App Development

The app development process starts with an idea and ends with a production-ready app. The following section provides a high-level walkthrough of this process.

Develop and deploy an app:

1. Browse examples of existing civic engagement and agency productivity apps to see how others use Accela data. See https://github.com/Accela-Inc for sample apps. The Accela Blog also has articles that highlight what customers have done with the Accela API.

2. Identify an agency or citizen problem space that relates to an agency practice area (see Accela solutions).

   Note: When developing an app against a specific Civic Platform instance, be aware of the specific record types and workflows in use for that environment. The configuration of the Civic Platform instance your app works against determines the functionality you can expose through your app. An app developed against one Civic Platform instance may or may not work against another Civic Platform instance.
   Note: Your app can access external data sources not directly tied to Civic Platform.

3. Depending on your chosen technology stack, there might be an available SDK or client library to help expedite your development. You can browse what is available on here: https://github.com/Accela-Inc.

4. Register your new app. If your app will be used by agency staff, register it as an agency app; if citizens will use your app, register it as a citizen app.

5. Request an API test token.

6. Develop and test your app with the Accela developer sandbox site. Once the required developer agreements have been executed, if needed you can contact Support to request a sandbox specifically for your team.

7. Deploy your app in the appropriate marketplace or license the app for internal agency uses.