Today I went ahead and registered the name “Monorail Apps” as a legitimate business in Ontario via the ServiceOntario site! The process was really intuitive and simple, but sadly it does not guarantee name protection, meaning, anyone can register their business with any name, even though if the name is identical to any existing ones. There’s more to do to be fully legalized as a business, but today is a good start.

With the “Master Business License”, I am able to obtain a DUNS number which is required by the Apple Developer Program if the seller is going to be labeled as the company name. The DUNS number application will take 30 days to process, just in time for my July 31st goal of first app submission.

Yesterday, I have dived into a little bit into UX Design and its five-step process. It starts with research and planning, getting all the data that is relevant to the project. As part of step 1, I came across a powerful tool called ”persona”: it is when the designer devises hypothetical and real data about typical users from different background and age groups, identifying their needs and emotions while using the app. The second step is to sketch the app with all the necessary functionalities and their corresponding UI elements in flow chart format. The step I liked to call Step 2.5 is the when the details are filled and refined as more feedbacks are received. Step 3 is prototyping, this is when the app itself is made to the finest detail possible based on steps 1-2.5. Step 4 is when it goes beta, lots of testing and refining. And finally, step 5, the launch, which is in many cases, just a beginning of a new chapter. I plan to implement this process to the Chinese Zodiac Signs app.