Summary: Baylor College of Medicine is committed to the development and growth of the institution’s mobile technology environment while also encouraging innovation in alignment with the mission, strategy and brand of the College.
Approving Authority: Office of Information Technology
Last Updated: Nov. 14, 2018
Purpose: Baylor College of Medicine reasonably expects that mobile products published under the Baylor College of Medicine brand or developed under the auspices of the College, whether developed by faculty, staff, or students will have utility, value, and maintain the College’s reputation.
Scope: This article describes the governance by which mobile apps identified with or developed under the auspices of Baylor College of Medicine are published/released. It applies to all mobile apps developed using College resources and/or identified with the College through display of the Baylor College of Medicine logo or text which implies the endorsement or support of Baylor College of Medicine.
Definitions
Web applications are best when dynamic or complex logic is required to meet users’ needs. Web applications are websites which feature dynamic, interactive content and functionality. For example, Google Maps is an example of a mobile web application; the app accepts information about a user’s departure point and destination in order to generate and guide a user through a route. This requires fairly complex data storage and processing on both the server and client (web browser). These solutions offer dynamic functionality across most modern, standards-compliant web browsers.
Native mobile applications are “apps” designed to run on specific mobile operating systems (e.g. iOS or Android). Apps are published to and installed from app stores.
Hybrid apps consist of a web app embedded in a native app wrapper, providing most benefits of both solutions. Hybrid apps are best whenever app store exposure and/or device features are necessary and performance is not paramount.
Responsibilities
The Baylor College of Medicine Office of Information Technology is responsible for reviewing and approving development and publishing/release of mobile apps into the production Enterprise Apple App Store or Google Play.
App creators/owners/sponsors are responsible for obtaining approval of the Office of Information Technology prior to development.
Guidelines
Any business unit, staff member, student, or faculty member, wishing to develop or add functionality for a mobile application, under the auspices of the College and branded as a Baylor College of Medicine product, must seek formal approval prior to development by completing the College Mobile App/Mobile Website Request Form.
The request will be reviewed by Baylor College of Medicine’s Office of Information Technology.
Development Steps
- Request Form Submission
- Initial review
- Development
- Follow-up review and testing
- Revisions, as needed
- Implementation
- Release
- Maintenance
Approval should be sought as early in the development process as possible. Approval from OIT must be granted in writing before any mobile application or mobile website within the scope of this policy may be published or released.
App solutions may utilize the following Office of Information Technology (OIT) resources:
- Baylor College of Medicine's content management system
- OIT servers
- OIT's Apple Developer account
- OIT's Android Play account (oit-android@bcm.edu DL can be owner same recipients as oit-apple@bcm.edu)
- Git repository
More information can be provided by upon request.
Baseline Technical Requirements for Mobile Solutions
Technical requirements and documentation will be made available to parties responsible for development and/or maintenance of mobile solutions. These parties are expected to comply with all stipulations. One or more of the following may apply:
- Americans with Disabilities Act regulations
- Baylor College of Medicine Android / iOS Development Guidelines
- Baylor College of Medicine Development Guidelines
- Baylor College of Medicine Security Checklist
- Baylor College of Medicine Change Management
- Baylor College of Medicine Branding
- Baylor College of Medicine Program Management policy
- Baylor College of Medicine Intellectual Property Rights and Licensing Terms
- Baylor College of Medicine Google Analytics Requirements
Nonconformities
Deviations from this guidance will result in notice of corrective action by the Baylor College of Medicine Digital Governance Subcommittee, up to and including removal of the app from distribution.
*Note: Policies cited in the Digital Governance document (approved by the Board and published in March 2019) supersede any previous agreement, policy and/or guideline.
Contact
Cognizant Office: Office of Information Technology via BCM Service Portal
General questions should be directed to the Digital Governance Subcommittee.
Contact
Cognizant Office: Office of Information Technology via BCM Service Portal
General questions should be directed to the Digital Governance Subcommittee.
