AppleLifecycleManagement Introduction ContentsIntroductionModernlifecyclemanagementPreparingyourenvironmentEvaluatingApple’splatformsSubmittingfeedbackGettingreadyforyourrolloutSummary “Ultimately,protectingourcustomerandemployeeexperienceisofutmostimportanceandworththeinvestmentofarigoroustestingprocess.” JenniferPaineSeniorDirectorEmployeeMobilitySouthwestAirlines Introduction Alltypesofbusinessesallovertheworldarereinventingthemselveswithmobility.Industrieslikeaviation,lawenforcement,andhealthcareuseAppledevicesandappstocarryoutessentialbusinesstasks.Asmobilityesevenmoreimportanttotheworkplace,businessesneedtomakesurethatthey’reinvestinginsecureplatformsandestablishingprocessestokeepthoseplatformsuptodate.Tosustainthislevelofstability,businessesareembracingamodernapproachtotestingandupdatingsoftwarethat’sproactive,nimble,andperpetual.Movingquicklyandcontinuallywithsoftwareupdatescreatessignificantadvantagesthatcankeeptheenterpriseenvironmentastepaheadofemergingsecurityconcernsandensurethehighestlevelofplatformintegrity.Thishelpsbusinessesminimizedowntimepatibilityissues,betterservecustomers,andenableemployeestohavethebestuserexperience. WithmacOS,iOS,andiPadOS,it’seasyandintuitiveforyouruserstoupdatetheirdevices.Withjustatap,theycandownloadandinstallthelatestversionofApple’soperatingsystems.Youcanalsoschedulesoftwareupdatesonsuperviseddevicesusingyourmobiledevicemanagement(MDM)solution. Butbeforeyoupromptyouruserstoupgrade,it’scriticaltotesteachbetaversionbecauseyourtechnologyecosystemhasuniquerequirements.Andjustasimportantastestingeachbetarelease,keyelementsinyourenvironment—yourITinfrastructure,third-partyMDMsolution,andbusiness-criticalapps—mustbereadywhenanewversionispubliclyreleasedtoyourusers. TheAppleplatformadoptionlifecycleincludesfourongoingactivitiesforeachtimeabetaisreleased:preparingyourenvironment,evaluatingkeyareasofApple’splatforms,submittingfeedback,andgettingreadyforyourrollout. Whenyouimplementamodernapproachtolifecyclemanagement,notonlycanyoubeconfidentwhenemployeesupdate,butyou’llalsoenjoyenhanceddatasecurity,improvedproductivity,maximumuptime,andgreateremployeesatisfaction. ThisdocumentisintendedtohelpyouranizationunderstandthebenefitsofimplementingApplelifecyclemanagement,consideralltheelementsthatgointomanagingthisprocess,andestablishaclearandrepeatableprocesstoensurethatyou’rereadytostayuptodatewiththelatestsoftwarefromApple. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
2 Modernlifecyclemanagement 77% ofiPhonedevicesintroducedinthelast4yearsuseiOS13. iOS13iOS12EarlierReleaseAsmeasuredbytheAppStoreonJanuary27,2020. 79% ofiPaddevicesintroducedinthelast4yearsuseiPadOS. iPadOSiOS12EarlierReleaseAsmeasuredbytheAppStoreonJanuary27,2020. Modernlifecyclemanagement DeployingsoftwareupdatesiscriticaltomaintainingthesecurityandintegrityofApple’splatforms.Notonlydoesthiskeepyourenvironmentsecure,butitallowsuserstobenefitfromandenjoythelatestfeaturesandsecurityfixes.Soit’simportantforanizationtoevaluateallthekeyareasthatworktogetherinyourmobileenvironment,allyearlong,soyou’rereadytodeployeachreleaseonthefirstdaythatit’spubliclyavailable. SouthwestAirlinesunderstandsthevalueoftakingthisapproachwithitsenterprisemobiletestingprogram.JenniferPaine,SeniorDirectorofEmployeeMobility,describeshowtakingamodernapproachiscritical: “OurpilotsandflightattendantsdependoniPaddevicesforcriticaljobfunctions.Wecan’triskhavinganupdatecauseaproblemwiththeiPad.Ultimately,protectingourcustomerandemployeeexperienceisofutmostimportanceandworththeinvestmentofarigoroustestingprocess.” AdoptingtheAppleplatformlifecycleinamodernwaymeansembracingthefollowingprinciples: Updatingsoftwarerequiresaniterativeapproach Becauseofchangesinthesoftwarelandscape,youcannolongerdelayupgradingyoursoftwareindefinitelybecausesystemshaveworkedjustfineinthepast.Instead,anizationsaretakingamoreproactiveapproachofupdatingtheirAppleplatformsmultipletimesayeartostaycurrent. Appledeliverssoftwareupdatestokeepyourdevicessafeandyourexistinghardwareoptimized.macOS,iOS,andiPadOSweredevelopedtomakeiteasyandintuitiveforuserstosetupthemselvesandupdatetheirdevices.Enterprisesnolongerneedhugeserviceoperationsandsystemimagingprocessestomakeupgrades. MultiplegenerationsofAppleproductscanbenefitfromupdatesthatprotectyourplatformfromsecurityvulnerabilitiesandofferenhancedproductivityfeatures. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
