Last week, the BBC released its iPlayer app for iPhone to those in the UK. Chris Elphick, Senior Designer for the iPhone project (the app was previously available on Android and the iPad), has since posted an overview of the development process at the company's blog. It's a rather comprehensive look at the challenges that faced the team and how decisions related to design, UI, and functionality were ultimately reached. Brainstorming sessions led the way, followed by more specific discussions on gestures, the app's behavior in landscape orientation, branding, and much more. Elphick also reveals that the BBC employed an outside agency to conduct testing sessions with iPhone users to collect direct feedback on iPlayer before finalizing its initial release — an effort which the developers have continued by closely monitoring reviews and user ratings. And there's more to come: peering into the future, Elphick teases new features and expanded functionality to come in the new year, though he offers little in the way of specifics.