Slides of a talk of a seminars series I gave at WebRatio in January 2014.

1. The mobile ecosystem
&
technological strategies
Ivano Malavolta
DISIM | University of L’Aquila

2. Roadmap
The mobile ecosystem
Development
strategies

3. Roadmap
The mobile ecosystem

4. Mobile is the 7th mass media
1. Printing press
2. Recordings
3. Cinema
4. Radio
5. Television
6. Internet

5. Mobile is the 7th mass media
Mobile is the LARGEST ,
most available
mass medium
TO MANKIND

6. How big is the mobile market?
ONE SYMBOL = 20 MILLION PEOPLE
data source: http://www.slideshare.net/fling/mobile-20-design-develop-for-the-iphone-and-beyond

7. How big is the mobile market?
in 2009
data source: http://www.slideshare.net/fling/mobile-20-design-develop-for-the-iphone-and-beyond

8. How big is the mobile market?
in 2009
data source: http://www.slideshare.net/fling/mobile-20-design-develop-for-the-iphone-and-beyond

9. How big is the mobile market?
in 2009
data source: http://www.slideshare.net/fling/mobile-20-design-develop-for-the-iphone-and-beyond

10. Mobile is the 7th mass media
it started at the same
time as the Web
7. Mobile
UNIQUE TRAIT
it can do EVERYTHING all the other media can do
• Reading (and publishing)
• Play recordings
• Watch movies
• Listen to radio
• Watch TV (and streaming)
• Surf the Internet

11. Unique benefits of Mobile
Apart from covering all the other media, mobile has five unique benefits
First truly personal mass media
First always-on mass media
First always-carried mass media
Built-in payment channel
At the point of creative impulse
We don’t share our phones with our friends
Information is always available 24/7, even when idle
7 out of 10 people sleep with their phones within reach
Universal click-to-buy + credit cards
Ability to create or consume content whenever
the mood strikes

12. Context
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT add
CONTEXT CONTEXT
Mobile apps have the amazing capability to
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
CONTEXT
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
to information, adding immediate relevance
to what we are doing right here, right now
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT
CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT CONTEXT

13. The mobile golden rule
If you can unlock the state of mind of your users and start thinking in their context,
understanding how a mobile experience will add value to their lives, you will have
the ever-elusive…
KILLER
APP

14. How can we apply the mobile golden rule?
Think of your app in its context
•
•
•
•
•
•
Who is your user? Business man, teenager, mum…
What is happening? Are they hanging out with friends?
When will he interact? @home? @work? waiting for the bus?
Where is he? Public/private space, inside/outside, day/night
Why will he use your app? How do you give Context?
How is he using his mobile device? Is the device held in the hand? Portrait or
landscape?

15. Example
http://www.endomondo.com

16. Roadmap
The mobile ecosystem
Development
strategies

17. Developing a mobile strategy
Mobile strategy =
How much it will cost you to develop your app?
How much time?
How much effort?
How much money?

18. Bursting the first myth
Mobile design and development IS NOT CHEAP
http://www.slideshare.net/fling/native-v-hybrid-v-web

19. Bursting the first myth
Mobile design and development IS NOT CHEAP
http://www.slideshare.net/fling/native-v-hybrid-v-web

20. The new rules for a mobile strategy
Remember, mobile is a new medium

DIFFERENT RULES
Don’t try to follow “traditional rules” since mobile has its own peculiarities:
•
context
•
location, user mood
•
device fragmentation
•
unique UI patterns

21. Rule #1
Forget what you think you know
Mobile is an ever-evolving area
 today you are already outdated
•
Forget what you think you know about mobile
- It is most likely incorrect
•
Don’t try to emulate other projects
- Focus on what is right for your user, not what is right for someone else’s user

22. Rule #2
Believe what you see, not what you read
•
Don’t trust any report, fact, or figure that 1-2 years old
- It is most likely wrong
•
Go to your users and ask them questions in person
- Don’t try to simply validate your ideas
•
Record everything
- Your own users’ worlds will help you in focussing on their need
•
Don’t forget to innovate
- Try new things, be bold, and don’t be afraid to fail

