MC 1,2,3 Flashcards
Smart Mobile Solution
Feature + Challenge + Context
Strategy
Competitive Analysis, Research, prototyping, Storytelling and UX.
Mobile First
Designing an experience for mobile before any other device
Smart Mobile Devices
5+ Billion Users, 230+Billion app downloads. 93% of internet users on mobile
More devices means
more people and more consumption
Multiplatform will…
drive Ad and content integration strategies
Web Applications
Accessed via web browser over internet
Key Characteristics of Web Apps
Platform Independent, Requires Internet, Update Automatically
Native Application
Developed for one platform or OS, utilising platform specific OS
Key Characteristics of Native Apps
High performance, Device Specific, Works offline
Cross-Platform Apps
Designed to work on multiple platforms with single codebase
Key Characteristics of Cross Platform Apps
Faster Dev Times, Broad Audience, Performance Trade Offs compared to native.
Native Application Design
Optimized Performance, Specific IDEs, Best UX cause of features like camera, Higher Cost and Time as need for multiple codebases.
Web Vs Cross Platform
Accessibility: Web needs internet
Dev Efficiency: Cross Platform easy as only one codebase needed
Performance: Web apps have improved but still worse performance
UX: Cross platform more consistent experience compared to web apps but not as integrated as native
Responsive Web Programming
Uses fluid grids, flexible images and media queries
Progressive Web Programming
Normal Websites that appear like a mobile app when viewed on mobile. Can add app icon to home screen and can run offline with cache.
Mobile Angular UI
Lets you build mobile apps using HTML with inclusion of mobile components like switches, nav bars etc.
Challenges of App Development
- Native or cross-platform approach.
- Wireless Issues
- App Design and Implementation
- Hardware Limitations (screen size, battery, sensors..)
Challenges when designing apps for smart mobile devices
- Mobile Phones are a main mean of communication
- Keep us informed using internet, alarms etc…
- Reliable Communication + limited resources
Mobile Strategy
- Define your objective (and business objectives)
- Select the right mobile environment (i.e app, site …)
Mobile app and site essentials
- Device Specific downloads from marketplaces
- Leverage mobile device capabilities ex. GPS, cameras
- Necessitate separate builds for each mobile platform
- Prioritize dev-based on audience device usage and market trends
- Mob. Sites in specific serve a distinct audience and purpose compared to mobile apps
- Ideal for engaging new customers with simple shopping experience
- Provide on the go services, fundamental info and contact details
Strategic Recommendations
- Develop both an app and mobile sources (if sufficient resources)
- Apps target loyal customers requiring swifter brand interaction
- Mob sites offer convenience for on the go services and info
UX design Investment
- Ensure Mobile sites present clear info and easy data consumption
- Design for simple adoption and intuitive interaction
- Maintain robust functionality and performance of apps
Usability
Don’t trust your own instincts as to what will be easy for people to use
Design Patterns
Repeatable solution to commonly occurring problems. Description for how to solve a problem that has been tested and validated by different users and can be repeated in many different situations.
Best Practices
- Help; Support should be easily available from multiple channels. Use tutorials and help videos. In app content tutorials on added features.
What to watch out for
- First Impressions
- Onboarding
- Registration
- Ease of use
- UI
- UX
- Performance
Feature (Definition)
Means of providing benefits to customer. Distinctive characteristic of good/service. Customers want a benefit and don’t care about features which are sold by every supplier as unique or superior.
Context (Definition)
Capturing info at a particular instance, using info and applying it; by interacting between human and computer, describing the surrounding facts that add meaning.
In mobile computing, location is used to approximate context and implement context-aware apps. Such as devices that are operational on the move.
Design (Definition)
Design simple and intuitive, Good design as little as possible, Enough info that allows the user to understand what’s expected of user while offering something useful.
Main goal of an app
User Engagement
What Devs expect from Mobile OS
- best practices of open governance
- attributes in common with successful open source products such as strong dev tools, and process transparency
- Equal/fair treatment for developers
Android is built on
Personal private AND autofill framework
10 Steps to create an app
- Confirm android studio setup
- Version control
- Access to learning methods
- Develop first app
- Intro to layouts
- Menus
- Android manifest
- Android lifecycle management
- Intents
- Activity main screen
Layouts (XML or Views)
- Linear Layout: aligns all children in single direction
- Relative Layout: Displays children in relative position
- Table Layout: Rows + Columns
- Absolute Layout: Exact position of children specified
- Frame Layout: Placeholder for single view
- List View: List of scrollable items
- Grid View: 2D Scrollable Grid
Menus
Fundamental part of an app, offering a familiar way to navigate and interact with features.
Handling Menu Selection
- Implement the onOptionsItemSelected(MenuItem item) method to handle menu item clicks
- Use a switch or if else to distinguish between menu items based on ID
Android Manifest
The skeleton of your android application, where you declare the essential components and perms your app needs to function within the android ecosystem.
Key Components of Android Manifest
- Activities: Define every activity in your app. MainActivity is launcher activity
- Services: Declare background tasks that operate independently of user interaction
- Broadcast Receivers: Specify how app responds to various global messages from other apps
- Content providers: Outline data sharing capabilities, allowing app to share/manage data securely with other apps
- Permissions: Declare system level data that app requires ex. internet, camera etc.
- Application ID: Unique ID for app on devices and playstore (com.example.app)
- API Levels: Define minimum android API level that app supports, ensuring android compatibility.
Android Lifecycle
Various states in app with different user interaction and system events. Lifecycle encompasses callback methods allowing devs to manage how an activity behaves as user navigates in and out of the app.
Key Lifecycle Methods:
- onCreate(): The birth of activity. Initialize components
- onStart(): when the activity becomes visible to the user
- onResume(): now the user can interact with the activity
- onPause(): focus leaves the activity, save transient resources
- onStop(): Activity no longer visible, release resources or adjust
- onRestart(): called when the activity is coming back from the stopped state
- onDestroy(): The final call, cleans up all resources
Intent (Definition)
Intents are objects used in Android to facilitate communication between components
Intent (Purpose)
They used for starting activities, services, sending broadcasts and more
Explicit Intents
Specify the exact component to start and are used in app
Implicit Intents
Don’t name specific component - instead declare a general action allowing other component apps to handle it. ex. redirect to google maps to show location
Activity Main Screen
An activity in android represents a single screen with a UI. Fundamental component through which users interact with the app.
Activity Main Screen (Lifecycle)
Each activity goes through a lifecycle managed by callback methods. These methods allow devs to create, start, pause and destroy activities in an app.
Activity Main Screen (Usage)
Activities serve as an entry point into interaction with the user. They are used for displaying data, handling input, transition between activities etc.
Activity Creation
When creating a new project, main activity is created automatically. Represents application starting point.
Designing Layout
- UI defined in XML/Layout typically ‘activity_main.xml’
- Use layout editor to make UI
- For simple start add TextView ‘HelloWorld’
Connecting Layout and Activity
- MainActivity connects to layout through setContentView() method call in the onCreate() lifecycle
- This connection lets you manipulate UI elements programmatically and handle user interaction
