How To Succeed With Mobile

POINTABOUT WHITEPAPER:

How To Succeed With Mobile Initiatives
Pre-Development associated with rushing into
development work based
on responses to RFQs and
PointAbout uses the Process RFPs: “For the client, there
PointAbout’s phased
Funnel below as a guide to is a collision course set
approach to mobile
help Clients map out their when a mobile solution with
development ensures
mobile strategy. The funnel high level requirements is
that our Clients can
emphasizes that building bought for a fixed price.
knowledgeably evaluate the
mobile products is a holistic Mobile is a medium in
mobile landscape, articulate
process with a series of inter- which slight differences
their wants and needs, and
connected decisions. have significant cost
develop mobile products
accordingly. Our process implications. Additionally,
Potential clients often send client requirements or
consists of three main steps,
out expansive RFPs and clarifications continue to
which are reviewed below:
RFQs that require detailed emerge throughout the
responses regarding a project, and usually accrue
Step 1: Defining Goals, High- proposed development negatively to the developer’s
Level Strategy Overview & Data solution and related quote. bottom line.”
Architecture Review The cost of mobile projects
varies widely, however, PointAbout consults with
When a company refers to depending on a number Clients to develop a System
“mobile,” it’s typically using of intangibles. PointAbout Requirements Specification
the term to cover both mobile consults with clients in the (SRS) document that lays
websites and apps, each of pre-development phase out a development plan for
which should be addressed to guide them through the apps and/or mobile websites
separately. Mobile websites process funnel. If a Client has based on each individual
have broad, although not considered every aspect of Client’s expectations,
inconsistent, distribution. their business requirements, targeted platforms, and
Every phone has a different audience, platform, features, preexisting data architecture.
browser; there is no standard storyboard, data definition, The SRS document provided
of Internet Explorer, Firefox, acceptance criteria, and by PointAbout at the end
or Chrome like there is in the post-development support, of the consulting period
desktop world. any quote resulting from an can be used for in-house
RFP or RFQ will be preliminary development, serve as the
Mobile apps are typically at best, and could result in basis for development by
used to drive deep, rich costly mistakes throughout PointAbout, or be distributed
interaction and experiences. the development period. to multiple vendors in
Smartphones are the fastest the form of a Request for
growing segment of mobile, Pete Johnson,PointAbout’s Proposal (RFP).
and for some users they are VP of Professional Services,
replacing computers entirely. describes the negatives

CONTACT POINTABOUT AT 202.391.0347 OR INFO@POINTABOUT.COM

POINTABOUT WHITEPAPER: HOW TO SUCCEED WITH MOBILE INITIATIVES 2

Business Requirements reach new customers and
keep them coming back if
they truly stand out from
the competition. This means
having the foresight and
patience to create a best-
in-breed app as well as the
fortitude to see it through.
What utilities will make your
app a must-have? What
apps that aren’t necessarily
“competition” contain
elements you’d like to see in
your apps?

New Sales – How can app
sales help bolster the bottom
line? How can you increase
user uptake of your app to
drive new sales, in-app sales,
and/or advertising sales?

Market Research – How can
you use analytics to optimize
User Experience?

Audience

Your intended target
Business Requirements Education / Engagement –
market defines who the
How can/should you engage
app should be designed to
users to keep them coming
reach. Defining the audience
back?
influences decisions in the
Business Requirements Platform, Features, and
spell out some of the most Branding – What kind of
Storyboard sections.
important components of a feedback channels do you
Client’s application. want to open? What social
Target Users – What is the
media outlets do you want to
demographic profile of your
Ad Sales – How can you tap and how?
intended target audience?
maximize user downloads
and ad revenue? New Customers / User
Stakeholders – Before an app
Acquisition – Apps only
can be released in the wild, it



needs to meet the approval iPhone apps, which have had
of a range of stakeholders, over 1.2 million downloads
including operational and in the App Store.
economic.
Android – Smart phones
Competition and Precedent running on Android OS are
– What can you do that your rapidly gaining market share,
competitors aren’t already and Google’s plans for web-
doing? What should you do based apps on Chrome have
that they’re already doing? the potential to challenge
Apple’s dominance in the
Advertisers – Which app market.
advertising vendors should
you consider, which do you RIM/Blackberry – Blackberry
already use, and what kind accounts for more smart
of advertising would you phone users than any other
prefer to include in your device, yet their App World
app? Banner/interstitial/ contains roughly 1/10th the
sponsorship? number of apps as Apple.

