This thesis explores the use of design patterns in Android application development to solve common design problems effectively. A sample application, 'messeme,' was developed to demonstrate these principles, emphasizing user experience and efficient interaction design. The study highlights how proven design patterns can enhance app usability, facilitate development, and improve communication among designers.

1. ANDROID DESIGN PATTERNS IN MOBILE
APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT
GRIGOROPOULOS MICHAIL
Master of Science in Networking and Data Communications
THESIS PRESENTATION
Kingston University London

2. Abstract
Design patterns help developers and designers to
solve common design problems by using tested and
user friendly solutions. The term can be applied to
both directions to build a thing and the thing itself.
The purpose of this study is to present such
solutions and examine their applicability in android
application development and user experience. For
the study's purposes, an application called
"Messeme" was developed based on some of the
design patterns that are presented in the Second
section of this Thesis.

3. Introduction

4. Design Patterns
• Design patterns in software design are defined as tested
solutions to solving design problems. The term can be
applied to both directions to build a thing and the thing
itself.
• A pattern can describe a design problem and the procedure
or the object that can be used to solve this problem or even
an instance of the problem.
• Design patterns are formalized best practices that the
developer or the designer can use to solve common
problems when designing software.
• A Design Pattern can also be described as the intermediate
between the levels of a programming paradigm and a
concrete algorithm.

5. The History of Design Patterns
• The whole idea of design patterns was born
from architects who investigated automated,
computerized building design in the 60s.
• This trend was later known as modular
construction/design.
• Christopher Alexander was the main exponent
of the idea at the time.
• Christopher Alexander is considered to be the
father of the pattern language movement.

6. Why do we need Design Patterns?
• Since design patterns are proven solutions to a
problem, they are already tested and known to work
effectively
• Valuable time and effort can be saved from the
development of a project by using patterns
• A pattern can be customized in order to fit the project's
requirements
• By using design patterns developers can deliver to the
user a more friendly and easy to learn Application
• Design Patterns do not tell the developer/designer how
to code/design an application but instead it uses values
to determine which is the best solution to his problem

7. Structure of a Design Pattern (1/2)
• Design patterns are described by authors in
highly structured documentation
• Usually uses a template in order to identify
the information that is needed to understand
and solve a software problem
• There is no standard agreement on how this
template should be but it usually resembles
the one shown in Table 1

8. Structure of a Design Pattern (2/2)
Term Description
Pattern Name
Describes the essence of the pattern in a short, but
expressive, name
Intent Describes what the pattern does
Also Known As List any synonyms for the pattern
Motivation
Provides an example of a problem and how the pattern
solves that problem
Applicability Lists the situations where the pattern is applicable
Structure
Set of diagrams of the classes and objects that depict the
pattern
Participants
Describes the classes and objects that participate in the
design pattern and their responsibilities
Collaborations
Describes how the participants collaborate to carry out their
responsibilities
Consequences
Describes the forces that exist with the pattern and the
benefits, trade-offs, and the variable that is isolated by the
pattern
Table 1: Design pattern common template

9. Design Anti-patterns
• Anti-patterns, also called pitfalls, are classes of
commonly reinvented bad solutions to
problems
• Anti-patterns should always be avoided when
designing a project, so they are studied in
order to be recognizable when investigating
possible solutions to problems

10. Android OS
• Android is today's most popular Operating System running on
mobile devices
• It runs on 80% of mobile devices worldwide
• It was designed and launched in 2007 by Google and revealed
commercially in September of 2008
• Android OS is based on the Linux Kernel
• After android version 5.0 each application runs on its own process
and instance of the Android Runtime (ART)
• Java* is used for the development of android applications that
control the device with Java libraries developed by Google
• XML is used by Android for the creation of layout files
• Each Android application lives in each own, protected by several
features

11. Android Application Design Principles
(1/2)
• Android uses a new design metaphor inspired by paper and ink that
provides a reassuring sense of tactility, which is called “Material
Design”
• The use of familiar tactile attributes helps users quickly understand
affordances
• The flexibility of the material creates new affordances that
supersede those in the physical world, without breaking the rules of
physics
• Measuring and sizing things in DPs ensures your designs have a
consistent physical size across devices of varying density
• The fundamentals of light, surface, and movement are key to
conveying how objects move, interact, and exist in space and in
relation to each other

12. Android Application Design Principles
(2/2)
The basic principles Material Design is based on:
• Human-Mobile Interaction Observation
• Variety in Form Factors
• Simplicity and Sophistication
• Cross-Channel Experiences