3 Modernlifecyclemanagement Testingisayear-roundeffort TakenoteoftheApplebetareleasetimeframessoyoucanevaluateeachreleasethroughouttheyearandprepareforanychangesthateup.Whetherthereleaseisamajorversionoradotrelease,it’simportantforusersandITsupportteamstotestanddeployallupdatestomaximizesecuritypatibility.BelowisanexampleofiOSreleasetimeframes. MDMsolution ITsystems Businessapps Everythinginyourmobileenvironmentisinterdependent macOS,iOS,andiPadOScanintegratewithjustaboutanyITenvironment—workinfrastructuretoserviceintegration—soyoucanuseAppledevicesseamlesslywithinyourenvironment.Applesoftwareupdatescanaffectthewaytheseservicesinteractwiththeoperatingsystemsand,therefore,impacthowAppledevicesoperate.Forthatreason,it’simportanttocontinuetestingupgradesnotonlyonusers’devices,butwithinyourworkecosystemasawhole. AdoptingamodernlifecycleforApple’splatformsinvolvesthefollowingareas:preparingyourenvironment,evaluatingkeyareasoftheAppleplatforms,submittingfeedback,andgettingreadyforyourrollout. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
4 Preparingyourenvironment iOS Prepare Rollout Evaluate Submit TheAppleplatformadoptionlifecycleconsistsoffourphases:prepare,evaluate,submit,androllout. Preparingyourenvironment EstablishingaprogramformanagingApple’splatformsinvolvesafewsimplesteps.First,you’llwanttoselectteammemberswhocanbededicatedtoyourinitiativeandtrainthem.Second,enrollintheAppleSeedforITprogramtogetesstoprereleasesoftwaresoyoucanbegintheevaluationprocess.Finally,establishadevicerefreshprocessthatincludesfinancing,provisioningdevices,andofferingtherightsupport. Assembleteamstosupportyourinitiative Havingteamspreparedandinplacewillhelpyouuncoverandaddresspatibilityissuesquickly.OrganizeadedicatedteamfocusedonevaluatingthekeyareasofApple’splatforms,andformsmallerteamsofvolunteersthatrepresentallyourbusinessgroups. Setupadedicatedteam ManybusinesseshaveseenthevalueofaddingadedicatedteamtotheirenterprisemobiletestingprogramstoevaluateApple’splatforms.StartbyassemblingasmallgroupoftesterswhocandevotetimetoevaluatinghowmacOS,iOS,andiPadOSinteractwithcorebusinessresources,includingyourMDMsolution,Exchange,workinfrastructure,andcriticalcorporateapps.IdentifyinternaltalentwithsoftwaretestingorQAexperiencethatcouldbeappliedtothisrole,sotheycanepartofyourexistingITteams.Youcanalsooutsourcetestingtoathirdparty. Getcross-functionalgroupstoparticipate You’llalsowanttoidentifyemployeevolunteerswhocanprovidefunctionalexpertiseineachofyourbusinessgroups.Forexample,anpanymayhaveseveralbusinessgroups,suchasgroundcrew,ticketing,technicians,flightoperations,andtraining.Includingeachofyourbusinessgroupshelpsensurethatyou’retestingallscenarios—andgettingtherightfeedback—inthefield.There’snoreplacementforusingyouractualenvironmenttotestyourdevices. •Groupleaders.Identifykeyindividualstoserveasgroupleadersforeachfunctional/businessgroup.Groupleaderswillgatherinputmunicateresultstoyourdedicatedteam.Candidatesshouldhaveaninterestinbetatestingandfortablemanagingteammembers’workflows. •Teammembers.Tobuildtheteam,selectemployeeswhouseAppledevicesintheirday-to-dayroles.Thesizeofeachteamshouldbeproportionaltotheoverallsizeofitsfunctionalbusinessgroup. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
5 Preparingyourenvironment Asyourecruitcross-functionalleadersandteammembers,consider:•HowdotheyuseAppledevicesandappsintheirrole?
