The production access questions, and how to answer them

Where to apply

Open the Dashboard in Play Console and click Apply for production. The form has three sections: About your closed test, About your app/game, and About your production readiness.

Each section is saved only when you click Next, or Apply on the last one. If you click Discard or leave the page first, your answers are lost, so draft them somewhere else and paste them in.

Part 1: About your closed test

Google says this section "helps verify that apps have been thoroughly tested before publication on Google Play." It asks for:

1. How easy it was to recruit testers. You choose an option.
2. Tester engagement: whether testers used all of your app's features, and whether their usage matched how you expect real users to behave, with details of any differences.
3. A summary of the feedback testers gave you, and how you collected it.

How to answer well

• Choose the recruiting option that matches what actually happened.
• For engagement, name your app's main features and say which ones testers used. If a feature went unused, say so, and what you did about it: a clearer button, a hint, a note to testers.
• For differences in usage, be concrete. Testers who are other developers might open the app once a day for a few minutes, while your real users might spend longer, sign in on two devices or buy a subscription. Say what differed and why.
• For feedback, give the channels you used (Google Play's private testing feedback, email, a form, a group chat), roughly how much came in, the main themes, and two or three specific examples.
• If your testers came from a tester exchange, Test Rounds included, say so plainly and describe how their use differed from your audience's.

Part 2: About your app or game

Google notes that these answers aren't shown on Google Play and don't affect your app's visibility, your access to Play Console features, or your eligibility for developer programs. It asks for:

1. Your target audience, as specifically as possible.
2. Your value proposition: for an app, how it provides value to users; for a game, what makes it unique.
3. An estimated install range for the first year. You choose an option.

How to answer well

• Name a real group. "Adults building a daily habit who want a simple checklist" says more than "everyone".
• Describe the value in a sentence or two, in the words a user would use.
• Pick an install range you could explain if asked.

Part 3: About your production readiness

Google says this section "helps evaluate whether your app or game is prepared for production release." It asks for:

1. The changes you made to your app based on what you learned in the closed test.
2. How you determined that your app was ready for production.

How to answer well

• List each change with the version it shipped in and what prompted it.
• Give the criteria you used. For example: no open crash reports from the last builds, every main feature used by testers, the feedback you chose to act on dealt with, and a pre-launch report reviewed.
• If testing turned up nothing to change, say what it confirmed rather than inventing changes.

Evidence to collect during the test

Google tells developers to keep a record of feedback, because you have to summarize it when you apply. These notes make all three parts quick to write:

• A feedback log: the date, the channel, what the tester said, and what you did about it.
• Play Console's testing feedback (Monitor and improve > Ratings and reviews > Testing feedback), where testers' private feedback from Google Play appears. You can filter it and reply.
• A feature list, with a mark against each feature a tester used.
• Release notes for each closed-test build: the version, what changed, and which feedback prompted it.
• Pre-launch report results. Play Console can run a pre-launch report on your build and list warnings, errors and performance issues.
• How you recruited testers, and how long it took.
• Where tester behavior differed from what you expect of real users.

It also helps to give testers something to do. Google suggests clear instructions on how to test and report bugs, saying what kind of feedback you want, a clear feedback channel, and encouraging testers to use as many features as possible.

Above all, describe the testers, feedback and changes you actually had. Specific, modest answers are easier to write and to stand behind than polished general ones.

Before you apply

Google says making sure your app complies with its policies is your responsibility, and that review "is not a troubleshooting step." It points to four common areas:

• App content and features: content, features and monetization comply with Google Play policies.
• Targeting and content rating: your target age group and store listing settings reflect your audience and content.
• Functional reliability: no crashes, broken functionality or missing screens.
• Test credentials: if your app needs sign-in, working login details in Play Console so reviewers can test every feature.

After you apply

Google reviews the application and emails the account owner when it's done. Review usually takes seven days or less, but can take longer.

If Google decides your app needs more testing, you may have to keep the closed test running; the reasons it gives include fewer than 12 opted-in testers and insufficient tester engagement. Keep your testers opted in until you have the result. If you're approved, the Production page and open testing become available.

Still working out the test itself? How the 12 testers, 14 days rule works.