13. Application Design Patterns
and Anti-Patterns

14. Interaction (1/3)
• Gestures - Selecting the right gesture for an action means that the
system will be user-friendly and easy to learn and use.
• Smart Keyboards and Controls - Using smart keyboards, means that
different type of keyboard appears to the user according to the type
of data inserted to the selected field
• Cancel/OK Buttons - Action Buttons must be positioned as
Cancel/OK on the top or bottom of a form. The primary button (OK)
must be on the right in order to be reachable from right-handed
users
• Auto-Complete and Default Values - Using default values means
presetting the value of a field, so that the user does not have to fill
it if not necessary. Auto Complete functions are functions that
prompt the user to choose from a possible list of values and auto-
complete his entry as he types

15. Interaction (2/3)
• Easy Login/ Registration - An easy-to-fill registration
form, is a registration form that the user can complete
easily, with the least amount of typing and time
• Search, Sort and Filter - Searching and sorting data in
an application can be easier and bring better results
when using patterns like implicit or explicit search,
auto-complete, onscreen sorting and filters
• Swiping - -Swiping means allowing the user to move
content on the screen to perform actions like Deletion,
Archiving, accepting, rejecting, changing screens or any
other action related to the application's functionalities

16. Interaction (3/3)
• Date and Time Wheel - Date and Time when is a
control on a field that brings up a date/time
picker light-box. The picker resembles a wheel
which the user can swipe vertically to scroll
between a range of dates or time
• Floating Action Button - Floating action buttons
are used for a special type of promoted action
• Pull To Refresh - Refresh content by pulling or
swiping down the results

17. Navigation (1/2)
• Action Bars - The top section of an application
can be used as an action bar that shows different
buttons according to the action performed
• Overflow Menus - Overflow menus are menus
that appear or pop up over the main content of
the application
• PopOver - PopUp - Context Menus - PopOver,
PopUp and context menus are menus that are
triggered when the user touches an arrow sign or
action buttons or, in many cases, by long-pressing
an item

18. Navigation (2/2)
• Swiss-Army-Knife Navigation - A Swiss-Army-Knife is a tool
that has foldable hidden blade and tools inside the handle.
Swiss-Army-Knife Navigation has the exact same ability and
the pattern took its name from that
• Swiping Between Tabs Navigation - Swiping between tabs
and views navigation allow users to navigate between views
by swiping left or right on the content area
• Vertical Navigation - Grouped List of Links - Vertical
scrolling Navigation, is presenting important sections of the
UI in list views that are vertically scrollable
• Sticky/Fixed Navigation - The top, bottom or side
navigation or menu is static and stays always in place even
when the view is scrolled

19. Presentation (1/2)
• Hub-and-Spoke Homescreen - Hub-and-Spoke
pattern, lists all the major parts of the application
on the Homescreen or "Hub"
• Dashboard / News Feed - Dashboard pattern,
presents critical information for the user on the
application's Homescreen in a Dashboard form
• Transparency - Transparency pattern is the use of
gradients and fading overlays in menus,
notifications or other layers, to show that there is
layered content below

20. Presentation (2/2)
• Huge Buttons - Use huge buttons when there is
no space restriction. Full width buttons is a
pattern that is often used in popular applications.
Basic choice buttons should share the full width
of the screen
• Full Screen Mode - In Full Screen Mode, the UI is
minimized and users only see the content
• Spinners - When the applications loads data,
fetches data from the internet or performs a
procedure a spinner appears on the screen and
content becomes faded

21. Feedback
• Toast Messages/Alerts - In the original Android
implementation Toast alerts are messages that
pop up from the bottom of the screen
• Pop-Up Alert - Pop-Up alerts are flow disrupters
that inform the user with text and icons and ask
for an action to be taken
• Inline Error Messages - When an input error
occurs the system notifies the user by showing an
error indication next to the field that is not
properly filled or below it

22. Anti-Patterns (1/4)
• Novel Notions - Attending to translate old
interaction models to new innovative ones is not
always the best idea especially when non-
standard UI elements are introduced
• Control Mismatch - Using non standard custom
controls is an anti-pattern.
• Icon Mismatch - Using non standard custom icons
is an anti-pattern
• Gesture Mismatch - Using non standard custom
gestures is an anti-pattern

23. Anti-Patterns (2/4)
• Model Mismatch - Not using the right flows that a user can logically
follow means bad user experience and difficulty in operating the
application
• "Idiot" Boxes - The user's flow should not be disrupted with
unnecessary Boxes/Pop Ups. Interrupting the user's flow for no
urgent reason is something to avoid in order to keep the user's
experience in high levels
• Chart Junk - Chart Junk is the all the visual elements in graphs and
charts that are not necessary for the user to see and does not need
them to comprehend the results
• Bottom tabs - While bottom tabs can be used a design Pattern,
sometimes it can also be an anti-pattern
• Drill-down List Navigation - A deep list-based navigation, known as
drill-down navigation, is where lists lead to more lists which lead to
even more lists. It is often inefficient and difficult to use