•Willtheyhavetimetoparticipatebyperformingthesametaskonmultiple devices?
•Willtheyhavetimetoreviewdocumentation,suchasreleasenotes?
•Aretheycapableofinstallingsoftware,identifyingbugs,andsubmittinguseful feedback?
•Aregroupleadercandidatescapableofmotivatingemployeesandworking acrossmultiplegroups?
Prepareyouremployees Afterselectingtherightemployees,usethesestepstogeteveryoneupandrunningquickly:
1.VerifythatemployeeshaveapersonalorManagedAppleID,knowtheir passwords,andcanessbetaresources.2.Ensurethatteammembersarewillingtoinstallthebetasoftwareontheir primarydevices—thebestwaytoidentifypotentialissues.3.Makesureyourteamisawarethatbetatestinginvolvescapturingnecessary dataandsubmittingfeedbackasbugsarefound.4.Reviewbestpracticesforreportingbugswithyourteam.(Seethe“Write precisebugreports”sectionofthisdocument.)
5.Scheduleregularreportinganddebriefmeetingswithyourgroupleaders. Getesstobetaresources AppleoffersseveralwaysforyourteamstoessmajorandminorreleasesofApplebetasoftwareandadditionalresources,includingreleasenotes,feedbacktools,testplans,productdocumentation,andprogramannouncements. AppleSeedforITprogram Thisbeta-testingprogram,availabletoanyanizationoreducationalinstitution,allowsyoutoevaluatethelatestprereleasesoftwareversionsinyouruniqueworkenvironments.FeedbacksubmittedthroughtheAppleSeedforITprogramwillbefunneledtoadedicatedreviewqueue.Thisprogramalsooffersdetailedtestplansandsurveystohelpyouevaluatehownewfeaturesmightworkwithinyourenvironment. EnrollinAppleSeedforITwithaManagedAppleID: AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
6 Preparingyourenvironment AppleDeveloperPrograms Ifyouplantodevelop,test,anddistributeappsontheAppStore,signupfortheAppleDeveloperProgram.CustomAppsbuiltinternallyordevelopedbyathirdpartydeveloperandcustomizedforanizationcanalsobedistributedwiththeAppleDeveloperProgram.Enrollinganizationintothisprogramallowsyoutobuildandtestyourappssothey’rereadyforreleaseonthenewoperatingsystem.Ifanizationhasaspecificusecasethatrequiresprivatedistributiondirectlytoemployeesthroughaninternalsystemoramobiledevicemanagementsolution,applyfortheAppleDeveloperEnterpriseProgram. LearnmoreabouttheAppleDeveloperProgram:/programs TakestockofyourAppledevices EventhelatestversionsofApple’soperatingsystemscanrunondevicesthatwerereleasedseveralyearsago.Soit’simportanttotestthelatestbetawithallthedifferentmodelsthatanizationcurrentlyuses.WhilerunninganewversiononexistinghardwareisabenefitpanieslookingforagoodROI,anizationsarelearningthattherearealsobenefitstorefreshingdeviceseverycoupleofyears.Regulartechnologyupgradesthroughleasingpatibilityissuesandminimizescostsassociatedwithhavingmultiplegenerationsofequipment.Youcanalsotradeineligibledevicesforcredit,thenusethefundstolowerthecostofnewAppledevicesortoreducemonthlypaymentswithyourcarrier.Inadditiontofinancing,you’llwanttosetupyourdevicesusingAppleprogramsandMDMandoffersupporttoyourusers. WorkwithApplepartnersandyourinternalprocurementteamswhocanhelpmanagethislifecyclefromendtoendforyourenterprise.Thesepartnerscanhelpwithallstagesofyourdevicelifecycle,fromacquisitionofthedevicethroughrefreshingthehardware.ThisfreesyourITteamstofocusonstrategicinitiativesforpany. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
