Mobile applications for your customers

Case study: Brussels community website

• Customer

– Brussels hoofdstedelijk gewest

– CIBG (central IT department of Brussels)

• Goals

– Reinforce economy by creating a digital local community

– Monetise services / platform (in the long term)

• Must-have features

– Works offline: permanent presence on the user’s phone

– Automatic update of content through web services

– Easy distribution (SMS “MyService” to 3236)

– Website integration

– Works on 80% of mobile phones

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Functionality: online city community

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CitizensLocal shops

Governe-ment

IT companies

Visitors

Solution architecture:

Citylive Community Services Platform

• Functionality

– Service creation

– Service delivery

– Service management

• Technical

– SOA architecture

– SQL server 2000 DB

– MS .NET 3.0 framework backend / ASP.NET frontend

– Web services (JSON, REST, SOAP) through WCF

– Session management and telco service integration through

Microsoft Connected Services Framework 3.0

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Solution hardwarde

• Hosting:Kangaroot datacenter with Global Crossings, Tiscali and FreeBIX 1GB connections

• Servers: HP cluster with SAN as virtual server host

• Mobile phones: everything that runs Windows Mobile or Java J2ME

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Solution software: Hydra

• Functionality:– Collection of enabling services out-

of-the-box– Central & secure repository for

profile and application data– Provides abstraction layer for

applications & websites using simple API’s

– Controlled environment handling privacy/authentication/authorization

• AD based authentication of services (internal or external)

• Impersonation for non-authenticated service consumers

• Authorisation: own service or CSF

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Solution software: Application creation

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Solution software: Glowe explained

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XlHH0SJjv8

Solution software: Mobile Widget engines

• Reference implementation on .NET Compact Framework

• After validation, porting to J2ME, Javascript, Flash

• Symbian: tried, but too fragmented / difficult process / weird architecture

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Challenges / lessons learned

Things to do

• Make mock-ups FIRST– Mobile apps have no set expectation

– You can’t predict what will work

– Do extensive user testing

– Be prepared to change your concept

– Technical POC alone is not enough

• Use the internet & its protocols– A mobile does not live in your network

– VPN’s are a thing of the past

– SOAP is nice when critical, XML is easier

– Use the universal firewall bypass port (80)

• Think Multi-platform– 1 platform only is not realistic

– When you can: move up an abstraction layer or two (but web browser might be too thin)

Things to avoid

• Stay out-of-control– With mobile, the user is in control– You can’t manage his device. Forget it.– Give users tools so they can DIY.

• Avoid the bigger picture– Focus on a concrete function with an

immediate value add for the user– Trying to change work processes,

integrate with business intelligence, cover a larger scope: it will all fail

– Mobile is new: create demand first– When it’s time for the bigger picture,

current technology will be obsolete

• Translate the web to mobile– In some cases, mobile websites are OK– But: don’t just convert existing web tools– Mobile has a different usage model then

fixed (“browsing” is done on a desk)

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