The School of Mobile Vol. 2 - The Detail
Working around pla�orm fragmenta�on sugges�ons:
• Developing for all pla�orms and across all programming languages though would be prohibi�vely
expensive in most cases. With respect to mobile applica�ons it is very important to consider
who will actually use it and on what devices before commi�ng monetary and development
resources to building a bespoke applica�on for a par�cular pla�orm.
• Quite an effec�ve op�on is to work with an applica�on developer who has standard applica�on
templates available which can be offered to the travel company white labelled. They can then
be branded and tailored to the par�cular needs of a given travel brand.
• The other op�on is to choose two or three pla�orms, develop for those and then adapt the app
to other pla�orms as more usage informa�on is gathered, and the par�cular popularity and
usage profile of a given applica�on pla�orm can be determined.
• There are also tools available which are making it easier and cheaper to develop across mul�ple
pla�orms while s�ll taking advantage of the unique advantages of each device class. One such
developer toolset, which operates as a community, is called PhoneGap. It is open source and
designed to easily and quickly build mobile apps across iPhone, Android and Blackberry pla�orms
(more to follow) using JavaScript. Here is the link to find out more: h�p://phonegap.com.
So as you can see although pla�orm fragmenta�on with respect to app development is a concern,
there are workarounds being developed.
Best prac�ce guidelines with respect to mobile applica�on development:
The key is to design, while keeping usability in mind at all �mes
• Context is king for mobile applica�ons. It is crucial to understand how, why and where a
user will actually use the applica�on, apply this knowledge to the applica�on design
•
Keep things simple and pare down to what a user needs to do to take ac�on. Does not
have to be ugly just simple, clear and streamlined
•
Do not blindly mimic designs intended to run on desktop devices
• Present the minimum number of op�ons possible on any single screen
• Minimise screen density but don’t split content/interac�on across so many screens that
users get lost
• Use a consistent UI design that helps users maintain a mental image of the applica�on
• Design the UI to behave similarly to other applica�ons on the device with which users are
familiar; if designing for mul�ple devices, follow established design conven�ons for each
device and avoid the pi�all of trying to make the applica�on behave the same across all
pla�orms
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