Version information is documented or accessible
Why it matters
Version history documentation serves two concrete functions: it lets users understand what changed in an update before installing (reducing negative reviews from unexpected behavior changes), and it gives future maintainers a reliable source of truth for which version introduced which behavior. App stores surface "What's New" text in update prompts — an empty or generic "Bug fixes and improvements" entry significantly reduces update adoption rates, which matters for security patches that need broad uptake. ISO 25010:2011 maintainability quality attributes include changeability and testability, both of which depend on accurate version documentation. Without a CHANGELOG, diagnosing regressions across version boundaries requires git archaeology instead of a changelog lookup.
Severity rationale
Info because missing version documentation doesn't cause rejection but measurably reduces update adoption and increases future maintenance cost for regression triage.
Remediation
Create CHANGELOG.md at the project root using Keep a Changelog format and tag releases in git to link the changelog to deployable artifacts.
# Changelog
## [1.1.0] - 2026-03-15
### Added
- Push notifications for order status updates
- Dark mode support
### Fixed
- Login timeout on slow connections
## [1.0.0] - 2026-02-01
- Initial release
# Tag each release in git
git tag -a v1.1.0 -m "Order notifications + dark mode"
git push origin v1.1.0
Paste a condensed version of the current section into the App Store Connect "What's New" field and Google Play Console release notes field at submission time. Keep notes user-facing ("Fixed login timeout") not implementation-focused ("Refactored auth token refresh logic").
DetectionPro
The detection method for this pattern is part of AuditBuffet Pro.
The full method (what to look for, pass and fail conditions, and how results get reported) ships inside the App Store Readiness Audit. The pattern definition, severity rationale, and remediation remain openly licensed under CC-BY-4.0.
External references
- iso-25010:2011 · maintainability — ISO 25010 — Maintainability
Taxons
History
- 2026-04-18·v1.0.0·Initial import from mobile-store-readiness·automated