Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, Developer, App Store
What Apple could borrow from Domino's
There's a clever post at Gedblog this morning about The App Store and Domino's Pizza Tracker. Specifically, how the Pizza Tracker's functionality could aid the App Store review process.Ged and his coworkers at The Iconfactory have been waiting 12 days (as of this writing) for Apple to approve Ramp Champ, their next iPhone game. As Ged describes in the post, the waiting wouldn't be so bad if they knew what was going on.
The Pizza Tracker lets you monitor your pizza's progress online, dispensing updates on who's assembling it, when it went into the oven, when it went out for delivery and even the name of the person who's about to ring your doorbell. With that in mind, Ged suggests an "App Tracker" that describes where apps stand in the review process. Additionally, such a thing could aid the reviewers themselves, as they could monitor what part of the process hindered an app's release.
As we heard yesterday from Phil Schiller, Apple is aware of the App Store's issues and working to solve them. This is a new business model that still has a few kinks. It's suggestions like this that will improve things. It's nice to know that Apple is listening.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Erick said 11:26AM on 8-07-2009
I kept a log on my web server when the app was touching my web site for information so I was able to determine when they were testing it. It was approved maybe a day after it was being tested on but it stood silent for a good week and a half after submitting for review. This was a little earlier in the AppStore life though where it was a new process.
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mabhatter said 8:44AM on 8-08-2009
I think they're using the patent office model where they have relative newbies to software QA running a checklist and your App sits in Queue til somebody gets to it. Then the person is rushing to meet quota so they run the app, check the code and the operation against the checklist and "throw it over the wall" as pass or fail. The main difference being that the patent office will give you feedback about what they didn't like and there are enough patents out there in public for you to figure out what you need to write up to get your patent thru... Apple's App store is private between you and Apple so it harder to see what the finished product really is or what the submission started as/was negotiated to.
I'd venture every time a news item hits for "some random bad thing" in an App store app whatever QA is testing for the next 48 hours gets "extra attention" so it doesn't happen again... then we get back to our regularly scheduled milling.
Ben said 12:22PM on 8-07-2009
I friggin love pizza tracker!
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Sqewie said 12:23PM on 8-07-2009
Something like this already exists.
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/08/01/apple-adds-queue-time-contact-info-to-iphone-developer-pages/
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Tariq said 1:17PM on 8-07-2009
I can't wait for Ramp Champ. Everything the Iconfactory does amazes me in how well it works and how great it looks.
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hindlist said 1:25PM on 8-07-2009
pizza tracker is agreat news. I like it hmmmm
http://www.hindlist.com
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Rick Stratton said 1:44PM on 8-07-2009
Apple shouldmake a free iPhone app that let's a developer track the status and wait queue of their submitted app ... But that might cause the universe to implode :)
Happy Frday, everybody.
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Rick Stratton said 1:45PM on 8-07-2009
Apple shouldmake a free iPhone app that let's a developer track the status and wait queue of their submitted app ... But that might cause the universe to implode :)
Happy Frday, everybody.
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Tyrannous said 2:16PM on 8-07-2009
you do realize that the "pizza tracker" is only based on estimated times and not actual input from anyone...
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oakie said 6:23PM on 8-07-2009
damn. and all this time i thought dominos had edible rfids iin their pepperoni.
at least it tastes that way.
Gedeon said 12:05AM on 8-08-2009
Actually that couldn't be further from the truth. The Pizza Tracker uses the already present in-store computer system which has been simply exposed to the Internet. All steps in the process are accurate within 40 seconds. It's not estimates, its actual real-time tracking of your order.
http://bit.ly/p3bX
Tyrannous said 12:18AM on 8-08-2009
as if to say someone is there busily updating the computer, no, they click when the order is in, click when its done, and click when its on its way. the rest seems to be based on time estimates, as is their computer system. the system said my pizza was delivered exactly 30 minutes after leaving, with no pizza at my house. ive used the system twice and it was total bunk, but i dont eat that kinda stuff no more, that usa today article looks like some advertising to me...
Derick said 5:49AM on 8-08-2009
You're wrong. When I leave Domino's on a delivery, I check out the order under my name and it estimates how long it'll take to arrive at your house based on your address, how busy the store is at the time, and how many drivers are on the clock that night. You might live on a new street or on a street that hasnt been added to their system, but even then, the moment the pizza is ordered, the driver has 15 minutes to get out the door and they are supposed to be back in the store 15 minutes after they leave.
Ignobilitor said 3:41PM on 8-07-2009
Let's just hope Apple doesn't borrow Domino's religious right extremism.
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Eric said 4:43PM on 8-07-2009
Apple should adopt Domino's delivery policy. I want to order something from the online store and have it arrive within 30 minutes, or it's free.
Since it takes at least an hour with no traffic to get to my house from either of the closest Apple stores, I'd be rolling in free Apple stuff. My town would probably be 100% Mac users.
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dominos said 7:27PM on 8-07-2009
Domino's hasn't had 30 minutes or it's free for a long time. (Since 1993, according to wikipedia.)
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Derick said 5:54AM on 8-08-2009
It promoted speeding. Now its our hope that we'll get it to you in 30 min.
Daily three or four people tell me 'that was fast!' and occasionally, I'm stuck waiting at the door for more than 10 minutes because some idiot thought it would be a good idea to jump in the shower right after ordering...
Pro-tip! If it's the middle of the week, or if it's not between 5pm and 7pm, the pizza will take about 1 minute to assemble and 7 minutes in the oven. It's cut in 10 seconds and you probably live within 3 miles of the store.
Just wait till you have your food before you get tied up.
Derick said 5:54AM on 8-08-2009
Who knew TUAW is better for work venting than a non existent HR dept?
max said 12:41AM on 8-08-2009
does the pizza-tracker show when teenage employees are rubbing snot all over your meat-lovers?
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Steve said 1:31AM on 8-08-2009
I remember when I had waited 12 days and it seemed like forever.
Now I'm on day #38... "in Review"
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