7 EvaluatingApple’splatforms iOS Prepare Rollout Evaluate Submit AppleLifecycleManagement EvaluatingApple’splatforms Withallyourresourcesinplace,it’stimetomapastrategyforplatformevaluation.IdentifytheareasofanizationthatrelymostheavilyonApple’splatforms.Determinetypicalusecasesandworkflows,andassignthosetoteammembers.Thenestablishaprocessforevaluatingkeyareaswithinanization. Mapyourinfrastructure Takeinventoryofyourcorporateecosystemtoensurethatallelementswillworktogethersmoothlyasyoutest. ITsystemsandservices TakestockofallthecorporateITsystemsandservicesthatneedtobeevaluated.ValidateExchangefunctionality,includingemail,contacts,calendar,tasks,andnotes.Testconnectivitybothinsideandoutsidework,includingWi-Fi,singlesign-on,andVPN,andevaluateBluetoothdeviceconnectionsandessories.Validateback-endsystems;makesuredataservers,middleware,andauthenticationsystemsscaleefficientlyandsharetheirdatainasmartway. Third-partyMDMsolution Selectingathird-partyMDMsolutionisessentialtomanagingcorporatedevicesanddata.Thesefunctionsmightincludebutaren’tlimitedtotestingconfigurationpayloads,restrictions,mandswithyourdevicesandapps.UnderstandwhichtypesofAppledevicesarebeingusedonworkandwhetherthey’reownedbyanizationortheusersothatyoucanbestevaluateyourmanagementpolicies. AppStoreandcustomapps AppStoreandcustomappsarecentraltopany’sworkflow.PrioritizetestingthemacOS,iOSandiPadOSappsmostcriticaltoyourbusinessandusers. •AppStoreapps:Haveyourdedicatedtestingteamevaluatethebasicfunctionalityofallapps,includingproductivityandcollaborationappsaswellasbuilt-inessentialssuchasMail,Calendar,andContacts.YoumayneedtoworkwithkeydevelopersanduseTestFlighttotesttheirappsbeforethey’rereleasedpubliclyontheAppStore.EnsurethattheseappsfunctionproperlywithMDMandwithITservicessuchasperappVPNandManagedAppConfiguration.Testnewfeaturesandmakesurethatallessoryhardwarepatible. •Customapps:Instructyourin-houseorthird-partydeveloperstoplanyourtestingprocess.Allowenoughtimetoincorporatenewfeaturesandtocheckthatappswillworkwiththenewbetaonceit’sbeenreleased.TestFlightmakesiteasytoinviteuserstotestyourappsandcollectvaluablefeedbackbeforereleasing.CustomappsthataredistributedviaAppleBusinessManagercantakeadvantageofTestFlight.Forthesmoothestrollout,customappsshould March2020
8 EvaluatingApple’splatforms bevalidatedandreadyforusers’publicoperatingsystemreleases.Teamsshouldstrivetointegratenewfeatureswithin90daysofarelease. Determinewhattotest Nowthatyou’vetakeninventoryofallthekeyareaswithinanization,listallthespecificusecasesthatrequiretesting.In-houseorthird-partyappdevelopersshouldtestcustomappsoneachnewversionofbetasoftware. ManybusinesseshavedocumentedhundredsofusecasestotestagainsteachnewbetafromApple.Developingthissystemhashelpedtheirteamsmethodicallytestnewfeatures,possibleregressions,andintegrations. Documentyourusecases anizeandtrackongoingtesting,puttogetherprehensivespreadsheetofallusecases.Prioritizetestcasesmostcriticaltoyourbusinessgroups,andoutlinestepsrequiredtotesteachusecase.Assignusecasestoteammembers,whowillassignpass/mentstoeachone.Oryoucanpurchaselifecyclemanagementsoftwarethatcoordinatestestingandmanagesrequirements,testcases,plans,andbugs. Here’showyouanizeaspreadsheettotrackusecasetesting: UseCase Createandsendnewemail Synccalendar Pushdeviceconfigurations Installacustomapp Openfilestoredindocumentproviderapp TestingSteps
1.OpenMail2.TapNewMailicon(bottomright)
3.Enterrecipientandsubject4.TapSend5.Confirmrecipientreceivedemail
1.OpenCalendar2.Verifymeetingsfrom clientshowupinCalendarapp
1.ExchangeActiveSyncpayload2.ManagedMaildomains3.Wi-Fiprofiles4.Certificates5.PerappVPNprofile 1.panyappstore2.TaptheAcme,Inc.app3.TapRequestbutton4.TapInstallwhenprompted5.Confirmapphasbeeninstalled
1.Opendocumentproviderapp2.Tapafoldertoopenit3.Tapafileinside4.Confirmfileopens Area IT Categories ExchangeActiveSync Group Flightops,ticketing,training IT Exchange ActiveSync MDM MDM Flightops,ticketing,training Allgroups Apps Customapps,MDM Allgroups Apps AppStoreapps,MDM Flightops,ticketing,training Employee User1 Result Expected User2User1 Testing Issueidentified User3 Expected User3 Testing AppleLifecycleManagement March2020
