OMG, We Need a Mobile App!

“OMG. WE NEED A MOBILE APP!”

DESIGN SCIENCEA NERDERY WEBINAR SERIES

#DESIGNSCIENCE

A FEW KEY TERMS... (JUST SO WE’RE SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE)

¼ Responsive: A single code base that adapts how content and features display depending on the size of the screen the site is viewed on.

¼ Mobile Optimized: A separate website designed specifically for use on a mobile device.

¼ Native App: A program designed to run on the OS of a computer or other device that often uses device-native features as a part of its functionality.

¼ UX: User Experience - A discipline that focuses on meeting established business goals by ensuring that users of a website, application, or other thing can find the information they need and complete tasks easily.

#DESIGNSCIENCE

THE SCENARIO YOU’VE HEARD IT A MILLION TIMES

¼ As of March 2012, 50.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers owned smartphones Source: Nielsen, Mobile Insights, Q1 2012

¼ It’s our job to design successful products

¼ How do we get started?

#DESIGNSCIENCE

MOBILE PROJECT DECISION FLOW PART 1: VALIDATING THE IDEA

OMG We Need a Mobile App!

Find the source of the request

Stakeholder Interviews

Why do we need a mobile app and what is it going to do?

We have a product launch/mobile product idea/ other solid plan

Uhh… everyone else is doing it and MOBILE ALL THE THINGS!

Learn more about the business needs &

objectives

Stakeholder Interviews

Do we need a mobile thing at all?

Competitive Analysis

Analytics Review

YES NO

Feature Inventory

Convince Your BossWhat Type of Mobile Thing?

e.g.

e.g.

#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Meet with key project decision makers

¼ Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the “money guys”

¼ Understand project goals, motivations, success factors

¼ Ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page

¼ Take detailed notes and reference later

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS

BACK TO DECISION FLOWPart 1: Validating the Idea

#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ CEO says “We just need something, and we need it fast!”

¼ He suggests rebuilding the site as an app. He read about a fancy new technology called PhoneGap (DANGER!)

¼ “If you build it, they will come...”

STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ What are your competitors offering?

¼ Are their mobile presences successful?

¼ Is your reputation damaged by a lack of mobile presence?

¼ Is there a gap to fill or opportunity to be an industry leader?

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ What does our website do right now?

¼ Do we offer functionality that could translate well to mobile?

¼ Is there an opportunity to expand our offerings by going mobile?

FEATURE INVENTORY


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Who looks at our site?

¼ What browsers are they using?What devices?

¼ Where do they come from?

¼ What pages do they visit most frequently? For the most time/duration?

ANALYTICS REVIEW


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ VirtuServ offers an iPhone and Android app for download

¼ Their apps are actually bookmarks that link to the VirtuServ website, which doesn’t work well on a handheld browser site.

¼ About 100 people have downloaded the app, and it’s a realistic hunch that most of them are employees.

¼ KEY TAKEAWAY: There may be an opportunity to outshine the competition.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

¼ Current site allows customers to log in and see site performance statistics.

¼ Website contains a lot of marketing copy, pricing structure information, and the ability to purchase cloud-based hosting online.

FEATURE INVENTORY

¼ Many clients try to log in on their mobile device after getting an email alert, but leave quickly.

¼ Search analytics suggest people look for a mobile version of the site with terms like “m.castleinthecloud.com”

¼ 90% of visitors who visit from a mobile device are using Safari on an iPhone/iPad.

¼ KEY TAKEAWAY: Users want mobile.

ANALYTICS REVIEW


#DESIGNSCIENCE

Is there a cool new product opportunity or tool/utility that users need?

Native App Mobile WebsiteRequirements Gathering

Responsive or Mobile Optimized?

Business Analysis

Responsive Mobile Optimized

Brainstorming/Workshop

Analytics/Statistics Review

iOS Android

User Research

iPhone? Android? Tablet? iPad?

MOBILE PROJECT DECISION FLOW PART 2: WHAT KIND OF “MOBILE THING” IS RIGHT?

Well, What Now?

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e.g.

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#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Highly collaborative

¼ Gain a deeper understandingof context

¼ Generate ideas, wish-lists

¼ All ideas and opinions welcome

BRAINSTORMING/WORKSHOP

BACK TO DECISION FLOWPart 2: What Kind of Mobile Thing?

#DESIGNSCIENCE

BRAINSTORMING PRODUCT OPPORTUNITIES

¼ Castle notifies clients via email when there is an unusual load on their servers or if a server is down. Client must then log in to the website to view the statistics.

¼ Simplify notification process?

¼ Current statistics display is extremely robust, but system-critical events are hard to find.

¼ Clients are in almost daily contact with their Castle engineer and have a core list of people at their company they need to update with server issues.

¼ Opportunity for quick ticket submission? Integrate with contacts?


#DESIGNSCIENCE

NATIVE VS. WEB FIGHT!

¼ Leverage phone’s hardware capabilities (e.g. Camera, accelerometer)

¼ Task-based/repeated access ¼ Offline access/storage ¼ Distribution through App Store

¼ Cross-platform ¼ Lower cost to entry (typically) ¼ Some interactivity, but largely

exists to communicate information

NATIVE APPLICATIONS MOBILE OPTIMIZED OR RESPONSIVE WEBSITE


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Many types & tactics

¼ User interviews, testing, contextual inquiry

¼ Understand greater context & behavior

¼ Validation

USER RESEARCH


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Survey data revealed the following:

¼ Most clients are iPhone users, with 50% having the newest operating system

¼ In the last 30 days, 70% of users have needed to use their mobile device to access information on the Castle client website

¼ Users reported that it is difficult to use the website on their phone. Their site statistics do not display at all on their phone.

¼ A diary study revealed...

¼ Server outages often happen when clients are away from the office

¼ It is difficult to find support information on the current website

¼ Clients with physical hardware (self-hosted) must have barcode handy to receive support

CASTLE CUSTOMER RESEARCH


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ ROI, success metrics

¼ Overall goals and company objectives

¼ Integration with business plan

¼ Execution/deployment plan

BUSINESS ANALYSIS


#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Native features: alerts, contacts

¼ Market Share: > 60% iOS

¼ Data visualization

¼ Frequent, recurring access


SOMETIMES IT’S JUST NOT THE RIGHT CHOICE

#DESIGNSCIENCE

PROJECTPLANNING

REQUIREMENTS DEFINITION

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE VISUALIZATION

UX PROJECT LIFECYCLE GETTING TO THE FUN PART

#DESIGNSCIENCE

¼ Castle in the Cloud (Castle, for short) offers server and storage solutions for large enterprise businesses with lots of employees and lots of data.

¼ One day, the CEO’s daughter told him that she had been searching for apps in the Google Play store and noticed that one of Castle’s competitors, VirtuServ, was offering a free app.

¼ The next day, the CEO busted into the Director of IT’s office and said, “VirtuHost has an app. We need to build one immediately. When can you get this done?”

¼ Anxious to please the CEO, the Director of IT said he’d get to work on it right away. He then assembled a team of Business Analysts and UX Designers to help him decide what to do (that’s us!).

LET’S TRY AN EXAMPLE

LET'S GO!

#DESIGNSCIENCE

CONSIDERATIONS & SOLUTION NATIVE iOS APP

¼ Native features: Alerts, Contacts

¼ Market Share: > 60% iOS

¼ Data visualization

¼ Frequent, recurring access

Software

OMG, We Need a Mobile App!