Do You Require A Mobile Enterprise Application Platform To Build Enterprise Mobile Apps

When I talk about mobile applications for OnDemand solutions, customers ask me if they need to buy a mobile enterprise application platform such as the one Sybase, an SAP Company, provides. So when I ran into Gertrud Beisel, my colleague who manages the HCM mobile apps, I asked her the question. She explained it to me.

The short answer is that there is no technical requirement. You do not need a Mobile Platform to build a mobile app for an SAP HCM solution. Some partners of SAP have already demonstrated this. This approach works when

• You only build a few apps for a specific device for a small number of employees
• You don't care about remotely managing data in the devices your employees carry
• Your employees are very careful and will never misplace their devices, so security is not a concern

When you deploy multiple mobile apps to a large number of devices, it is necessary to have a mobile enterprise application platform that enables you to build faster, deploy efficiently, and, if necessary, wipe out applications and data from the devices. You may also need a mobile enterprise application platform, when you want to build once and deploy to multiple types of devices.

In other words, when you get serious about mobile deployment, you should plan to have a platform such as the one provided by Sybase. I hope this explanation helps. 

Thinking Mobile First Need Not Always Mean Creating A Mobile App

I was chatting with a friend the other day when he explained the mobile features of the travel management application he is leading the co-innovation for. His application enables users to take a picture of a receipt and email it to the expense report system.

That does not sound like anything fancy. Several applications can take a picture and send somewhere. But the beauty lies in the simplicity of the solution. In fact there is no app to download, there is no API to connect with and they don't have to worry about data connectivity issues, device compatibility issues and upgrade issues.

All the user has to do is to add an email address to his or her email system. When he has a recipt, he can take a picure using the mobile phone's camera and send the image using the email application in the mobile device.

When you can solve the problems of a mobile user without creating a mobile app of your own, consider it. In fact it is the first thing you should consider while thinking mobile first.

A Man And His Thoughts And His Smart Phone - Design To Help Sneak In Some Work

When we design for desktop browser delivery, we build features knowing that the user is at work, has a desk and is using accessories such as a mouse and a big monitor.

When we build an iPad version of the same application, we take into account the different interface and the different habits, the different requirements, and the different mindset that a person may have when they operate the iPad. For example, they may be outside, they may be standing somewhere, reading a document while having lunch at a restaurant and so on.

When we design for the smart phone we may even have to keep in mind that the user is sneaking in some work when he is not supposed to be doing it.

This e-trade advertisement always makes me smile.

Purpose and Strategy For Building Mobile Apps

Josh Bernoff in his book Empowered, has a good chapter on the purpose and strategy for designing mobile apps.

The purpose of building mobile apps is to increases sales, improve loyalty and reduce costs. He also points out an interesting aspect of mobile app design. You cannot have a single design for the Blackberry and the iPhone.

Companies have found out Blackberry users have different habits compared to iPhone users. The design of your mobile applications will depend on your user base. He even suggests that a company should build a mobile website first, analyse the devices used to access the mobile web site and then design and build native apps for specific devices and user habits.

Sounds like a good approach to me. How do you approach your mobile design strategy?

Thinking Mobile-First Puts Space and Time Constraints on Your Design and Brings Out Creativity

Many product designers know that thinking mobile first, instead of designing for the web browser, forces us to focus on essential features. It is obvious that the physical space constraints imposed by the screen of a mobile device enables us to focus on the most essential features.

However, space is not the only constraint a mobile device imposes on the designer. Mobile devices also impose an attention-span constraint on the design. People use mobile devices while they are standing, walking, when they are among colleagues, while in a meeting, while at a noisy place, while in a crowded place and even while they are in places where mobile device usage is not acceptable or is prohibited by law.

Think about boring meetings where you check you blackberry under the table, restaurants where you check your email when your spouse visits the restroom, movie theaters just when the lights are dimming, the airplane when you check your email while hiding it from the stewardess, while in bed, while in the toilet and so on.




In mobile situations, people want to do a quick, yet important task that is meaningful and is of some value.

This is a wonderful constraint, that forces designers to think of large business applications as multiple small applications that bring quick, specific yet significant value. This is another reason why we should think mobile-first while designing business applications.

Thinking Mobile-First For Product Design

I am in the middle of a design project at work where we are designing enterprise applications for people management. As part of the project we went through our design research phase and built a web prototype. Once we completed the prototype, my colleague @MChewD asked me how the application will work for someone who does not have a computer or email, but carries a mobile phone and only uses one thumb to operate the application while standing somewhere.

It was an interesting challenge. So I decided to build every high level use case as a mobile application, even though there are no plans to release a mobile version of the application in the first release. It was the most interesting exercise I did this year.

1. Identifying the use cases became simpler
Thinking mobile first, helped me identify the key mental models I need to communicate to the product team. All I had to do was to wonder what a person will think about doing while he or she is walking down the corridor. For example, "Oh! I need to approve that expense report." or "I need to attend that training course". For more on mental models, the book by Indy Young is a great read. Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior

2. I was able to focus on the features that are absolutely essential.
Since the real estate available for me was limited, I was forced to think about the first thing a person needs to see when she launches the app. I was also able to focus on the main thing that the person must accomplish while in the app. Then I focused on the other 2-3 things the person can do while at the app. The limited real estate forced me to cut out everything that is not absolutely essential.

3. I was able to build small clickable prototypes in daily sprints
Since I was thinking about one problem and one problem only, I was able to sketch out the solution, discuss that with colleagues and build a prototype in one day.

4. The UI Design Conventions of the mobile client gave me a standard UI design framework.
I am not a User Interface designer. However, since I was using the UI framework provided by the mobile device, I was able to convey my ideas and thoughts without making any major interface design errors.

5. I avoided stepping on the toes of my User Interface Design colleagues
Since I was only building mobile prototypes, my UI design colleagues knew my intentions and understood that I was conveying a mental model rather than making an interface design suggestion.

6. It forced me to think about the details and identify gaps in my thinking
Because I had to build every screen of the prototype, I was forced to think about the steps involved in the process. I could not cheat, overlook or get lazy with my design. I had to take a stand, define it and be preparde to defend it.

I used Axure to create the prototypes and the mobile templates provided by Axure.

I recommend you give it a try. Thinking mobile-first may be a lot of work.  But I am sure you will have fun. By the way, this is a not a very novel concept. Some pioneering companies are already doing this.