9 EvaluatingApple’splatforms Reviewyourcustomapps Ifpanydevelopsitsowncustomapps,makesureyourin-houseorthird-partydevelopmentteamsevaluatetheseappswitheachbetareleasetodeterminetheimpactofrevisedAPIsandprogramminglanguages.Toperformthisverification,AppleoffersearlyesstobetaversionsofSwift,Xcode,andoperatingsystemsthroughAppleDeveloperPrograms.Considerthefollowingguidelinesaspartofyourevaluationprocess. •Stayuptodateonannouncements.Getthelatestdevelopmentupdates,tips,andhow-toinformationbyvisiting/news/.ViewWWDCsessionvideosat/videos/tolearnmore. •Reviewreleasenotes.Downloadandreviewreleasenotesforeachnewbetarelease,anddistributeasummarytoteammembersforgreatestimpact. •CheckwhetherAPIs,Swift,orXcodehaveevolved.Theearlieryouidentifypotentialchanges,suchasdeprecationorchangesinAPIsemantics,themoretimeyouhavetoimplementandtestthesechanges. •Testpatibility.Testappsagainsttheuniquesoftwareconfigurationsyourusersmayhave,suchasthepreviousversion,thelatestversion,andthecurrentbeta.Testdeviceswiththesamearchitecture,screenresolution,andPPIforeachmajorOSversionyourappaimstosupport. •Conductavisualtest.Seehowyourappsperformintermsofresolution,pixelation,layout,alignment,andorientation. •Filebugreports.WhilediscussingissuesontheAppleDeveloperForumishelpfulforexchanginginformation,it’snotasubstituteforabugreport.FilingabugreporthelpsensurethatanactualframeworkbugcanbediagnosedandfixedbeforeanAppleupdategoespublic.(Seethe“Submittingfeedback”sectionformoredetails.) •Implementnewstandards.Whennewstandardsareannounced,observetherequiredimplementationdateforeach.ThisisespeciallyimportantifyouintendtosubmitappstotheAppStore. LearnmoreabouttestingyourappsonbetaOSreleases:/library AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 10 EvaluatingApple’splatforms Establishyourevaluationprocess Setupaunifiedprocessforevaluatingkeyareaswithinanizationsoallteamsarealigned. Receivenotificationsofanewbetabuild Don’tbeafraidofthefirstbetaorwaitforalaterversion.Testandgivefeedbackearly.ThesoonerApplereceivesyourfeedback,thesoonerchangescanbemade.StayofnewoperatingsystembetareleasesbysubscribingtotheRSSfeedfrom/news.Thoughreleaseschedulesvary,familiarizingyourselfwithprioryears’betareleasetimelinescanhelpyouforecastyourteam’singneedsforavailability. Reviewthescopeofchanges Beforeyouinstallanybetasoftware,it’scriticaltoreviewreleasenotesforfixesandnewfeaturestodeterminewhichchangesmightaffectyourAppleecosystem.CheckApple’swebsiteandtheAppleSeedforITportalforannouncementsordocumentationonupdates,andshareprereleaseinformationwithyourteamstoensurethatallmembersareinformedofchanges. Prioritizeusergroups,usecases,andcriticalapps Determinewhichusergroupshavebusiness-criticalfunctions.Prioritizetestingforthosegroupsandfocusonevaluatingtheusecasesandappsthathavethebiggestimpactonthoseteams. Balanceteampriorities Eachweek,determinetheavailabilityofyourdedicatedteammembersaswellascross-functionalgroupleadersandtheirteams.Haveyourdedicatedteamstarteachtestingprocedurebeforeengaginggroupleadersandteammembersfrombusiness-criticalgroups. