Designing applications for mobile devices is not a singular process; the platforms are multiple and changing and there are cultural and contextual issues which must be accounted for. What you develop for one device will not always work on another. What you design for one device will not always make sense on another. Developing a single application is, in fact, developing a multitude of closely related applications tailored to the varied complex constraints of each device. Both visual design and interaction design are tightly related to medium, and in the case of mobile development there is no single ‘medium’. What we deliver is experienced emotionally by end-users, and as that experience differs based on the platform being used so the design must reflect the individual unit.

Taking an agile approach to mobile development helps to address some core issues with this domain. We need to start getting multiple versions out on real devices as early as possible - UI issues are difficult to theorise about, and as issues differ based on the physical needs of the platform being used, having something built and testable in situ early on in the design process is vital. We need to be responsive to a rapidly changing market - handsets develop at a frightening pace, and the hardware on which services launch is frequently unavailable at project commencement, so projects need to allow for change. Design cannot sit outside the development process, it must be addressed in tight conjunction as part of a cross-functional team conducting frequent tests and incorporating feedback across multiple devices.

This session aims to give a practical and fun introduction what this means for those designing and building connected software products for the mass market, explore through experience some of the difficulties as broadly outlined above, and collaboratively identify some strategies for dealing with them. We conclude by discussing why taking an agile approach has allowed us to embrace the complexity in both the design and development of mass market applications for mobile devices rather than struggle with multiple constraints across a rapidly changing market. Throughout the session we will be on-hand to answer questions and to bring in practical experience from 3 years of collaboration creating mobile software products in an agile environment.

Structure of Session

The workshop will start with a short 10-minute introduction to mobile, from the first voice call to iPhone, to set the stage before moving onto the workshop proper. Attendees will also be introduced to some examples of the multiple constraints experienced across different mobile platforms. (10m)

Attendees will then be split into small groups and (in a homage to the genesis of the Palm) each will be given a set of materials (foam, wood, plasticene, felt, velcro, etc.), a form factor (tablet, cellphone, PDA, etc.) to work with, and a persona (e.g. a teenage in India, working mother in Spain, executive in the US). The groups are given the task of designing a specific mobile service using the materials available, for the device they’ve been allocated, targeting their persona. Every group works as a team to design the same service, within a 20 minute time-box. (20m)

Each group then presents its design to all workshop attendees for a couple of minutes, and we note how inherent limitations and contexts influenced the end products. What strategies did different groups adopt as a result of the constraints they were given? How was the final product affected by these? How have different groups attacking a similar problem arrived at different end-points? (15m)

We return to groups, and re-run the exercise in a slightly different form. This time each group is given the same materials, tasks and personas, and works towards the same goal. A couple of additional constraints are applied from the world of mobile (consider the impact of battery life on the product, or how it might operate when users are paying by the kilobyte for their data usage, for instance). The groups again work together to design the product. (20m)

Again the groups present their findings, and we examine the impact of these additional constraints and the similarities or differences between the resulting products. We compare the results of the two sessions, and as a group draw conclusions from them. (15m)

We close by comparing the findings from groups during the session against our experiences working with multiple constraints for mobile development, and argue why taking an agile approach has enabled us to embrace complexity in both design and development and allowed us to take on projects which are substantially more complex and demanding. (10m)

Presenters

Tom Hume has been working in mobile since 2000 and is MD of Future Platforms, a UK software company specialising in the design and launching of mobile products; clients include Microsoft, Nokia, the BBC, Orange, Vodafone, and many more. Tom is a Certified Scrum Practitioner, holds a Designers & Art Directors Silver Nomination for his work in interactive media, and in the last year has spoken on mobile product design at UX Corner 2009[1], Future of Mobile 2008[2], and Over The Air 2008 [3].

Joh Hunt is an eternal student working towards her doctorate in Informatics at the University of Sussex. She leads courses on interdisciplinary and group processes at the University of Sussex, and acts as a Process Administrator for Future Platforms Ltd, keeping them on the straight and narrow.

[1] http://shortboredsurfer.com/2009/01/ux-corner-begins/

[2] http://www.slideshare.net/twh/strengths-weakness-and-tradeoffs-of-mobile...

[3] http://www.slideshare.net/bryanrieger/prime-sky