Symposium App Development-Scovil

Randy Scovil

Cuesta College

14th Annual Central Coast High Tech Symposium

14th CC HT Symposium 1

So who is this guy anyway?

Developer for 30+ years

Started on punch cards with 1s and 0s

Numerous languages, OSes

Software projects primarily for Education

and Broadcast markets

M.S. Computer Science, Cal Poly - audio,

graphics, software engineering emphases

12 years teaching core college computer

science at Cuesta/Cal Poly, taught literally

thousands of people to program


Mobile in Education

Taught Mobile Device Programming

Spring Semester 2010 at Cuesta

iPhone emphasis

○ One of the first iPhone college courses

Mobile Device Programming returns in

Spring 2011

Android emphasis

○ One of the few Android courses in existence

Two course sequence starts in Fall 2011


Mobile Development

Developed location-based apps for

Cuesta College in Summer 2010

Simultaneous release for iOS and Android

Mobile, location-aware, campus guide

GPS, email, phone, and web integration

1st iPhone app developed by a California

Community College

1st known Android app in the nation by a

community college

Additional contract apps in development


Oh yeah I do other stuff too

25 years of Broadcast Media Experience

Primarily radio, some TV

Combination of management and on-air

(“talent”) work

12 years managing programming and

marketing at radio stations in a highly-

competitive (i.e. before de-reg) 24-7

environment in large media markets

Co-founder of Cuesta TV project, broadcasts

Cuesta content online and on cable


We’ll assume that…

We’ll talk mobile development in

general, focusing on iOS and Android

We’re looking at it from a business

perspective

As a marketing arm

As a source of revenue

As a means of partnership/community

Cuz it’s cool and the (our) kids dig it

We may occasionally wake the obvious


So what is an app?

It’s a focused program custom designed

to run a specific platform

Relatively small in scope

Native to the platform, and looks it

Fully leverages the device

Fast and efficient

Utilizes connectivity but is not necessarily

dependent on it

Limited by what the platform supports


What can an app do for me?

Engage your customer

It’s always with them, so connect with them

○ Build passion within your community

Inform them – give them a leg up

Provide a purchase avenue

Help them do what they want/need to do

Provide strong partnership opportunities

Cross-promotion with business partners

Event-oriented apps


Why would I get myself…

…into this?

Yes, it’s custom software, but on a more

manageable scale

○ Very feasible to have an app done by an

experienced mobile developer/team in weeks

depending on the scope, bells, whistles

○ Easy to iterate – updates go live in about a

week (iOS) or instantaneously (Android)

○ Distribution (and billing, hosting, copy

protection, etc.) is handled by the platform

Will not take 103s of years and 106s of $


Iterative Development

Flexibility in how much how soon

Waves of releases, or one big bang?

Update process is seamless for the user

Single-feature updates are not a bother

Easy to update supporting info

Encourages experimentation and evolution

Makes it manageable

Can ship at reasonable junctures

Fewer things to stop the show


What to do, or not

Keep it simple, stay focused

Screen size is limited – don’t try to cram

○ We can always pull up more info

Don’t overwhelm with choices

○ It’s personal and the app is the user’s focus of

that moment, so make it easy if not fun

Consider likely behavior

○ Allow for customization/history

Using your app

Using the Settings app


Optimize the user experience

Keep your friends close, keep your data

closer

Look for static (unchanging) data that can be

part of the app

○ Less dependence on connectivity

Depending on the amount of info, you can

consider embedding smaller media items

(photos, short audio/video) in the app for

maximum responsiveness

Be resource-aware (esp. battery)


Can I get there from here?

Location, location, location

Where are they now…but also, where can

they find you?

Are you close?

How accurate do you need to be?

○ A fixed location, or finding within a location?

Ensure you are opt-in on using their

location, especially when sharing with others

○ Opt-in %s are low, especially with older (29+)

demographics***

14th CC HT Symposium

***http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/technology/30location.

html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=location%20technology&st=Search 13

Encourage communication

Hotlinks

Phone

Email

Web

Text

Social

Custom messaging

Push notifications – opt-in, no cost,

exclusive


What’s your financial model?

Is the App the product?

Selling the app may require a cut to go to

the store/market-keeper

Free app with a subscription model - you

deal with customer directly, keep the

revenue and keep it flowing

Is the app meant to support your primary

products?

App serves as a means stay in touch with

the customer and market the product(s)


Other forms of revenue

In-App Ads

Those you’ve sold (incl. couponing)

Partnership agreements

Third-party through platform owner

In-App Purchase

Remember anything third-party will cost

you a piece (is it worth the sale?)


iOS or Google?


Check the trend as of today


So now what?

You can’t ignore either one

They are two:

Very different constituencies

Distinct user interfaces

Platform strategies

App distribution philosophies

Different development environments

But…just 3% of iOS developers develop

for Android as well***

14th CC HT Symposium

***http://blog.appstorehq.com/post/760323632/ios-

vs-android-over-1-000-developers-including-some 19

http://blog.appstorehq.com/post/760323632/ios-vs-android-over-1-000-developers-including-some


















It’s not about which, but both


Tablets?

Yes.

Android

Tablet(s)

coming

soon.


Thanks!

• Randy Scovil

• CIS (Computer Science)

• Cuesta College

• [email protected]


Documents

Symposium App Development-Scovil