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 11 Submittingfeedback iOS Prepare Rollout Evaluate Submit Submittingfeedback ByprovidingfeedbacktoAppleengineeringandAppleCare,youallowAppletoidentifyissuesimpactingyouruniqueenvironment,fixissuescriticaltoanization,andmakemacOS,iOS,andiPadOSevenbetterforyourusers. SubmitfeedbacktoApple Appleoffersarobusttoolforyoutosubmityourfeedback.FeedbackAssistantisavailableoniPhone,iPad,Mac,andtheweb,makingiteasiertosubmiteffectivebugreportsandrequestenhancementstoAPIsandtools.Filingfeedbackasearlyaspossiblegivesyouthebestchanceathavingyourconcernsaddressedinthepublicrelease.Theappletsyoucaptureeventsrightatthepointoffailure.Whenyoulogintotheappandsubmityourfeedback,you’llreceiveaFeedbackID,whichyoucanusetofollowupwithyourteamandApple. FeedbackAssistantapp Thisappletsyoucaptureeventsrightatthepointoffailureandreportanythingthatisn’tfunctioningproperlywithyourITsystemsandservicesorMDMpolicies.Forexample,usetheFeedbackAssistantappifyourcustomappisn’ttunnelingproperlywithVPN.OnaniOSoriPadOSdevice,launchFeedbackAssistantfromtheHomescreen,thencaptureeventsrightatthepointoffailure.Onaputer,launchFeedbackAssistantfromFinder.Whenyousignintotheappandsubmityourfeedback,you’llreceiveaFeedbackID,whichyoucanusetofollowupwithyourteamandApple.YoucanalsoviewpreviouslyprovidedfeedbackundertheSubmittedsectionintheapp. FeedbackAssistantwebsite Usethistooltosubmitanybugsrelatedtoyourcustomapp,requestenhancementstoAPIsanddevelopertools,andtrackyoursubmissions.Problemswiththebehaviorofyourcustomappscanresultfromaframeworkbuginthebetaoraframeworkchangethatexposesabuginyourapp’scode.Iftheissuelookslikeaframeworkbug,yourin-houseorthird-partyappdevelopmentteamshouldattachsamplecodeyoucreated(asarunnableXcodeproject)toabugreport,thensubmitusingtheFeedbackAssistantforDeveloperswebsite. LearnmoreaboutFeedbackAssistant: Note:BugsloggedthroughFeedbackAssistantassociatedwithapersonalAppleIDwon’tendupintheprioritizedqueueforAppleSeedforIT.IfAppledevicesorappsaren’tfunctioningproperlyonyourITsystemsandservicesorMDMpolicies,usetheFeedbackAssistantappwithaManagedAppleIDassociatedtoanization. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 12 Submittingfeedback Writeprecisebugreports Submittingbugreportsasearlyaspossibleinthebetaprocessisthemosteffectivewaytogetyourissuesfixed.Beasspecificaspossiblewhensubmittingbugreportsandlimiteachsubmissiontooneissue.Providingasmanydetailsaspossible,suchasthoselistedinthesuggestionsbelow,allowsAppletoeffectivelydistributeinformationtospecificengineeringteamsandavoidrequestsforadditionalinformation.Ifmoreinformationisrequired,someonefromApplewillreachouttoyou. •GiveyourbugadescriptivetitlesothatAppleteamscaneasilyreferenceyourissue. •Stateclearlywhatyouexpectedtohappen,whathappenedinstead,andwhyyouthinkit’saproblem. •Submitscreenshotsand/oravideoshowingon-devicebehaviorsandUIexamples. •ListclearandconcisestepsneededforAppletoreproducetheissue. •CollectandattachanyiOSandiPadOSdevicelogsormacOSconsolelogsrelevanttotheissue. •Provideareproducibletestcase,ifpossible. Learnmoreaboutlogs,reproducibletestcases,andotherdetails:/sp/help/feedback Reviewyourfeedback UsetheFeedbackAssistantapptoviewfeedbackyou’vefiledorsavedasadraft.Youcanalsoseeifanyfeedbackrequiresadditionalactionorinformationonyourpartandreceivenotificationthatanissuehasbeenfixedinanewbetarelease.ReviewAppleSeedforITreleasenotesforeachbetatoseehighlightsofissuesfixedsincepreviousbetas. GetassistancefromAppleCare WithAppleCareforEnterpriseoranAppleCareOSSupportagreement,youcanverifythatissuesfromprevioussoftwarereleasesarefixedinanewbeta.YoucanrequesttestingassistancefromtheAppleCareEnterpriseSupportteamoranAppleSystemsEngineer(SE)andnotifythemofdeployment-blockingissuesyoureportthroughtheFeedbackAssistantapp.TheseexperiencedAppleagentscanquicklyguideyouthroughtesting,submittingfeedback,andtrackinganyissues. Note:FeedbackloggedthroughAppleCarewillnotendupintheprioritizedqueueforAppleSeedforIT.It’smendedthatyoualsosubmitfeedbackthroughtheFeedbackAssistantappwithaManagedAppleIDassociatedwithanization. