSDKForum；iPhoneDev Forums；iPhoneSB。

如果你不是程序员的话，你就要去雇佣一个！详细阐述你想要制作的应用类型，是游戏、实用应用还是其他类别的应用。不同类型的应用通常所需的编程技能也有所不同。你可以从Odesk、iPhoneFreelancer、eLance以及上述论坛中寻找程序员。

10、将应用提交至Apple Store

接下来，要如何将你的应用提交给Apple Store呢？对任何不熟悉XCode的人来说，编译应用并发布到iTunes Connect这个过程或许较为困难。如果你有个程序员，让他帮你做以下工作：创建证明文件；确定你的应用ID；创建Distribution Provisioning Profile；编译应用；上传至iTunes Connect。

提示：如果你是个程序员的话，应该规划好开发时间表，然后开始工作。如果你不是个程序员，就需要雇佣程序员来替你完成这些工作。

11、推广应用

应用很容易就被埋没在商店之中而不为人所知。别让这种事情发生在你身上。做好营销应用的计划。事实上，最好拟定多项应用营销计划。做好试验各种营销计划的准备，有些想法能够起作用，有些并不能。

维持或提升应用销售量的战略：

采用社交媒体。如果用户在最喜欢的游戏上获得高分，让他们将此发布到Facebook或Twitter上是个不错的想法。思考如何将社交媒体及其功能融入到应用中。至少要在Facebook和Twitter上建立应用相关页面，用此作为与用户交流和获得应用反馈的平台。

发布前的推广。在应用发布前就要先营造气氛。给那些编写过与应用相关的文章的人发邮件，看看他们能否在应用即将发布之时造势。

制定多次发布的计划。不可在首次发布时就提供所有的功能和特色。让用户对应用留有幻想，并且确保应用将来有所更新。然后，阶段性地发布新版本应用，来推动应用在商店中的销量。

提示：针对应用的目标用户，制定20项推广战略。自行制定这些战略，或者雇佣其他人帮你完成这项工作。

12、集中精力，永不放弃

当你开始制作首款应用时会非常兴奋，并梦想着能够把心中大量的新应用想法变成现实，这是极容易发生的事情。可以有梦想，但是不要让新游戏想法影响你首款应用的设计和开发。在开发首款应用时需要集中注意力，一次性设计多个项目会冲淡你将首款应用铸就为成功之作的激情。

提示：从现在开始应用设计和开发，把你的想法变成现实！

游戏邦注：本文发稿于2009年8月11日，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How To Create Your First iPhone Application

Jen Gordon

What if you had a nickle for every time you heard: “I have the perfect idea for a great application!”? It’s the buzz on the street. The iPhone has created unprecedented excitement and innovation from people both inside and outside the software development community. Still for those outside the development world, the process is a bit of a mystery.

This how-to guide is supposed to walk you through the steps to make your idea for an iPhone app a reality. This post presents various ideas, techniques, tips, and resources that may come in handy if you are planning on creating your first iPhone application.

1. Have An Idea – A Good Idea

How do you know if your idea is a good one? The first step is to even care if your idea is solid; and the second step is to answer the question does it have at least one of the indicators of success?

Does your app solve a unique problem? Before the light bulb was invented, somebody had to shout out “Man, reading by candlelight sucks!” Figure out what sucks, and how your app can make the life of its user more comfortable.

Does the app serve a specific niche? Though there aren’t any stats on the App Store search, the usage of applications is certainly growing with the explosion of App Store inventory. Find a niche with ardent fans (pet lovers, for example) and create an app that caters to a specific audience.

Does it make people laugh? This is a no-brainer. If you can come up with something funny, you are definitely on the right track and your idea may be the golden one. Heck, I hit a red “do not press” button for 5 minutes yesterday.

Are you building a better wheel? Are there existing successful apps that lack significant feature enhancements? Don’t be satisfied with just a wine list, give sommeliers a way to talk to their fans!

Will the app be highly interactive? Let’s face it, most of us have the attention span of a flea. Successful games and utilities engage the user by requiring action!

Action: Does your app fall in to one of these categories? If yes, it’s just about time to prepare the necessary tools.

