Release Management is a crucial aspect of iOS app development. It involves managing the process of delivering the latest version of your app to your users. This process can be time-consuming and complex, involving various steps such as building, testing, and uploading the app to TestFlight and the App Store.
To simplify this process, Bitrise provides Automated Release Management features that help automate the process of uploading new builds and streamline the entire release process. In this blog post, we will explore two features of Bitrise's Automated Release Management, namely TestFlight upload post-processing notifications and App Store review updates, and see how they can be leveraged to simplify the iOS release process.
Get notified when the TestFlight upload post-processing finishes
In iOS mobile app development, uploading a new build to TestFlight is an essential step to ensure that the app works as intended and is bug-free. However, waiting for the post-processing of the build to finish can be time-consuming, and cause frustration for developers having to sit around and wait for the results. This is where Bitrise's Automated Release Management feature comes into play. By enabling the Automatic TestFlight upload feature, every new build on the release branch is automatically uploaded to TestFlight. But how do you know if the upload and post-processing were successful?
Bitrise solves this problem by allowing you to enable the Slack integration in Release Management to receive notifications. Once you have set up the integration, you can provide a Slack webhook in the notifications tab, and Bitrise will automatically send a notification to your Slack channel once the upload and post-processing are complete. This way, your team will be notified of the success or failure of the TestFlight upload and post-processing, without having to wait next to the machine for the result.
For example, if the upload or post-processing in TestFlight failed, mobile developers will get notified to fix the issue. After this, they can push the updates to the release branch where Release Management will pick it up and upload it to TestFlight. If the new version is uploaded and processing was successful, another notification will be sent to the QA team on Slack to start testing the new available version.
Note: Waiting for the TestFlight post-processing doesn’t require any running build with Release Management, so no credit or concurrency is used.
Get notified when Apple finishes with the App Store review
Submitting an app for App Store review is a crucial step in the release process. But waiting for Apple to finish reviewing the app can be nerve-wracking, especially when you don't know when it will be completed. With our automated Release Management feature, you can stay informed about the status of your app's review, without constantly asking the Release Owner.
By setting up a Slack integration with Release Management, you can create a dedicated channel for app updates, where every update to the status of your app's review is automatically updated and shared with all stakeholders. This way, you, your team, and all stakeholders can see when Apple finishes reviewing the new version without having to constantly ask the Release Owner about its status. No e-mail from Apple on the status of the review? No worries? Just check the dedicated Slack channel.
Note: Waiting for the App Store review update doesn’t require any running build with Release Management, so no credit or concurrency is used.
What kind of Slack notifications can you receive?
The following events can be set up as notifications in Slack:
- Release candidate changed
- Upload and processing finished
- Release approved
- Release sent for review
- Status of review submission changed
- Release started
- Release finished.
In conclusion
Don’t depend on the release owner for up-to-date statuses of your release. Use automated Release Management features like TestFlight upload post-processing as well as App Store review updates to significantly simplify and streamline the iOS release process. By enabling these features and integrating them with Slack, you can automate the release process, ensure that everyone on your team is up-to-date with the status of the release, and reduce the time and effort required for managing the release process. All so you can continue to focus on building great apps.
