Nowadays, automation is a buzzword, and automating a process opens growth opportunities. App release monitoring (ARM) is no exception. ARM represents a suite of innovative tools designed to monitor the health and stability of iOS and Android app releases. These tools provide real-time updates by sending notifications to Slack channels and logging the app’s status throughout the release process.
At GetYourGuide, we use ARM to monitor the rollout of our Android and iOS apps, starting from the moment they are submitted to the Google Play or Apple Store. The system relies on app events, such as sessions, crashes, etc, exported from Analytics and Crashlytics to Bigquery.
Why we built ARM
- Saving precious engineering time. Previously, we had a manual process to handle release tasks. Each platform had what GetYourGuide calls a “release captain”, who was responsible for halting releases, increasing rollout percentages, and notifying teams of updates. The release captains were checking Firebase and Datadog monitors for crash rate increases or bugs, but now all these tasks are fully automated! More details can be found here!
- Thanks to the efficiency of ARM, we have accelerated our rollout process, moving to a weekly release cycle. When everything is running smoothly, we can even fast-track releases, cutting our release cycle from 7 days down to 3.
Before we dive into the tools, we need to explain a few key concepts. We know this section might not be the most exciting, but stick with us- it’ll be worth it! Your patience will pay off!