23. Rule #3
Constraints never come first
•
Avoid talking about constraints at an early-stage brainstorming session
- Refer back to Rule #1 and forget what you think you know
•
There will always be constraints in mobile, accept it!
•
Focus on strategy first, what the user needs, and lay down the features
- Then, if the constraints become an issue, fall back to the user goals
•
There is always an alternative

24. Rule #4
Focus on context, goals and needs
•
Defining the users’ context is the first thing to do
- without it, you don’t have a mobile strategy, you have only a plan of action
•
Uncover the users’ goals
- and then try and understand how the users’ context alters their goals
•
•
With goals understood, figure out the tasks the users want to perform
Look for ways to filter content by context
- for example: location, media, and model

25. Rule #5
You can’t support everything
•
Don’t try to support everything
- Start with the devices that best represent your core customer
•
The most popular might not always be the best device for your project
•
Check your server logs for the devices accessing your site
- These are the first devices to target

26. Rule #6
Don’t convert, create
Great mobile products are created, never ported
•
Understand your user and his context
- Having an idea of how and when users will access your content will aid in understanding how to best
create a tailored mobile experience
•
Mobile is a unique medium

27. Rule #7
Keep it simple
People want to use mobile devices in a simple way
•
Simplicity  fewer technicalproblems
•
Easier to iterate and evolve your app
•
Don’t try to create a desktop software on a mobile
- Adding feature after feature is an easy trap to fall in
•
Build the experience around your users’ main need and nothing else

28. Native VS web VS hybrid
Native
Web
Hybrid
NATIVE
APP
BROWSER
NATIVE
WRAPPER
010101010101011010
101010101011011010
010101010101011101
010101010101011010
PLATFORM APIs
<html>
<head>
<script src=” ...” />
</head>
<body>
...
<html>
<head>
<script src=” ...” />
</head>
<body>
...
PLATFORM APIs

29. Native
PRO
PRO
•
Lets you create apps with rich user interfaces and/or heavy graphics
CONS
CONS
•
Development Time
•
Development Cost
•
Ongoing Maintenance
•
No portability (apps cannot be used on other platforms)
http://bit.ly/GWOaP1

30. Examples of native apps
http://www.whatsapp.com/
http://www.ea.com/it/ipad/nfs‎

31. Web
PRO
PRO
•
Offers fast development, simple maintenance, and full application portability
•
One mobile web app works on any platform
CONS
CONS
•
Can’t handle heavy graphics
•
Can’t access camera or microphone
http://bit.ly/GWOaP1

32. Examples of web apps
http://amazon.com
http://asidemag.com

33. Hybrid
PRO
PRO
•
Development speed of mobile web apps
•
Device access and app store distribution of native apps
CONS
CONS
•
Can’t handle heavy graphics
•
Requires familiarity with a mobile framework
http://bit.ly/GWOaP1

34. Examples of hybrid apps
http://flipboard.com
http://www.gmail.com

35. Comparison

36. Another perspective
http://goo.gl/KOdxh

37. My vision
Mobile web seems to be the only long-term commercially viable content platform for
mobile devices
FRAGMENTATION
THE WEB
DISTRIBUTION CONTROL
USER EXPECTATIONS
WEB UBIQUITY

38. FRAGMENTATION
When you go native there are too many platforms to be supported

39. THE WEB
The only medium for information and services that lasts from over 15 years
The web is an advanced technology
•
•
•
•
•
webGL
Local storage management
Positioning & mapping
Real-time data
Push, ...

40. DISTRIBUTION CONTROL
Before..
Operators
Now
Device and Platform makers
STORE A
STORE B
STORE C
STORE D
Future
Developers
$$$

41. USER EXPECTATIONS
Users expect things to just work
 they don’t care about what platform they have
they simply expect that your app will be available for their device
 YOU HAVE TO BE CROSS-PLATFORM

42. WEB UBIQUITY
The web is the only platform that
•
•
•
works across devices
apps share the same set of standards
the same app can work also on a desktop

43. Conclusion
Mobile app technologies are constantly moving targets...
- new OSs, new versions of OSs, new UI patterns, new frameworks, etc.
Choosing between native vs web vs hybrid depends on a lot of factors, such as
•
•
•
Which type of app are you creating?
When do you need it?
What are your skills?

44. Contact
Ivano Malavolta | DISIM
+ 39 380 70 21 600
iivanoo
ivano.malavolta@univaq.it
www.ivanomalavolta.com