Platform Windows Mobile – Microsoft
has been very silent in the For more information and
app space, but is the ‘lurking statistics about mobile
giant’ and is starting to and the automotive
PointAbout helps Clients re-prioritize for apps. Other industry, check out
strategize which platforms to considerations come into our case study with an
target with their mobile apps. play with Windows Mobile automotive thought
We examine all platforms to such as: What languages leader at link.pointabout.
gauge whether there would will optimize speed of com/automotive or click
be significant benefits to development, UXP, and below:
creating apps on them. content delivery to apps?
Which of these considerations
iPad – The iPad is a new is most important?
technology platform, and
although it’s an extension of WWW – Do you want to create
the well-known iPhone SDK, a mobile website, or just
building software for the mobile apps?
iPad carries its own inherent
challenges. Features

iPhone/iPod Touch –
PointAbout’s AppMakr
service has been the force PointAbout has strategic
behind more than 1200 partnerships with a number



of mobile solutions providers. Pixel Perfect Images – Images apparent.
We also have reusable code created based on wireframes Do you have ways to allow
libraries and access to open that developers use as the data to be inputted by the
source that is specific to the basis for app creation. mobile user (i.e. comments,
mobile app space. user locations, blog
Style Guide – How should postings)?
Some primary technology the app look and feel? What
categories that we explore message do you want it On mobile web this is
during Step 1 include Push to present? What are your typically just http
Notifications, Analytics, company’s color schemes, based form submissions.
Advertising, eCommerce, preferred fonts, etc.?
and Social Media/Sharing. On mobile apps this is
Considerable energy will be Data Definition typically via direct API access
spent pinning down what to the data sources.
you can and should do to
maximize user retention and Are you counting on RSS
acquisition through the use What does your data feeds to deliver data to the
of features. architecture look like? Is it app? If so, are those RSS
equipped to deliver what you feeds displaying full data
Storyboards need to create these mobile feeds, or just summaries? Do
applications? the RSS feeds validate? How
are the RSS feeds updated?
Are you running legacy
Storyboards are visual systems that do not interface Do your various data sources
designs of the app’s expected with web-based protocols speak to one another? If a
look, feel and functionality. and API calls? If so, what data query needs to be made
Storyboards and wireframes mapping needs to be done that involves multiple data
provide the groundwork for to extract the data from the sources that are typically not
necessary decision-makers system so it can be utilized queried together, will there
to understand exactly what by the app? be problems?
the app will be able to do.
Additionally, they allow Do you already have APIs Do you have places to put
development teams and data created to allow for extraction new data that is created by
providers to understand of data by the mobile device? mobile users? Examples
expectations for back-end include GPS coordinates,
data processing and front- Is your data kept up to date user generated content,
end display. automatically? If not, does it time-based requests for
need to be updated manually? information.
Wireframes – Have you Mobile tends to uncover data
thought through every nook, issues, including instances What analytics and tracking
cranny, back button, swipe, where data is not updated systems are you currently
and pinch/zoom of your often enough, which can go using? Will you be able to
app? Developed use cases? unnoticed on the desktop extend those to gain insight
but in mobile becomes very into mobile usage? Are



there native SDKs available the development phase
(if mobile apps) for these ensure we are able to deliver
analytics applications? What successful, market-ready
reporting will they be capable applications in a short
of? Will that satisfy all of window of time.
your stakeholders’ needs?
We update Clients on
Do multiple systems need to progress through email and
be updated when something conference calls, and give
happens on the mobile daily, weekly, or biweekly
device? updates on each project’s
development progress.
Have you moved to a Service-
Oriented Architecture Communication during all
design? If not, do you want phases of development
to do so to facilitate your is critical to building
mobile initiatives? successful mobile products.
We encourage constant
How can you achieve your communication throughout
mobile objectives without the development process. We
having to re-architect also use project management For more statistics, and
large parts of your internal tools, namely Unfuddle, information about why
systems? that enable Clients to stay Cars.com continues to a
apprised of developments successful mobile player,
Acceptance Criteria via RSS. read our case study with
Nick Fotis of Cars.com.
PointAbout’s work isn’t Visit link.PointAbout.
over when the development com/cars-case-study or
Acceptance Criteria is a phase ends. We remain click below:
line-by-line explanation on board after mobile
of requirements the app products are launched
must fulfill before it can be to help Clients correct
deemed accepted by you and data or display errors and
submitted to Apple’s App repeatable software-specific
Store. crashes. Post-development
support offerings include:
Support App Promotion, Support
for the first 30 days, a
comprehensive “Month One”
report, and Optional Ongoing
Our pre-development Technical Support.
planning processes and
project management
systems employed during



Things to Consider •What kind of support
and Review in Step 1 does your business need • The point above tends
throughout the mobile to be a big issue with app
development process? sponsorships. Sales teams
• Have you considered which typically sell on a CPM basis
mobile approach is best for • What is your goal with your and are not well equipped to
your business? mobile initiative? sell sponsorship deals.

