A story about a major SIer engineer who can't write code properly created a blockbuster Android app with 600,000 downloads

Introduction

** Do you know Deodorant Power App? ** **

-** Released in 2011 ** -** Won 3rd place in Japan's Android app ranking for a while ** ――By the way, I remember that the 1st place was the Youtube app and the 2nd place was the Facebook app: confused: ――Won first place in the entertainment category -** [Android App Dictionary (2012)](https://www.amazon.co.jp/Android%E3%82%A2%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA%E4%BA% 8B% E5% 85% B8512-% EF% BC% BB2012% E5% B9% B4% E7% 89% 88% EF% BC% BD-% E3% 82% A2% E3% 83% B3% E3% 83% 89% E3% 83% AD% E3% 82% A4% E3% 83% 80% E3% 83% BC / dp / 484433140X) and many mook books **

It is an application that has achieved the legendary feat (?). It's been a long time ago, but I would like to look back on what happened and what I worked on at that time. By the way, the app is ** completely personally developed as a hobby **, so the major SIer I belong to is not involved at all (I thought that if I made it a fishing title, the number of accesses would increase).

In addition, this article is a ** self-satisfaction poem ** that only looks back on past successful experiences (?), So it may not be very helpful. Excuse me.

My specs (at that time)

-** SIer and infrastructure engineer ** -** I rarely write my own code in the upstream main ** -** I have some experience writing batches and shells ... **

SIer engineers (so-called SEs) are often ridiculed if they can't write code, but that's exactly what they are, and they can't write code in any language. Even if I can't write honest code, if I can use Excel and PowerPoint (sometimes Word), I can manage the actual work, but I still have a complex, and ** Web and startup people who can write code (so-called full) I had a longing for (stack engineer). ** **

Trigger 1

――I bought a book because I needed to develop (manage) using Eclipse at work. --And there was a little information on how to make an Android app (a simple fortune app). ――When I tried it, it worked on the emulator (AVD) immediately.

** The app works by copying the code as it appears in the book **. Since the sample Omikuji app used a random function, I modified it into an app that can be used like a good-looking dice talk by just tweaking the wording (≠ code) to give it a little originality. If you want to make an Android app now, use the language Kotlin in Android Studio. Seems to be common, but at that time it was JAVS in Eclipse.

Trigger 2

――I found an app that was a parody of the AC CM (popopopon) that was running after the 2011 earthquake. --A few months later, I felt an impact on the CM that the boy was singing with the deodorant CM -** Isn't it fun to make an app in the same way? ** **

An app that makes a sound when you press a button and the boy sings. I thought that I could make it myself. Implementation should not be difficult if images and sounds are available. So ** I got excited in myself and started making it without sleeping. ** ** By the way, my main business was busy at this time, and it was the default feeling that I worked until midnight on weekdays and went to work on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tried to make it

――3-4 hours to prepare icons, background images, and audio files ――Incorporated "a chord that makes a sound when you press a button". Place it on the screen and complete it in about 4 hours with trial and error --I didn't have an actual Android device, so I confirmed that it worked on the emulator and released it as it was.

** I could hardly understand JAVA, but I made an app in one day and managed to publish it. ** ** By the way, I didn't understand well and made it exactly as it was written in the book, so the package name is foo.bar ** From a detailed person, I didn't even know that it was ** buying a smile **. I was worried that it would work on the actual device, so after the release, I went to a consumer electronics retail store and installed it on various exhibition terminals and checked its operation. ** Incidentally ★ I clicked 5 and placed the app icon on the top of every exhibition device to make it stand out **: smile:

Public response

――About 100 downloads on the first day, I'm not sure at that time whether this is more or less ――After that, in about a month, it exceeded 1,000 downloads. -** Google Play reviews are also highly rated, and quite a few people praise it when you do an egosearch on Twitter! ** **

In my main business, I work for a company. Under such circumstances, this app development is aimed at individuals, and I was really happy that many people used the app I made and received an immediate response **. And this will spur further improvements to the app's functionality.

