Greg Kiefer
President and CEO
@kieferconsult
&
Alan McBee
Senior .NET and Mobile Consultant
@codecharm

• Introductions
• Kiefer Overview
• Eight Key Takeaways
• Getting Started
• Questions and Answers

Solutions and Service Delivery Experience

SharePoint
Leading Solution
Provider in Northern
California
Over 40 Customer
Success Stories
Custom Solution
Accelerators
Complete Lifecycle
Services
.NET
Over 200 custom solutions and integration projects
Custom framework components to expedite delivery
Legacy, n-Tier and web architecture & development services
CRM
Case Management,
Contact Center and
G2C Solutions
Rapid application development
Business process management
Business Intelligence
Familiar office and web user experience
Mobile
Cross-platform solutions and services
Proven design patterns for web, embedded and native solutions
Top 100 App in the
Apple AppStore
Enterprise Data Architecture
– align and integrate across solutions, environments and platforms
Proven Methodology
– best practices and repeatable approach based on real-world experience
Education Commitment –
Edunars™, SharePoint Saturday, Collaboration Experience
Expert Team
– passionate about solving business challenges through the right application of technology

Expertise Across the Delivery Spectrum
Leads culture of innovation, philanthropy and client success.
Over 25 years enterprise delivery experience. MCSP, PMP certified
Barry Boudreau
CTO
Architects robust solutions for leading public sector and fortune
50 clients. Over 20 years experience, including 12 years as
THE SharePoint delivery expert at
Microsoft.
Sean Hansen
Operations Director
Delivers solutions that achieve client goals, fosters collaboration and drives success. Over 15 years enterprise delivery experience, including national and statewide solutions. PMP, CSM
Recognized expert in architecting, building, diagnosing, and deploying custom interactive business information solutions on
Microsoft platforms .
Technical .NET and mobile architect with over 15 years of building enterprise solutions.
Instrumental in leading Kiefer’s mobile practice.
Business domain expert on building mobile applications in
HTML 5, iOS and Android.

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
New Concepts
How to Justify Your Project
Approaching Mobile Design
Effective Market Techniques
Your Development Options
Increase Adoption from Users
Plan For User Feedback
Ease Support

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Crowdsourcing
– Voluntary, undefined participants
– Power in volume
– Can self-moderate
– Citizen science
• Freemium
– Primary product or service is free
– Charge for advanced services or items
• Viral Marketing
– Uncompensated endorsements
– Can be unpredictable
• Gamification
– Badges, Achievements,
Leader Boards
– Great for training

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
How do you sell it to your management?
• Bring LOB apps to customers
• Unique features (e.g. push notifications)
• Green initiatives (e.g. paperless tickets)
• Catalyst to rationalize business processes
– Narrower messaging channels
– Prioritize services
– Standardize content delivery

Building Better Mobile Applications
Timeline
Scope
Budget
Resources
Operations

*
Building Better Mobile Applications
• Needed to aggregate discordant message channels
• Forced consolidation of message from source
• Encouraged use of common platform for common needs
(i.e. Facebook for events)
* Peace Officers Research Association of California

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Sensitive data (PII/PHI) viewed on device
• Most common use cases
• Notifications and alerts
• Secure messages
• Geolocation-aware
• Data at rest can be encrypted

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Customers scan their own checks for deposit
• Reduced operational overhead
• Green-friendly

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Less expensive alternative to redesigning website
• Improved user experience by focusing on primary use cases

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Simpler is better
• Prioritize use cases
• Usability testing and measurement
• Fat thumb-size buttons
• Avoid intensive data entry
– Varies by device (tablet vs. phone)

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Use short, pre-filtered lists
• Customize data based on location and context
• Review other apps in the market
• Okay to fallback to the web for more complex scenarios
• Which devices will you support?
• Frequently, the narrower use cases make the mobile app easier to use than the website

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Big buttons
• Secondary features not on first screen
• Electing to avoid scrolling forces you to prioritize

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Paperless ticketing
• Flip panel shows timely information without scrolling

• Building Better Mobile Applications
• Line of Business
Integration
• Data filtered based on user type and location

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Personal checklists
• Available when offline
• Real-time app-specific alerts

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Viral marketing
• Press releases
– Do they have any value? Who actually reads them?
– Answer: Informal press (i.e. bloggers)
• Embedded marketing
– Put link to applications in all social media posts
• Find social media sites that target your core
• Paying for advertising on related social media sites, including sites for competitors.
– Example: emergency management mobile app advertising on Red Cross social media site.
• Nominate your app for an award

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Integrate social media sites
• Dedicate time and resources to manage your social media sites
• Manage content in one place – publish to all

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Automatic error reporting
• Usage statistics
• In-application analytics
• Privacy opt-in options
• Securing data at rest
• Offline scenarios
– How does your app function when users are not connected?
– Emergency management apps

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Collects usage data
– Device type
– Query performed

Building Better Mobile Applications
• One interface, multiple data feeds

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• What is the reason for using the app?
• What are you measuring?
– Downloads and ratings
– Usage
– Some marketplace services track usage
• How are you measuring it?
– User/device identity on web services
• Usability matters for increasing user adoption
• Note: Many new features are built into the mobile frameworks to help

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Psychological reward is potent by itself
• Immediate feedback (positive reinforcement)
• Users should find meaning in order to be engaged
• Must be more than badges and points to avoid backlash
• Great for training
• Not mobile-only, but well-suited for mobile platforms

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Where is it?
– Direct app feedback
– Social media
• Dedicate resources to respond to and fix issues
• Decide when and how should you respond to feedback
• Downside: You can no longer control it.
• Upside: You won’t be blindsided. Get ahead of the curve by addressing issues early.

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Original version:
– Great UI
– Positive feedback
• Next version:
– OS had updated its UI significantly
– App “upgraded” for the newer OS
– No changes to UI
– Negative feedback

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• Make it simple for users to contact you from the app
– Reporting defects
– Suggesting or voting for features
• Loudest critics are frequently good sources for insights
• Native apps:
– Mind app-server dependencies
– Deployment is handled by market place vendor

Building Better Mobile Applications

Building Better Mobile Applications
• http://www.ca.gov/mobile
• http://www.kieferconsulting.com/services/mobile
• Apple: http://www.apple.com/ios/
• Google: http://www.android.com/
• Microsoft:
– http://www.windowsphone.com/
– http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/rt-welcome

Building Better Mobile Applications

2012: Best Application Serving an Agency’s Business Needs
2008: Best Innovation Award - Office of Spill Prevention
2007: Best Solution Award - Franchise Tax Board
Kiefer Consulting is a trusted advisor to the State of California

Building Better Mobile Applications