• For mobile web: Are you • Are you looking for an • Do all stakeholders in your
going to do phone browser ROI off of each project, or organization understand the
detection and serve content are you treating mobile as a steps involved to creating
that’s optimized for each marketing expense item? Is mobile initiatives?
phone’s browser? Or will you your goal to drive increased
be satisfied with one mobile awareness of, or engagement Typically, involvement is as
website version of your with your brand? follows:
content that does not render
differently on each phone, • You may often find the Executive Staff:
but is more digestible on answer is a mix of the above.
the mobile form factor than You may have different Get prioritized list of
the desktop version of your mobile goals for different requirements for mobile
content? parts of your customer life initiatives.
cycle. For example, you may
• For mobile apps: The app be focused on generating Get buy-in and a dedicated
space is very fragmented. awareness through mobile budget to fund mobile
Since apps are software, games, and then utility objectives over the next 12
and each operating system through mobile apps, and to (ideally) 24 months.
is different, apps created continued engagement with
on one platform will not the brand post-purchase. Create and share a roadmap
run on others. You have to (see step 2) with time frames
individually consider each • Are you looking to generate for various components. Get
platform. revenue from each mobile roadmap approval.
initiative? If so, do you
• Have you considered each expect that to come from IT / Technology Staff:
layer of the process funnel? advertising, sponsorships,
integrated purchasing (such Get prioritized list of
• Have you reviewed and as in-app purchasing), or requirements for mobile
prepared for all aspects of direct sale revenue (i.e., initiatives.
the mobile process? charging for an app)?
Clearly articulate the
• Will your audience respond • Does your sales force know required involvement by
well to mobile initiatives, and how to sell mobile? Will you each component. Ensure
how do you want to reach have to train your sales force bandwidth is available to
them? up on mobile ad unit sizes execute.
and functionalities?



Product Management: become available once paid
for.
Step 2: Define Long-Term App
Get prioritized list of
Strategy & Roadmap.
requirements for mobile • Businesses may choose to
Derive Short-Term App Strategy &
initiatives. make one or two “flagship”
Roadmap From Long-Term Plan
mobile applications that
Marketing: are expensive to produce
In determining mobile but hold the majority of the
Get prioritized list of strategy, a business must content and functionality
requirements for mobile think about how its users the brand represents, along
initiatives. will interact with its various with a suite of lightweight,
components. Some typical temporal apps which are
Start planning messaging, examples are as follows: relevant to users for specific
roll-out and marketing events.
integration of mobile • A business creates a mobile
initiatives within the overall web presence that offers Specific to mobile apps, the
marketing plan. limited functionality found usage patterns of returning
on the desktop version of users show that lightweight,
Define dedicated marketing its website. This mobile temporal apps tend to
budgets for marketing website might use browser produce the most value, as
initiatives detection to serve an the percentage of returning
optimized version of its site users drops significantly
Sales: to each type of mobile phone over time (see on next page).
(expensive) or it might just
Get prioritized list of be a pared down, easy to
requirements for mobile read version of its desktop
initiatives. website (inexpensive).

Human Resources:
• Separately, the business
Get prioritized list of might choose to make one or
requirements for mobile more mobile apps for each
initiatives. part of the customer life
cycle, to drive awareness of
Customer Support: the brand, engagement and
interaction with its content,
Get prioritized list of and customer loyalty.
requirements for mobile
initiatives. • Mobile web and/or apps
may be used to drive
Plan ramp-up of customer revenue. Content may be
support staff on mobile restricted unless a user has
questions that will be coming paid for the specific content,
from user base or functionality may only



According to Pinch Media different task)? For Mobile Web:
(since acquired by Flurry),
long-term app usage tends • How will the user experience • Total ad or sponsorship
to be 1% of total downloads. differ in mobile web and revenue generated
The entire Pinch Media deck, mobile apps? How will you
titled “App Store Secrets,” is take advantage of what apps • Number of mobile web
available at (link.pointabout. can offer, including: visitors (both uniques and
com/pinch-stats). aggregate)
• GPS locating capabilities
Things to Consider • Proximity sensors • Total web page impressions
and Review in Step 2 • Accelerometer
• Camera • Time spent on site
• Augmented Reality
• How centralized or • Access to address book • Number of page views per
de-centralized do you want • Compass visitor
your mobile strategy to • Pinch, swipe & dragging
be? Do you want to allow For Mobile Apps:
individual business units • How will you market each
to launch mobile initiatives mobile initiative to users? • Total ad, app or sponsor
independently? revenue generated
• Set metrics against your
• Related: Will the end mobile goals for three, • Total downloads
user’s experience suffer six, twelve and twenty four
from a decentralized mobile month periods. Standard • Total page views
strategy (i.e., a user has to metrics include:
use one mobile website or • Device usage patterns
app to perform one task, and (based on accelerometer,
switch to a different mobile proximity sensor data)
website or app to perform a