Addition of functions based on feedback

--Since other characters have appeared in the original CM, the app has also added a function that allows you to ** "Erase-Smell-Power-" . --Added the function to sing ** "Deodorant-Smell-Power-" ** with Miguel using the voice recognition function. - Added a function to take a quiz of "Erase-Smell-Power-" ** -** Added a function to listen to "Deodorant-Smell-Power-" ** in full chorus --Added a function that allows you to ** "Erase-Smell-Power-" ** at any time with the widget. --Added the function to tweet ** "Erase-Smell-Power-" ** at any time in cooperation with Twitter -* Twitter API has changed and currently does not work --Added a function that can be installed on an SD card and ** "Erase-Smell-Power-" ** --Added a function that supports English terminals ** "Sho-Shu-Power" **

We decided priorities based on the requests made by Google Play reviews and Twitter posts, and the parts that could be implemented with our own skills, and added more and more functions. It feels like ** agile development ** (at that time, the word "agile development" wasn't common, and it's all made by one person ...) Adding functions is like googled to find similar code and implement it well, and in fact, I didn't really understand the details of the code. After the new feature was released, I was grinning when I saw a post on Twitter saying ** "The deodorant power app is updating again. It's crap." **

Bug found!

It's been about a month since it was released. Bugs are now reported in the review section.

-** No sound when you hit the button repeatedly **

The emulator didn't reproduce it no matter how many times I tried it. I didn't have an actual Android device yet, so I decided to go to a consumer electronics retail store and test it. Then, if you press the button several times, the sound will disappear. Moreover, depending on the model, there are some that make no sound after about 10 times, and some that can be done 50 times, so it is highly likely that it depends on the Android model **. I thought that it was the limit to develop with only the emulator around here, so I decided to purchase the actual machine and prepare the test environment.

I think the cause is insufficient memory, but I'm still not sure. For the time being, I decided to implement the solution with trial and error.

--Change audio file from MP3 to ogg ――This will triple the number of button presses before a bug occurs. --Insert a process to end the process by swiping the screen after pressing the button a certain number of times. --This allows you to continue using the app without closing it even if a bug occurs.

Instead of completely eliminating the bug, I decided to escape by incorporating a measure to reduce the number of occurrences and a measure to manage it even if it occurs. This has something to do with risk management (avoidance, pass-through, mitigation, acceptance) in SI projects.

Contact from people inside

Was it around 5,000 downloads about two months after its release? Suddenly someone contacted me on Twitter.

-** "You are the one who makes the app" **

Apparently, it seems to be a producer who makes a commercial for deodorant power in the public relations department of S.T. To be honest, I think there were some subtleties in terms of rights from the content of the app. However, I received a very generous word from this person.

-** "I was entertained. Please do your best in the future" **

The development of the app was virtually accepted (accepted?) And endorsed. This made me more and more a fan of S.T. ** At home, I still have [deodorant power](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%80%90%E3%81%BE%E3 % 81% A8% E3% 82% 81% E8% B2% B7% E3% 81% 84% E3% 80% 91-% E3% 81% 8A% E9% 83% A8% E5% B1% 8B% E3% 81% AE% E6% B6% 88% E8% 87% AD% E5% 8A% 9B-% E6% B6% 88% E8% 87% AD% E8% 8A% B3% E9% A6% 99% E5% 89 % A4-% E9% 83% A8% E5% B1% 8B% E7% 94% A8-400ml% C3% 973% E5% 80% 8B / dp / B00P2AUIEQ / ref = sr_1_1? ie = UTF8 & qid = 1535675053 & sr = 8- I love 1 & keywords =% E6% B6% 88% E8% 87% AD% E5% 8A% 9B) **.

