1. Gap
Analysis
for
Linked In Mobile App
Version 1.2
Prepared by
Sunil Kumar Gunasekaran
12/5/2012

2. Table of Contents
1) Revision History ............................................................................................. 2
2) Project Background ....................................................................................... 3
3) AS-IS (Current Business Process) ............................................................... 4
4) Description of AS-IS Model .......................................................................... 4
5) TO-BE (Future Business Process) ............................................................... 5
6) Description of TO-BE Model ........................................................................ 5
7) GAP ANALYSIS ............................................................................................ 6
8) Gap Analysis Approval ................................................................................. 7
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3. 1) Revision History
Name Date Changes Reason For Changes Versio
n
Increase readability of
Steve Baker 12/02/2012 Enhancement of As-Is and AS-IS and TO-BE 1.0
To-Be Columns diagrams.
More information is
Sunil Kumar 12/03/2012 Modification of Project added in the section 1.2
Background information
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4. 2) Project Background
LinkedIn Mobile page views have grown more than 400% year-over-year, making it the
fastest growing consumer service on LinkedIn. In order to meet our members’ needs we
are in process of redesigning the mobile app. This gives a faster, simpler and better
mobile experience to the linked-in members.
The previous Mobile Team performed a study on section of Linked-In mobile users and
found that the feature most-loved by them was the search function which looks up the
potential contacts or meeting-attendees on-the-fly.
The team also found several features that were rarely, if ever, used. Color themes were
thrown out, as well as business card transfer, a feature that sounds cool but was actually
more trouble to use than simply handing over a normal business card.
Also the app is based in Ruby on Rails due to which a server-side process is spawned for
each user and requests are sent to the back-end. These requests are serial and limited in
number, meaning a backlog of requests could mean delays for the end-user.
In the client side, the GUI is 90 percent HTML5 and this has resulted in quite a few
problems for the users and difficulty for the developers to enhance the GUI of the App
and for including the app in various other platforms like Andriod etc.
This Gap analysis is initiated to find out the current business process in depth and
understand the next version of the Linked-In App and bridge the gap between them by
enlisting the missing functionalities and change of technology if required keeping the end
users in mind.
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5. 3) AS – IS (Current Business Process)
4) Description of AS-IS Model
As seen above there is user looking at the GUI and there are 10 icons in the front page of
Linked-In App namely Search Button, Pop Ups, Recommend, Add Contact, Click for
Updates, Business Card, Click for Groups etc. Also the main features like Groups,
Update Streams and inbox are in the second page and make it difficult for the user to go
to the second page to access the features present there like inbox and Update Stream.
For editing the profile including adding new job skill and responsibility or to edit the
profile photo, the users need to use the computer as seen in the picture which is the major
drawback and shows the primitiveness of the App.
The server side configuration is Ruby on Rails which has a disadvantage of increasing the
response time for the user queries. There is no proper back up of data which can result in
data loss during emergency situations. Also the GUI is built using HTML5 as the basis
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6. leaving little room for improvement of the GUI design and making the app work in
multiple platforms.
Another main item noticed in the main page of the App is that many not –so-desired
features like Business Card, Pop ups and ads occupy the valuable space and leave the
users to click more pages inside the navigation structure looking for the main features
like Inbox and Group.
5) TO-BE (Future Business Process)
6) Description of TO-BE Model
In this model the usage of computerfor editing profile and uploading photo is absent and
instead the edit profile feature is put in the front page of the App. The user is happy since
the four main features namely edit profile, search groups, update stream and Inbox are
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7. present right in front of him and he can go ahead in choosing the option he desires and
continuing with them instead of digging through the navigation.
The user also notices that the search box is always present on the top which gives him
independence to search for contacts any time. This helps him to connect with his fellow
professionals whom he meets within seconds or know about his bio data minutes prior to
meeting him in person giving you a clear advantage. The technology is changed to J2EE
and the numbers of servers are increased and also back up system is properly in place.
Also the servers are upgraded and many in number and the server side platform is
changed to J2EE decreasing the wait time of the user. Proper back up technology is
introduced to secure the data in times of emergency.
7) GAP ANALYSIS
Feature Priority
 The GUI needs to be split into four main sections to
enhance the user experience and give fast access to the High
four main features of the Linked-In app.
 Edit profile option need to be included in the front page
allowing the user to edit profile in seconds and apply High
for a job or take a photo and update profile photo
instead of resorting to the computer as seen in the AS-
IS model.
 Search box need to be included in all the pages since it
is found to be the single most important feature used by High
the people and decreases the navigation time required
to reach the search box.
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8.  25 more servers need to be added in the backend and
platform needs to be changed from Ruby on Rails to
J2EE to give fast response time for the user queries and Medium
have multiple channels to receive and process the user
queries.
 Enhancement of databases required for fast retrieval of Medium
data.
Low
 Need to enhance back up of data and increase security
of the information stored in the database.
 The business card feature needs to be removed since
it is not liked by many users and actually it makes it Low
more difficult send business card than to add them into
their network or send invitation.
 Other pop ups and ads which are displayed in the front
screen need to be removed to give space for the main
features to be presented elegantly for the user Medium
8) Gap Analysis Approval
The undersigned acknowledge they have reviewed the Gap Analysis and authorize and
fund the Linked-In Mobile App project. Changes to this project charter will be
coordinated with and approved by the undersigned or their designated representatives.
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9. Signature: Date: 12/05/2012
Print Name: Lee Gordon
Title: Executive Sponsor
Role:
Signature: Date: 12/05/2012
Print Name: Steve Baker
Title: Project Manager
Role:
Signature: Date: 12/05/2012
Print Name: James Westman
Title: Business Analyst
Role:
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