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 13 Submittingfeedback Workwithyoursolutionproviders ToensurethatyourappsanddevicesworkproperlywithbetaOSreleases,it’scrucialtoengagethird-partyvendorsthatsupportApple’splatformsandtesttheirbetasolutionsinparallel. MDMsolutionproviders MakesureyourMDMsolutionprovider’splatformwillcontinuetosupportnewversionsofmacOS,iOS,andiPadOSbetasandfollowtheirtimetablefornewfeaturesupport.IfyourMDMvendoroffersabetaversionoftheirsolution,participateintheirbetaprogramaswell.Ideally,youshouldbetestingthemanagementcapabilitiesofyourMDMsolutioninbetaondevicesthatarealsorunningthelatestbetarelease.Thatwayyougetafullviewofwhattheexperiencewillbeforemployees. Appdevelopers Becauseyouremployeesrelyonappstoplishtheirday-to-dayroles,notifyappdeveloperspatibilityissuesbetweenkeyappsfromtheAppStoreandthenewbeta.Thisalsoappliestoanyothersoftwaresolutionsusedbyanization. Othervendors Askvendorsthatsupplyworking,VPN,Bluetoothdeviceconnections,andessoriestoensurethatyourAppledevicesworkwithanization.workprovidercanhelpyoudetermineanevaluationandrolloutstrategywhenyou’repreparingforworkupgrade. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 14 Gettingreadyforyourrollout iOS Prepare Rollout Evaluate Submit Gettingreadyforyourrollout OncethenewmacOS,iOS,andiPadOSversionhasbeenpubliclyreleasedbyApple,testit,encourageuserstoinstallitonceit’scertified,andeducateemployeesonnewfeatures. Certifythepublicrelease Whenanewsoftwareversionispubliclyreleased,movequicklytoevaluateit.Onceyou’reconfidentthatthingsarerunningthewaytheyshouldbe,encourageuserstoupdatetheirAppledevicesassoonaspossible. Involveyourentireteam Eventhoughyourteamshavebeenconsistentlytestingeachbetarelease,it’sessentialtoconductathoroughfinalevaluationofthepublicreleasebeforeusersupdatetheirdevices.Yourdedicatedteamshouldprioritizeevaluationofthelatestrelease,methodicallytestingallcriticalusecases.Inparallel,haveteammembersfromparticipatingbusinessgroupstestcriticalusecasesaswell. Schedulesoftwareupdates Thoughyouwantyouremployeestoupdatetheirdevicestothelatestversionassoonaspossible,theremaybeinstancesinwhichanewversionisreleasedwhileyou’restillcertifyingapreviousversion.WiththelatestversionsofmacOS,iOS,iPadOS,andOS,youcanpreventusersfromupdatingtheirdevicesover-the-airtothelatestoperatingsystemforashortperiodsoyouhavethetimeandflexibilityyouneedpleteathoroughcertification.Thenonceyou’reready,youcanchoosewhichversionyouwantuserstodownloadandinstall,andyoucanpushittothemdirectly. Inthisscenario,IThaspreviouslytested,certified,andpushedversion“OSA.”ThefollowingillustrateshowyoucanmanageadditionalreleaseswhenanMDMrestrictionisusedonsuperviseddevices. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 15 Gettingreadyforyourrollout Thesefeatureswillallowyoutorestrictandpushupdatesordingtoanization’sneeds: Managedsoftwareupdates ForanysupervisedmacOS,iOS,iPadOS,OSdevices,youcansendanMDMrestrictionthatpreventsusersfrommanuallyupdatingadeviceover-theairforaspecifiedtime.UserscanstillupdatetheirdeviceswithAppleConfiguratororFinderonmacOSifthey’vebeengrantedessforiOS,iPadOS,OSdevices.Whenyouimplementthisrestriction,thedefaultdelayis30days,andistriggeredthemomentApplereleasesanoperatingsystemupdate.However,youcanchangethedefaultnumberofdaysyoupreventupdates,anywherefromoneto90days.Whenthedelayexpires,usersgetanotificationtoupdatetotheearliestversionoftheoperatingsystemthatwasavailablewhenthedelaywastriggered. Initiatedsoftwareupdates