2. Tools Checklist

Below is a list of items you’ll need (*starred items are required, the rest are nice-to-have’s):

join the Apple iPhone Developer Program ($99) *

get iPhone or iPod Touch *

get an Intel-based Mac computer with Mac OS X 10.5.5

prepare a Non-Disclosure Agreement (here’s a sample) *

download and install the latest version of the iPhone SDK if you don’t already have it.

a spiral bound notebook*

Action: Load up on your required supplies.

3. What Are You Really Good At?

What skills do you bring to the table? Are you a designer whose brain objects to Objective C? A developer who can’t design their way out of a paper sack? Or maybe you are neither, but an individual with an idea you’d like to take to the market? Designing a successful iPhone application is a lot like starting a small business. You play the role of Researcher, Project Manager, Accountant, Information Architect, Designer, Developer, Marketer and Advertiser – all rolled into one.

Remember what all good entrepreneurs know – it takes a team to make a product successful. Don’t get me wrong, you certainly can do it all. But you can also waste a lot of time, energy and sanity in the process. Don’t go crazy, reference the checklist below and ask yourself: What roles are the best fit for you to lead? Then find other talented people to fill in the gaps. The infusion of additional ideas can only enrich the product!

Skills Checklist

Ability to Discern what works/doesn’t work in existing iPhone Apps

Market research

Outlining App Functionality (Sitemap Creation)

Sketching

GUI Design

Programming (Objective C, Cocoa) (we assume here that we are creating a native application)

App Promotion and Marketing

Remember to have contractors sign your non-disclosure agreement. Having a contract in place tells your contractor “I’m a professional that takes my business and this project seriously. Now don’t go runnin’ off with this idea.”

Action: Select skills that are a good fit for you to lead. For those roles where you cannot lead, hire professionals.

4. Do Your Homework: Market Research

Market research is a fancy way of saying “Look at what other people are doing and don’t make the same mistakes.” Learn from the good, bad and ugly in the App Store. Coming up with creative solutions in the app concept development and design starts with analyzing other (maybe similar) applications. Even if you encounter a lot of poorly designed apps, your mind will reference these examples of what not to do.

Action: Answer these questions: What problem does your app solve? What products have you seen that perform a similar task? How do successful apps present information to users? How can you build on what works and make it unique? What value does your app bring to your audience?

5. Know The iPhone/iPod Touch UI

If you want to create an iPhone app, you need to understand the capabilities of the iPhone and its interface. Can you shoot a .45 caliber bullet out of your iPhone? No. Can you shoot videos? Yes!

The good news is that you don’t have to memorize the encyclopedic Apple User Interface Guidelines to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t in iPhone Apps. Download and play with as many apps as you can, and think about what functionality you want to include in your product.

Take note of:

How do well-designed apps navigate from screen to screen?

How do they organize information?

How MUCH information do they present to the user?

How do they take advantage of the iPhone’s unique characteristics: the accelerometer, swiping features, pinch, expand and rotate functions?

Action: Download the Top 10 apps in every category and play with all of them. Review the Apple Guidelines for UI design and list at least 5 features you’d like to incorporate into your app.

6. Determine “Who Will Use Your App?”

We assume here that you’ve already determined that your app will bring value and that you will have a raging audience for your app. Well, fine, they are raging fans, but who are they really? What actions will they take to achieve their goals within the app?

If it’s a game, maybe they want to beat their high score. Or perhaps they are a first time player – how will their experience differ from someone who is getting a nice case of brain-rot playing your game all day?

If it’s a utility app, and your audience wants to find a coffee shop quickly, what actions will they take within the app to find that coffee shop? Where are they when they’re looking for coffee? Usually in the car! Do present an interface that requires multiple taps, reading and referencing a lot? Probably not! This is how thinking about how real-life intersects design.

Action: Line item out the different types of people who will use your app. You can even name them if you want to make the scenarios you draw out as real as possible.

7. Sketch Out Your Idea

And by “sketch” I mean literally sketch. Line out a 9-rectangle grid on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and get to sketching!

Ask yourself:

What information does each screen need to present?

How can we take the user from point A to point B to point C?