24. Anti-Patterns (3/4)
• Using the Action Bar Overflow for Core App Navigation - On
Android, primary app navigation is done using Navigation Drawers,
Tabs or Spinners
• Oceans Of Buttons - Placing too many buttons on the screen makes
it hard for the user to focus on content and difficult for him to
choose a button to press among many others on his screen
• Square Peg, Round Hole - The Square Peg, round Hole anti-pattern
is a mistake made by many developers who do not want to take the
time re designing the application which was initially designed and
developed for another OS (e.g. iOS)
• Forced Login - A common mistake that developers do is forcing
users to log in or signup before they can use the application
• Small Touch Targets - Small Touch targets are targets that are too
small and in small distance from other objects that the user cannot
press

25. Anti-Patterns (4/4)
• Neglecting Touch Feedback - Not giving a user
feedback when they take an action increases the app's
perceived latency
• Not Including a tutorial or contextual help - Not
including a tutorial or contextual help inside the
application is a common mistake made by developers
who think that all users can directly understand the
application's functionalities and the developer's way of
thinking and designing the app
• Confusing landing screen - The first page of an app is
very important. If users are confused by the first screen
it is likely that they will not continue to use the app

26. Application Development Based on
Design Patterns

27. Project’s Scope
The scope of the project was the creation of an
app in which users can write notes that relate to
a place/location and get notified when they get
to that place. The application should be able to
determine user's location by using 3G/4G, Wifi
and GPS services. It should consume the
minimum amount of the device's battery and
should be as easy as possible to use.

28. “Messeme” App
Figure 1: Messeme App

29. App Screens
• Homescreen
• Place Selection Screen
• Search Screen
• About Screen
• Help Screen
• Side Menu

30. Use Cases
• Adding a new place
• Adding a note to a place
• Receiving Notifications
• Viewing Notifications
• Edit a place’s name
• View a place on the map
• Clear a Note from a Place
• Delete a place
• Remove all Places
• Remove all Notes
• View About Page
• View Help Page
• Battery Saver On/Off

31. Conclusion

32. Design Process Criticality
• The design process is crucial to the success of
any software development project
• It forms the central communication document
for the development team
• It reduces the risks and costs to the project. It
helps to manage the complexity that is
inherent to the development lifecycle

33. Design Patterns Usability in the App
(1/3)
The overall design process of the application
completed by the following steps:
• After completing the analysis, design
problems where recognized and documented.
• For each problem a suitable design pattern
was selected to provide the best solution.

34. Design Patterns Usability in the App
(2/3)
Patterns Used:
• Floating Button - The floating button was used to allow users to
add a new place at any time from the Homescreen
• Swiss-Army-Knife Menu - The Swiss-Army-Knife menu was used for
the application's main Navigation menu and basic options
• Pop-Ups - Pop-Ups are used often in this application in order to aks
for the users inputs (e.g. Note) or in order to show information to
the user without having to change view / activity
• Overflow Menu - Overflow Menus were used for its items options
in the list view
• Toast Messages - Toast Messages were used to notify the user
about connectivity issues and battery saver mode
activation/deactivation
• Action Bar - The Action bar was used to host the Battery Saver
Button

35. Design Patterns Usability in the App
(3/3)
• Auto Complete - Auto Complete was used in the
address search screen were the user types in an
address and propositions that much his typing
appear as he types
• Gestures - The standard Android gestures apply
when using the app and especially when using
the map
• Multi-State Button - The Battery saver icon is a
multi-state icon. It activates or deactivates the
battery saver but it also states the battery saver's
current status with green or grey color

36. Observations
By using design patterns, the overall design
process did not last more than two working days
and it did not take users more than 5 minutes to
understand and comprehend the application's
scope and functionalities. It was easy to develop
an application relatively good-looking and most
of all efficient for users with the minimum
amount of time possible and good overall user
experience journey

37. The Benefits of Using Design Patterns
(1/2)
Design patterns have major benefits:
• They provide you with a way to solve issues related to software
development and design using a proven solution. The solution
facilitates the development of highly cohesive modules with
minimal coupling. They isolate the variability that may exist in the
system requirements, making the overall system easier to
understand and maintain.
• Design patterns make communication between designers more
efficient. Software professionals can immediately picture the high-
level design in their heads when they refer the name of the pattern
used to solve a particular issue when discussing system desig
• They are language neutral and so can be applied to any language
that supports object-orientation

38. The Benefits of Using Design Patterns
(2/2)
• They aid communication by the very fact that
they are well documented and can be
researched if that is not the case.
• They have a proven track record as they are
already widely used and thus reduce the
technical risk to the project
• They are highly flexible and can be used in
practically any type of application or domain

39. Thank You!