•Geographic usage patterns web and mobile apps: software, requirements must
(based on GPS, WiFi Mobile Web: Companies be set and signed off on
triangulation) will generally start with free before development begins
or nearly free solutions like – known as a “waterfall”
• What are your immediate Wordpress or Drupal plug- development process,
mobile goals (next 3 months) ins that will reformat content where the next piece flows
based on the questions for the mobile device, but from the last. Changing
above, and which project not do browser detection for of requirements after
or projects do you want to specific phones. development has begun with
tackle first? mobile apps is a very costly
There is an entire industry exercise.
• Ideally high-level design of mobile website solution
will be integrated into step 2 providers, from templated A special note for the iPad:
(whether the design is coming solutions to software The iPad’s larger form factor
from your team or ours). We that integrates with CMS means it is a design-heavy
like to use rapid prototyping systems to reformat device. While design is an
tools like Balsamiq (www. content appropriately by integral part of the entire
Balsamiq.com) to ensure the requesting device. Cost mobile initiative ecosystem,
everyone is on the same can be from free on the it’s especially true for the
page for proposed mobile open source CMS side, to iPad: Good design can make
web and app functionality, $100,000+ if software is or break the app.
even at a high level. installed in the enterprise
to sit between the CMS and Things to Consider
Step 3: Specify Mobile Web & the end user. PointAbout and Review in Step 3
Mobile App Requirements, can handle this through
Scoping & Versioning partnerships with leading
vendors of this technology, • What are the prioritized
and project manage the stakeholders’ objectives for
(Repeat this step as needed the project
entire solution.
for each distinct project
based on goals from Step 2) • Which of those objectives
Mobile Apps: It is critically
important that stakeholders can be accomplished in this
Mobile app development project, based on its time
be brought in early and
differs greatly from mobile frame and budget?
requirements be specified in
web development in the
a detailed manner up-front,
fact that mobile apps are • How will the objectives
before a single line of code
compiled software. This that don’t make it into the
is written. Many companies
means that a very specific first version be treated?
are used to doing web-
process must be followed to Ideally a roadmap is created
based development, where
ensure a successful product that encompasses all
requirements can be reset
launch. objectives and is versioned
after the process has begun
– also known as an “agile” appropriately (i.e., what is
Here are PointAbout’s included in version 1.0, then
development process.
recommendations for mobile 1.1, then 1.2, etc.)
However, since apps are



• The requirements must authority to make decisions process, before the SRS is
be detailed in our Software on behalf of the stakeholders. signed, and understand the
Requirements Specification cost and time ramifications
document located at (link. • Quality Assurance testing of waiting until development
PointAbout.com/SRS) is a big part of ensuring a has begun to provide
(sample copy also attached successful launch. We have feedback on the project.
to this document) and signed an evolved QA process we
off on before development run internally but also turn Ready to Mobilize?
begins. A project quote will to you to QA within your
be given based on these organization once the app PointAbout offers expertise
requirements. has passed our QA testing. in all aspects of mobile
It’s important to ensure you development. We have a
• How will our design team either: wide range of experience
interface with yours? Does tackling mobile strategy
your design team have A) Have a group of and development. Pete
specific mobile experience? people ready to perform the Johnson, PointAbout’s VP
If not, it’s often best to appropriate QA testing on of Professional Services,
simply provide assets and the project, or and the rest of our staff are
high-level design guidance passionate about helping our
to our team. Mobile design B) Define exact QA clients meet their goals. You
is very specialized, and testing requirements can find examples of some
designers who do not have up-front to allow us to of our previous work here.
mobile experience often do perform all the necessary QA PointAbout’s consulting
not realize this until it is testing in-house division offers a pathway
affecting the project. to mobile success through
A special note about getting our expertise, relationships
• As part of the SRS, detailed a signed SRS for Mobile within the mobile industry,
mockups (wireframes are Apps: Various stakeholders and continued support
OK) should be provided for within an organization throughout the development
each screen that include all will often wait until after process. To get started
functionality and content your internal deadlines to defining your mobile strategy
placement. The detailed provide feedback. Often, please contact Pete Johnson
mockups should be part of these stakeholders may be at pete.johnson@pointabout.
the sign-off process. These executives at the company com or 301.602.1210.
detailed mockups will then that do not have time to
be turned into pixel-perfect provide feedback until the
mockups before the mobile finished (or nearly finished)
websites or mobile apps are project is presented to them.
created.
Especially within the large
• Who will interface with the enterprise, it’s critical to
development team to ensure ensure these stakeholders
project success? This person have ample opportunity to
must also have the necessary provide feedback early in the



SRS Document Sample


How To Succeed With Mobile

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