Featured on various news sites and blogs

-"Deodorant power app" to enjoy that singing voice with the app --mobileASCII -Commercial app next to Popopo-n "Deodorant power app" --Mobile Research Institute -Endless Show-Shu-Riki- ♪ Topic CM Appears in Beautiful Voice App "Deodorant Power App" --andronavi

I found some of them when I searched for them now, but at that time, they were featured in ** Yahoo News, Livedoor News, and Amoeba News **, and the number of downloads increased exponentially from here. ** ** Two weeks after exceeding 10,000 downloads, it exceeded 50,000 downloads! Two weeks later, it buzzed with 100,000 downloads, and the next two weeks with 200,000 downloads. (Isn't there the word buzz at that time?) When I did an egosearch on Twitter, there were posts that I couldn't keep up with, and there were lots of happy reactions such as ** "It's popular at school" and "It was exciting at drinking parties" **.

Would you like to add an advertisement?

When the number of downloads increased by this amount, various companies began to ask, "Please put an advertisement in the app." I'm sure I made tens of thousands of dollars a month if I put in ads. However, the popularity of apps is probably (almost) driven by the popularity of commercials, and I decided that it would be unfair to earn advertising revenue.

Publication in magazines and mook books

At that time, many books and mook books that summarized the apps were on sale. Many media contact me in advance, but some of them didn't contact me in particular, and when I browsed at the bookstore, there were quite a lot of people who said "it's listed". Among them, I was happy that ** Androider (* Ended on June 30, 2017) ** published ** [Android App Encyclopedia (2012) )](Https://www.amazon.co.jp/Android%E3%82%A2%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA%E4%BA%8B%E5%85%B8512-%EF% BC% BB2012% E5% B9% B4% E7% 89% 88% EF% BC% BD-% E3% 82% A2% E3% 83% B3% E3% 83% 89% E3% 83% AD% E3% 82 It was published in% A4% E3% 83% 80% E3% 83% BC / dp / 484433140X) **. I bought this book myself and still have it. In addition, it was also posted in the catalog of apps recommended by docomo Shop. By the way, there is no income even if it is featured in books and magazines around here.

Break into a boom

After that, the growth slowed down and leveled off when it reached 600,000 downloads about a year later. The installation user base has been on a downtrend from here. Around this time, we stopped adding functions and started developing another app.

After that?

We have released some Android apps.

-** Deodorant plug app (already deleted) ** --Sister app of deodorant power app -** Bals App ** --A parody of an animated movie. A story app that uses voice recognition to collapse the world -** Consultation phone ** --Anonymous, free app that allows you to talk to strangers over the phone --Introduced advertising to cover server costs -I wrote a related entry in here -** Momokuro Phone (already deleted) ** --Specialized version of Momokuro for consultation phone -** [Geek Phone](https://apkpure.com/jp/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AF%E9%9B%BB%E8%A9%B1/foo .bar.otaden) (already deleted) ** --Specialized version of consultation phone otaku (animation, voice actor, AKB, visual kei, etc.) -** ATM Fee Search ** --App that displays withdrawal / deposit fees by combination of cash card / ATM type and day / time ――I made an iOS version of this, but Apple did not review it and gave up the release

I made not only a story app but also a reasonably practical app. It wasn't a big hit like the deodorant app, but it's still a different pleasure as a developer to challenge technically more difficult things and to make users feel convenient and use it * *had.

By the way, in my main business, I continue to be a basic engineer, and I am not blessed with the opportunity to code. However, it is certain that I gained confidence by making achievements in areas I am not good at.

at the end

I've written it hard, but I would like to write down the points that I realized in app development for those who are making apps individually.

-** Skills are secondary if you have enthusiasm! ** ** ――If there is a function you want to implement, you will want to write the code somehow -** User response is a big motivation ** -** The app will be updated and improved during the season **

In my case, monetization was not so important, so I can't talk about the know-how around here. So I'm sorry for the self-sufficient poem!