How should elements on the screen be proportioned or sized in relation to each other (i.e. is this thing even tap-able?)

Thumbnailing your ideas on paper can push your creativity far beyond where your imagination might stagnate working in an sketching application! You can also buy the iPhone Stencil Kit to quickly sketch out iPhone UI prototypes on paper.

Action: Create at least one thumbnail page of your application per screen. Experiment with various navigational schemes, the text you put on buttons, and how screens connect. If you want to transfer your sketches into digital format, iPlotz is a good tool to check out.

8. Time For Design

If you are a designer, download the iPhone GUI Photoshop template or our iPhone PSD Vector Kit. Both are collections of iPhone GUI elements that will save you a lot of time in getting started. If you’ve solidified your layout during sketching, drawing up the screens will be less of a layout exercise and more about the actual design of the app.

If you are not a designer, hire one! It’s like hiring an electrician to do electrical work. You can go to Home Depot and buy tools to try it yourself, but who wants to risk getting zapped? If you’ve followed steps 1–3, you’ll have everything you need for a designer to get started.

When looking for a designer, try to find someone who has experience designing for mobile devices. They may have some good feedback and suggested improvements for your sketches. A few places to look for designers: Coroflot, Crowdspring, eLance. When posting your job offer, be very specific about your requirements, and also be ready to review a lot of portfolios.

Action: If you are a designer, get started in Photoshop. If you are not a designer, start interviewing designers for your job.

9. Programming

Even though this how-to is sequential, it’s a good idea to get a developer on board at the same time when you line up design resources. Talking with a developer sooner than later will help you scope out a project that is technically feasible and within your budget.

If you are a Objective C/Cocoa developer crack, open Xcode and get started! A few forums to join if you haven’t already: Apple Dev Forum; iPhoneSDK (moderated by Erica Sadun); iPhoneSDKForum; iPhoneDev Forums; iPhoneSB.

If you are not a developer, you know what to do – find one! Specify the type of app you want to produce – whether it is a game, utility or anything else. Each type usually requires a different coding skill set. A few places to look for developers: Odesk, iPhoneFreelancer, eLance and any of the forums listed above.

10. Submit Your Application To Apple Store

OK, so how do you submit your application to Apple Store now? The process of compiling your application and publishing the binary for iTunes Connect can be difficult for anyone unfamiliar with XCode. If you are working with a developer, ask them to help you: Create your Certificates; Define your App ID’s; Create your Distribution Provisioning Profile; Compile the application; Upload to iTunes Connect.

Action: If you are a developer, map out a development timeline and get started. If you are not a developer, start interviewing devs for your job.

11. Promote Your App

If a tree falls in the middle of the woods and nobody was around to hear it does it make a sound? Apps can sit in the store unnoticed very easily. Don’t let this happen to you. Be ready with a plan to market your app. In fact, be ready with many plans to market your app. Be ready to experiment, some ideas will work, others won’t.

Strategies for Maintaining/Boosting App Sales:

Incorporating social media. If your users make the high score on his or her favorite game, it is a good idea to make it easy for the user to post it to Facebook or Twitter. Think about how your app can incorporate social media and build that functionality into your app. At a minimum, set up a fan page for your app on Facebook and Twitter and use them as platforms to communicate with your users and get feedback on your app.

Pre-launch promotion. Start building buzz about your app before it has launched. E-mail people who write about things that relate to your app and see if they will talk up the upcoming release of your app.

Plan for multiple releases. Don’t pack your app with every single feature you want to offer in the very first release. Make your dream list for the app and make sure that the app is designed to incorporate all of the features at some time in the future. Then periodically drop new versions of the app to boost app store sales.

Action: Make a list of 20 promotional strategies that target the audience for your app. Take action on them yourself or hire someone who can!

12. Stay Focused & Don’t Give Up!

It’s easy when you are working on your first app to get all AppHappy, dreaming up a zillion new app-ideas. Dream, but don’t get sidetracked by new ideas. Your first app needs to make a big splash and getting involved in too many projects at once can dilute your passion for making your first application a success.

Action: Get out there and go kick some app! (Source: Smashing Magazine)