beyond beyond strategy - building mobile capabilities at tasscc technology leadership committee
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Strategy: Building Your Mobile Capabilities
Presented by:Raj Polikepati
Director of App DevelopmentTexas.gov
TASSCC Technology Education ConferenceApril 10, 2015
04/15/2023 2
Agenda Objectives of Mobile Strategy
Mobile 101
Technology Options
API/Data
Team Roles & Responsibilities
Building Mobile Skills & Competency
Closing Thoughts
Start by asking the right questions – “Will mobile …” Improve agency results?
Reach a targeted
constituent niche?
Include features that are needed?
Benefit internal
operations?
Be adequately
funded?
Require a significant
commitment?
Deliver larger
benefits?
3
Identify Your Real Objectives
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Constituent / User
Easily accessible info High expectations Simple, easy-to-use mobile
experience Different needs depending
on service (1x/day vs. 1x/year)
Speed and safety
Agency
Easy to interact with Transparent Timely responses Fiscally responsible Internal effectiveness /
efficiency Maximize technology
resources
Identify Your Real ObjectivesConsider constituent and agency perspectives
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Mobile Features Geo-location• Leverages GPS hardware on your device
to pinpoint locations• Searches for what’s nearby (buildings,
addresses, parks, restaurants, etc.)• Provides turn-by-turn directions• Enables sharing of location with others• Geotags photos taken with phone
Personal Data / History• Information stored locally on device• Contact info/lists• GPS location• Browsing & download history• Cached data• Images
Google Maps Map My
Run
Find MyPhone
LocalBusinesses
54% of mobile users who download apps decided
not to install a
phone app when they discovered how much
personal info they need to share in order to use it.
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Mobile Features Camera• Able to take digital still photos and videos• Input device for other applications• Scanner• Object recognition to provide information
about that object• Web cam for video conferencing • Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Push Notifications• Send information to users even when the
app isn’t in use
• Keep users updated on activity that occurs within the application(s)
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Technology Options - Landscape
Native Hybrid
Responsive Design
Single Platform
Multiple Platforms
Full Capability
Partial Capability
Native Framework
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Pros Best usability, features, and overall
mobile experience Richer functionality and graphical
effects Full access to device functions and
sensors Presence on the app store Fast startup and access (after initial
download) Content is generally available off-line Users are generally more engaged
with the application
Cons Individual code for each platform Requires knowledgeable
programming resource Limits audience Requires redistribution for
updates and maintenance Requires app store vendor
approval Increases privacy concerns
What is a Native Mobile App?Software developed for a specific mobile device platform and a specific language
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Pros Device and browser agnostic Easier to develop and support Improved SEO single code base Site not downloaded via an App
Store No costly, future upgrades when
new mobile devices hit market Consistent user experience
across all devices Very scalable approach Leverage some phone features
with HTML5
Cons Cross-browser and
device incompatibilities Slower load times Content is not
necessarily mobile-friendly
When you are serving the same HTML, source order cannot be changed
No app store presence, so limited discoverability
What is Mobile Responsive Design?Serves the same HTML to every device and adapts its presentation based on the device’s specific capabilities
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Pros Reaches widest range of devices Leverages same code as website Easier to develop & support App store presence Faster development process
than native apps Provides offline modes for
access without network connectivity
Bill content delivered via web apps independently, such as by subscription
Cons Performance slightly
diminished Users expect similar
experience as native app Software downloads
from web required Available only through
dedicated app stores Requires some app store
approval and updates
What is Hybrid Mobile Design?Native mobile experience, with advantage of write once, run anywhere
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Feature Comparison
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Will the app be used frequently?
Do you have plenty of time and resources?
Responsive Design Web Application
YesNo
Hybrid or Responsive
Design
Yes
NoWill it be used by
employees or constituents?
Is the app highly interactive?
Constituents
Yes
No
Hybrid
Employees
Do you need to support multiple
operating systems?
NoNative
Yes
Start Here
Which MOBILE architecture is right for YOU?
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Considerations BEFORE you launch your mobile strategy - this is what you’ll have to live with post-launch …• Operating costs – all mobile initiatives have incremental
costs including Native, Responsive Design, and Hybrid
• You will be living in a new world – developer skills, social skills, constituent’s mobile expectations
• Extremely fast-changing technologies – need to keep up or else
• Consider a “Think Mobile First” design approach when developing new applications – helps with usability andeffectiveness of mobile and desktop apps
Ongoing Ownership & Operations
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APIs: Where Rubber Meets the Road
Application is only as good as the data Write once; invoke everywhere Multi-channel delivery
• Desktop web/native mobile/responsive• Kiosk/Over-the-Counter (OTC)• Interagency integrations, data warehouse
Open API Strategy• Crowdsourcing App Dev• Cross-Agency GovDelivery• Lower cost of ownership
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APIs: SOAP vs. Restful
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API: Restful 101
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Supports Native, Hybrid, and Responsive Apps• Restful
• API Versioning
• Progressive Enhancement
• Fine-grained
• Secured access
• Caching/CDN
Mobile-Optimized APIs
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Product Manager User Interface/User
Experience Experts Engineering Quality Assurance
Roles & Responsibilities“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." --Henry Ford
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CEO of the App• What’s different?– Mobile Ecosystem vs.
business SME– Extensive behavioral
research– Device-centric vs.
consistent look and feel
Mobile Product Manager – Who?
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What’s different?• Interrupt Driven• Highly Contextual• Device-centric design• Design for limitations
User Experience Expert
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What’s Important?• Thrives in iterative/agile
environment• Instrumentation of
metrics• Focus on fine-grained
API’s (vs. composite services)
• PolyGlot (Objective C/Swift/Java(Android)/HTML/CSS/JS)
Engineering
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Pragmatic app testing Comprehensive testing on each
device Right mix of real devices and
emulators In-the-wild testing Attention to metrics Most importantly –
PERSEVERANCE!!!
QA
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Responsive Web & Native
Texas.gov Site Templates – Contact Us
• Good resources on – Team Treehouse
– Code School
– www.AListApart.com
– Lynda.com
– Apple iOS Developer
– Google University
– Youtube.com
Mobile Skills and Competencies
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While developing, use the built-in “responsive design view” tool in Firefox or Chrome
Highly recommend the “Responsive Design” book from A Book Apart
Programming in Objective-C (6th Edition) (Developer's Library) - By Stephen G. Kochan
Great Prototype Collaboration Website: Invisionapp.com
Mobile Skills and Competencies
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Popular Responsive Web Tools: CSS3 Media Queries – Dimensions, Orientation
HTML 5
JavaScript (Custom, JQuery, JQuery UI)
Twitter Bootstrap
Angular JS – Directives
HTML 5
W3.org Mobile App Best Practices
Mobile Skills and Competencies
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Hybrid Mobile• PhoneGap
• Appcelerator Titanium
• Mobile Angular UI
• Sencha Touch
Mobile Skills and Competencies
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A scalable approach is always repeatable
Experiment with approach from time to time
Leverage API benefits for mobile governance
Choices are abundant with pros and cons
Adopt the tools that your team is most comfortable
Mobile-First shift is less technical and more cultural
Designated champion – Product Manager
Real use cases will get sponsorship!!!
Closing Thoughts
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Raj PolikepatiDirector of [email protected]
Daniel MorenoOutreach [email protected]
Contacts
