With limited exceptions, most mobile applications have a very short life, assuming they ever get used at all. [Insert links here] And a mobile app that isn’t updated every 6 to 12 months is essentially abandoned. If you’re a coder for hire, working on multiple projects for multiple clients, over a three year period you could easily touch 20 to 40 apps or more. (For reference, in the last five years I’ve easily worked on over a hundred apps, only one of which is still being actively maintained and updated.)
This is a good thing, yes? Now what happens when a client comes to you and says, remember that app you developed for us two years ago? We’d really like to get it installed on a device so that we can use it as part of a demo.
Did you archive the executable you delivered? Is it an enterprise app you can just resign so that it will install? Will it run on a current version of the operating system? If it runs on the current operating system, will the graphical assets look decent on current displays?
Or maybe you need to rebuild it. You do have the source code controlled in a repository, right? Do you still have an IDE that you can use to compile it? Will the IDE run on the operating system your development machine is currently running?
Even if the contract explicitly stated that you would not provide this service, you can potentially generate good will with clients when you are able to help them out. Just don’t let yourself get sucked into providing too much support for free. It’s best to determine ahead of time (before the request comes in) just what level of effort will necessitate creating a new work order and subsequent charges.
But also remember that, even with the best of intentions and the most reasonable systems in place, you won’t always be able to meet the client’s needs. (The client needs a 32-bit iOS app designed for a non-retina screen to run on the latest iPad Pro for a major event that’s happening in 24 hours. Ahem.)
Sam Herdman 