We’re excited to announce that we are opening up exclusive Premier Field Engineer (PFE) consultation sessions for Windows 8 applications with high potential on the Windows Store towards the last few weeks of July.

In a 2-hour session, our Microsoft Engineer will provide you with comprehensive consultation services and feedback on your application’s design, user experience and attend to any of your questions on Windows 8 development. Once your application has been certified by our engineer, you will receive a free and early Windows store developer token to publish your app on the Windows Store.

Send in an email to win8sg@microsoft.com if you’re interested and we’d love to meet you!

When I first started learning development for Windows 8 apps, I was a little intimidated as I thought I would be faced with a steep learning curve. I wanted to create 2 Windows 8 apps, and subsequently attend 2 PFE sessions the following week. Despite only some background with web design, HTML and JavaScript, it turned out that my skills actually came in handy and that writing a Windows 8 app isn’t that hard after all!

During the PFE consultation sessions, I worked closely with an engineer from Philippines, where she gave me lots of advice on how I can improve my user interface to make it more appealing to users. She was extremely detailed in her feedback, and even suggested to me how large and where a font should be placed. When she suggested adding in more Windows 8 features such as the Privacy Policy and also to conform to different resolutions screens, she was patient enough to show me how to obtain the code when I mentioned that I had no idea how to do it. It was an extremely casual session, and I felt that I could connect with her very easily when talking ‘tech’ terms.

I was extremely thrilled when I received and earned my first Windows store developer token shortly after the session. Through the PFE sessions, I made a friend, learned a lot about Windows 8 apps development and earned a free token to have my apps published in the Windows Store. 🙂

After getting to know other developers through the Windows 8 Dream Build Launch hackathon,  here’s what they have to share about their PFE experiences:

The PFE session was great. Through the session, the PFE helped me discover details that I had overlooked while designing the user interface and those add up to give the user a better overall experience. With the suggestions from the PFE, I am able to greatly enhance some of the awkward placement of user interface such as the appbar etc. I was also given insights on the various type of messages that should be displayed on metro style to optimize the usability of the app thus providing a better user experience. I thank Microsoft for giving me the opportunity to meet with the PFE as that is very useful for my future app development.

– Lim Zheng Hong

The PFE session provided me with helpful insights on refining my application experience in order to best serve users. My application layout and design decisions were given lots of constructive feedback. Some examples included the placement of buttons, and how they could be refined to facilitate users’ interactions, or how to occupy empty space and even suggestions on what might be extra cool to have. That was when I found myself having a few ‘ah-hah’ moments. Ideas do grow when it gets challenged, especially by people who know lots more about the trade. When knowing that my application leverages on HTTP requests, the PFE immediately introduced me to a tool to better gauge the Internet traffic.

– Tam Vu Minh

My experience in PFE was great! I have been feeling excited about it (for weeks) ever since I received my ‘slot’ for PFE. Understanding that it is a rare opportunity for my app to be able to go for PFE, I tried my best to adhere to the best practices of Windows 8 Metro App, and also to understand the rationales of making all the respective adjustments. During the PFE, Ms Noemi has been really nice and kind to give me a lot of constructive advises and suggested several useful pointers that can be very helpful to me in future development. In a nutshell, my experience in PFE is a fruitful and interesting journey!

– Kong Wen Bin

About a month and a half ago, I took to developing apps for Windows 8. Besides, the cool range of languages, in which I could develop my apps, the fact that it could be used by as many as 5 million users was an extremely intriguing prospect. In order for the apps developed to be deemed worthy of becoming a part of the Windows 8 app store, they needed to go through the Premium Field Engineering Labs. During these sessions, one or more PFEs would test the apps and check them for errors or possible problems and most importantly whether they conformed to the metro design principles. The actual test comprised of checking the app against a fairly long and comprehensive list of design standards, which included checking whether the app could blend into different form factors, whether it could be viewed in portrait, landscape, filled and snapped mode while keeping to the metro design principles. If you passed this test, you would be presented with a developer token, which would enable you to upload your app into the app store. However, even if you didn’t pass the test, the PFEs would suggest changes and improvements and if you managed to pull off those changes, your app stood a chance to be approved. I went through 3 PFE sessions, during which 5 of my apps were tested. Needless to say, during my first PFE session, I was nervous, did not know what to expect and made a few mistakes. However, the PFE was very helpful in pointing out possible changes and improvements. She helped out through discussions and went as far as pointing me to the right resources which would aid me in improving my apps. As I attended more PFE sessions, I began to understand what made an app good and what made it great. The apps had to look good for people to use. The user interface needed to be easy to understand and use and most importantly – content came first. After going through the PFE sessions and making the suggested the improvements, all five of my apps were approved and I am now in the final stage of uploading these apps to the market place. I was greatly supported by a lot of people during this time especially by Yizhe, Chun Siong and Alex, who spent hours together helping me improving my apps and making them worthy of the Windows 8 Store.

– Budhaditya

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