Onceyou’vecertifiedasoftwareversion,it’smendedthatyouuseanmandtopushasoftwareupdatetosuperviseddevices,promptinguserstoupdatetheirdevices.YourMDMsolutionwillnowprovidealistofsoftwareupdatesavailableforyoutopush.Ifyoupushasoftwareupdatewhileusersareunderthemanagedsoftwareupdaterestriction,therestrictionesactiveagainthemomentthenextsoftwareupdateispubliclyavailablefromApple.Youcanalsousethismandtoseparatethedownloadandinstallationofupdatestoavoiddisruptinguseofthedeviceandallowuserstoinstallatamoreconvenienttime.Installingatadifferenttimealsoallowsyoutonotifyyouremployeesbeforeyoupushanupdate. Note:OnmacOSdevices,thesoftwareupdatesarelimitedtooperatingsystemupdatesonly.Safari,securityupdates,orothersupplementalupdatesformacOSaren’trestricted. LearnmoreabouthowtobestUpdateyouriPhone,iPad,oriPodtouch:/HT204204 AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 16 Gettingreadyforyourrollout Communicatenextstepswithemployees HerearesomeconsiderationsmunicatingwithusersaboutupdatingtheirAppledevicesandinstallingkeyapps.Remembertobetransparentmunicatingwithyouranization,includingwithyourin-houseorthird-partyappdevelopers. •Onlaunchday,sendanemail,updateyourwebpage,orsendtheannouncementusinganinternalmessagingtool.Youmightwanttonoteareasthatstillmaynotbeworkingasexpected. •PublishFAQsandsupportinformationtoyourinternalwebsiteorwiki,includingfixedissues,knowledge-basearticles,informationaboutnewfeatures,andthebestwaytoreportissues. •Schedulefollow-upbrownbagsessions,launchcalls,andwebinars. •Promotetheimportanceandvalueofcontinuedbetatestingtoallanizations,andsharethebetainformationwithallwhoneedit. Educateusersonthenewfeatures IfyourusersunderstandhowtheycanbenefitfromandenjoynewmacOS,iOS,andiPadOSfeatures,they’remuchmorelikelytoupgradequickly.Letthemknowthatthenewreleasehelpskeeptheirdevicessaferandhelpsthembemoreproductive.Inmunications,besuretoincludelinkstointernalandexternalresourcesthatprovideadditionalinformationaboutthelatesttools,features,andappsfromApple. AppleLifecycleManagement March2020 17 Summary AppleLifecycleManagement Summary Applepridesitselfondeliveringthebesttechnologytotheendusers.YoucanputthispowertoworkforyourenterprisethroughpropermanagementoftheAppleplatformlifecycle.Methodicaltestingofyourappsandecosystemthroughoutbetareleasesallowsyoutotakeadvantageofthepublicreleasesasearlyaspossible,providingnewfeatures,enhancedsecurity,employeeproductivity,andoperationalintegrity. LearnaboutmacOSdeployment,management,andsecurityfeatures:/guide/deployment-reference-macos LearnaboutiOSandiPadOSdeployment,management,andsecurityfeatures:/guide/deployment-reference-ios LearnaboutmobiledevicemanagementsettingsforIT:/guide/mdm LearnaboutAppleBusinessManager:/guide/apple-business-manager LearnaboutManagedAppleIDsforBusiness:/business/docs/site/Overview_of_Managed_Apple_IDs_for_Business.pdf LearnaboutAppleatWork:/business/ LearnaboutITfeatures:/business/it/ LearnaboutApplePlatformSecurity:/security/ BrowseavailableAppleCareprograms:/support/professional/ DiscoverAppleTrainingandCertification: EngagewithAppleProfessionalServices:consultingservices@ ©2020AppleInc.Allrightsreserved.Apple,theApplelogo,AirPlay,AirPrint,AppleTV,Bonjour,FaceTime,FileVault,iMessage,iPad,iPhone,iPodtouch,iTunes,Mac,andmacOSaretrademarksofAppleInc.,registeredintheU.S.andothercountries.SwiftisatrademarkofAppleInc.AppStore,AppleCare,AppleBooks,iCloud,iCloudDrive,iCloudKeychain,andiTunesStoreareservicemarksofAppleInc.,registeredintheU.S.andothercountries.IOSisatrademarkorregisteredtrademarkofCiscointheU.S.andothercountriesandisusedunderlicense.Otherproductpanynamesmentionedhereinmaybetrademarksoftheirpanies.Productspecificationsaresubjecttochangewithoutnotice.Thismaterialisprovidedforinformationpurposesonly;Appleassumesnoliabilityrelatedtoitsuse. 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