Android, Conferences and Exhibitions

AppsWorld 2013: Enterprise Software Development


This post is the second in a series of 4 about attending the AppsWorld conference in London.

One of our developers, Minh Nguyen, when down the Enterprise Application development track. Minh does a lot of backend work for us developing, supporting and maintaining our websites, services and database. Here are some of his notes on what he heard.

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As a company it is important to us to know what else is going on in the app development world. The best way we could think of doing this was to head to AppsWorld in London last week. Four of us attended and I have asked the guys to write up their thought on what they saw and learned.

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Mobile delivery using agile techniques

According to Eddie Kenny, agile software development manager at Betfair, key to the successful deployment of an enterprise app is the ability to develop quickly and keep ahead of competitors. The best way to achieve this is to adopt agile development methodologies, to developing quickly and iteratively for mobile platforms. Four basic essential elements must to be getting involved in agile development including, but not limited to, are: Speed, Quality, Embracing change and Regular delivery.

“These can help company respond quickly to meet demand for improved functionality from users, and reduce the risk associated with releasing bad apps which have problems and crash, the immediate feedback from an app store – that can bury your app”, he said.

Top five mistakes developers make when going mobiles

To help everyone create an awesome mobile user experience for your application, Embarcadero Technologies, a software company from San Francisco, has prepared a list of five common mistakes developers make when going mobile. They are included:

  •  Mistake 1: Trying to fit a desktop experience onto a mobile device. Design only for necessary requirements and ensure that your users can complete them with as few taps as possible.
  • Mistake 2: Not making the mobile user experience your top priority. If your app is not easy to use, people will avoid using it – and they might not come back later after a poor initial user experience. Ensure that you’ve satisfied their main requirements before releasing your app.
  • Mistake 3: Letting too much get between your app and the OS and hardware. You must shave every possible millisecond off of response time and utilize all relevant capabilities offered by that device – meaning that your app is not only built for a particular operating system, but it is also optimized for that particular piece of hardware.
  • Mistake 4: Building separate apps for different platforms. Leverage a single codebase that is compiled and optimized for different platforms and device form factors. You’ll be able to deliver a better and more consistent user experience to your users across all their devices.
  • Mistake 5: Not doubling down on security. Code directly to the device and include your own security precautions to reduce the risk of third party attacks. Don’t forget to encrypt sensitive data stored on the device

AppsWorld mini Series:
3D Technology | Enterprise Development | Android Performance | Azure Mobile Services