How long do you think it would take to go from concept to store submission for a native iOS or Android app? Include everything from spinning up servers, to managing users, to integrating with social networks, to developing a protocol for versioning, to wireframing, designing and polishing your UX.

Kinvey – a mobile Backend as a Service startup – put this question to 100 mobile developers (43% enterprise, 57% individual) and came up with an answer: about 18 weeks. We then hired design firm Visual.ly to turn the data into an infographic, called, “How Long Does it Take to Build an iOS or Andriod App?”

Backend functions accounted for 10 weeks, with data storage, data integration and versioning accounting for the biggest blocks of time (13 days each). The UI represented the bulk of the eight weeks of frontend development. On average, developers felt it would take about 40 days to wireframe, design, develop and polish their app’s user interface.

As interesting as the macro findings are – and we hope they are interesting – those of us inside Kinvey have found responses to individual survey questions most intriguing. Overall, responses frontend-related questions were more consistent than backend ones.

For example, 73% of developers surveyed agree it would take a week or less to enable offline usage and data synchronization, yet a core backend feature like integrating data from third-party APIs yielded a wider range of responses. In fact, nearly as many developers (25) anticipated data integration would take a month or more as those (29) who said it would take three days or fewer.

While this infographic doesn’t purport to be the definitive timeline for app building – after all, it’s based on the development of an MVP-quality app and it doesn’t take into account the approval process – it was intended to be a conversation starter. So to that end, how long do you think it would take to build v1 of a native app? And do you think time requirements frontend items are easier to plan than backend components?

1.Make the problem smaller.  Isolate the block of code relating to to the error message you are receiving and put everything else out of your mind.

2.Use breakpoints and, for simplicity, NSLog values relating to the problem you are trying to solve.  You need to “see” what your code is doing.

3.Write down the problem you have and out how to solve it in steps. It’s amazing how doing this can help clarify your thinking.  Sometimes, I write for help on Stackoverflow and by the time I’ve finished writing my question I’ve worked out the solution myself!

4.Is there another way to achieve your goal and can you use a simpler method to solve your problem?  Often, when code gets messy and confusing, there’s an easier alternative if you look for it.

5.Come back the following day. The subconscious mind will work on the problem for you and you also have a better chance of solving it when fresh.

Bonus tip: Google your problem but don’t over-Google it.  It’s easy to become confused by other peoples’ problems and answers and distracted from your ultimate goal.  Googling is good and doesn’t require much effort, but don’t overdo it.  You will probably benefit if you step back and think clearly about your problem.

To me, it seems inevitable that the freemium business model will continue to thrive on the App Store.  This is great news for consumers: they will have plenty of opportunity to try an app before they pay a cent.  But, is this a good thing for developers?  I would say, yes and no.

No because, as a developer, you will be forced to work even harder and give away more content for free in order to attract customers.

Yes because free apps allow customers to download and try without risk.  This will inevitably lead to a larger number of downloads than a paid app.  Once a customer has downloaded your app you have an opportunity to convince them to buy something via in app purchase.  So, you give more away for free but have a larger pool of customers to monetize – and you have a better chance of doing so once they have invested some of their time in your app.

So, is the future of the App Store going to be free?  I believe largely, yes.  I am interested to see the new ways developers and advertisers will find to monetize free apps.  At the moment, IAPs are particularly well suited to resource management games with disposable content.  I feel that other types of app need to find a method of monetization that will increase profitability for developers.  And this is where the next wave of innovation on the App Store might begin…

The starkest change, for me, is visible when you first open the App Store app: it is the change in scrolling direction from vertical to horizontal. In the past, apps were displayed in a vertical table view, 25 apps at a time. Now, when you look at the charts you will see three horizontal scroll views. This means that fewer app icons – only 3.5 per row – are now visible at any one time. Once you tap “See All” the view reverts to the standard vertical scrolling table view we are more familiar with. Also note, when scrolling through the apps there is no longer a 25 app limit per screen – you are now able to seamlessly scroll down through the top 300 apps.

New layout: horizontal scroll view

Firstly, I’d like to address the switch to horizontal scrolling. On a device that is taller than it is wide, horizontal scrolling through app icons does not make sense from a usability perspective. So why have Apple made this change? In my opinion, it must be designed to enable Apple to promote selected apps more aggressively. If your app happens to appear in the first 4 of the horizontal scroll view, you are going to get the lion’s share of the downloads. Apple will be able to focus more attention on the apps it wants to promote. For me, this isn’t going to make for a better app discovery experience for the end user – just a more Apple centric one.

However, I do like the way you are now able to scroll seamlessly through the top 300 apps without having to tap the reload button every 25 apps. I believe that this will help app discoverability and it will mean a more even distribution of downloads across the top 300 apps, where previously the top 100 apps may have received the vast majority of downloads.

Search has also changed. Now, instead of a table view with a long list of of apps being returned from a search, you will see the horizontal scroll view initially displaying the closest match. I don’t have a problem with this. When you search for an app you are usually going to be looking for something very specific, so it makes sense to show a specific result. In the past, you used to see a jumble of apps – the vast majority of which didn’t relate to your search term. Also, the horizontal scrolling works better in this instance as you are scrolling through full pages that display useful information rather than icons.

Do any of these changes mean much for independent developers? I don’t think so. The fundamental issues involved in promoting your app and acquiring users remain the same.

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Independent developers – united we stand, divided we fall

xScope, by Iconfactory Inc, is marketed as being ideal for designing, measuring, aligning and inspecting on-screen graphics and layouts.  Upon launching the app a small utility window opens and floats above any content you have on your screen.  From the utility window you can select various tools, including a dimensions measurer, rulers, a color grabber, and guidelines which you can move around to help you check and set the alignment of elements.

My favorite tool is the dimension measurer.  All you have to do is hover your cursor over an element on your screen and it will display its height and width in pixels.  Move the cursor to the edge of an element and you will see the distance between it and the next nearest element.

xScope is really useful for an app developer if you require absolute precision in your UI design or need to make an exact replica of an existing layout.

Trial version of xScope available here

xScope is available from the Mac App Store