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Table of contents
Executive summary 1
In the not so distant future 1
Rising expectations 1
Legacy app design: Designing todays apps with yesterdays technology 2
The old web approach to app design 2
The trouble with designing apps in silos 4
- A lack of collaboration 4
- A lack of optimization 4
- A lack of multi-channel guidance 4
The 6 paths to designing in the multi-edge world 4
Breaking down boundaries with cloud-based technologies 5
- Cloud-based collaboration 5
- Asset reusability and sharing 5
- Real-time previews and simulators 5
Crossing multi-edge boundaries with real-time design 5
- Responsive web design 6
- Adaptive web design 6
Saying goodbye to the blank canvas 6
- Multi-edge form factors 6
Following the pathway to an experience-first app design 6
Conclusion
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Executive summary
Mobile app usage is growing at a remarkably impressive rate. Industry
figures predict the number of downloaded apps will rise to 254 billion by the
end of 2017. But while these industry projections are impressive, its not just
about the numbers. Alongside this increase in market size, users are placing
a higher premium on app design and user experience. Of those billions of
apps being downloaded, user engagement drops by 75 percent after the
first usage. Simply put, users are often unimpressed.
More importantly, because user expectations for these single function applications were low, little, if
any, added attention needed to be given to the user experience and design expectations.
Rising expectations
Over the last five to seven years, usability and design expectations have increased dramatically, largely
thanks to the introduction of the iPhone and the app store. Seemingly overnight, users went from
playing arcade-style video games to expecting more robust functionality that would enhance their
lifestyles and improve daily tasks like banking, bill pay, shopping, and travel.
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These expectations are not limited to B2C apps, either. Users want the same intuitive experience
on their work apps as their play apps. That means organizations must take incredibly complex
systems with enormous amounts of data and functionality, and serve up a simple, easy-to-consume
interface. This is clearly easier said than done, but it is imperative; just like Apple changed the game
by simplifying the front end of a complex device with the iPhone, whatever business app creates a
seamless experience will, quite simply, win.
Adding to this already growing list of design, development, and usability considerations, users are no
longer restricting these interactions to one device. Today, 25% of adults are going online with three
or more devices, and 66% of the workforce is using at least two devices at the office.
In a mobile landscape where 120 plus billion apps were projected to have been downloaded by the
end of last year, this may be troubling news for app developers and designers. Due to rising user
expectations and an increased emphasis on device proliferation, many are asking: Is it even possible
to create an app that will compete in todays multi-channel world without negatively impacting the
design and user experience?
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A lack of collaboration: Traditionally, each phase of the above design process takes place in
its own separate silo. Designers, developers, and business analysts are each expected to work
independently of one another, apps cannot be shared with stakeholders before development, and
little real-time feedback or collaboration takes place.
A lack of optimization: Because each person throughout the design process uses a separate set
of tools, everything created up until the development phase is considered throw-away work: The
designers cannot reuse the mockups and wireframes created during the user experience phase, and
the developers must recreate the style guide and assets already created by the designer.
A lack of multi-edge guidance: Because of the thousands of varying form factors and design
elements, the designer cannot hope to create a robust design capable of fulfilling user expectations
across every device.
Thus, after months in the development process, the design fails to meet the usability and design
standards originally outlined. Worse, because not every device and form factor was accounted for,
the apps overall usability in a multi-channel, multi-edge world is suspect.
When used in conjunction with one another, these new technologies and processes combine to
create a new pathway toward a robust and efficient multi-channel app design strategy:
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Cloud-based collaboration: Document sharing and communication collaboration are what most
people envision when they think of collaboration tools. However, as an increased onus is placed on
intuitive design and functionality, designers and developers are discovering they need a tool that
allows them to move beyond those simple functions.
Cloud-based workspaces are capable of breaking down the silos typically encountered within the
collaboration process. Through these workspaces, designers and developers are able to collaborate
throughout each step of the design process. No longer does the user experience designer have to
wait until the app is in development to uncover workflow bugs and usability errors. Instead, business
users, designers, and developers can communicate in real time, instantly applying annotations and
notes to every asset as it is designed..
Asset reusability and sharing: Traditionally, app design has been filled with throwaway work. For
example, the designs and style sheets a designer creates for one application or one device will not
translate to their next project. In terms of recreating assets and design, this adds up to a lot of extra
time, energy, and resources.
Today, designers are turning to cloud-based asset libraries to help them eliminate these redundant
processes. Not only can they use their design assets across applications and devices, but they are also
relying on the cloud for asset sharing among other users and projects. Through these asset libraries,
designers are able to standardize their designs, while avoiding unnecessary and redundant processes.
Real-time previews and simulators: Designers do not traditionally code. Instead, they will typically
rely on prototyping tools and static imagery to provide insights into the apps overall functionality
and usability. Unfortunately, while these tools are a valuable part of defining workflow, they fail in their
ability to accurately communicate the look, feel, and functionality of the app across multiple devices.
In answer to this lack of real-time functionality, designers are looking to device simulators. Instead
of needing to wait for the app to reach development, these simulators and app emulators allow
designers to simulate how the app will perform on any particular device.
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Responsive web design: Have you ever tried to view a traditional website on a mobile device?
Without responsive or adaptive design, the page renders itself to the screen. It will not account for the
apps usability, the devices screen layout, or the operating systems limitations. This can greatly affect
the overall usability of the application, as the majority of text and imagery will become distorted.
Responsive design addresses these usability issues. Through responsive web design,
the applications layout will adapt to the layout of the web page. In essence, the layout
of the device is scaled accordingly, allowing for a better overall user experience.
Adaptive web design: Similar in theory to responsive design, adaptive design also scales the
application according to each individual device. However, unlike responsive design, the experience is
tailored specifically to work within the parameters of the device. Because they are intended to deliver
functionality based on device-specific parameters, applications using adaptive design are able to
create a more native user experience.
Multi-edge form factors: As the list of devices that need to be accounted for grows longer,
designers are looking toward WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) or WYSIWYM (What You
See Is What You Mobilize) design functionality to account for the varying multi-channel or multi-edge
device form factors. This ability to base their design within the actual aspects and ratios of each device
allows designers to reduce the amount of design iteration, while simultaneously improving the overall
functionality of the app.
In answer to this new premium on user experience, designers are discovering they can no longer
rely on traditional web-based design tools and processes. Remember the traditional 4-phase linear
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approach to app design we outlined above? Happily, that siloed approach is no longer necessary.
Instead, designers, developers, and business now have the tools needed to break down those silos
and follow a more efficient and robust path to multi-channel app creation.
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Conclusion
Thanks to todays cloud-based technologies, real-time prototyping tools, WYSIWYG or WYSIWYM
design platforms, and responsive development technologies, developers and designers can now work
productively alongside one another. The result is a new path to app design a path that allows for the
elimination of those inefficient design redundancies, while simultaneously furthering the development
of robust, multi-edge strategies.
Kony is the fastest-growing, cloud-based enterprise mobility solutions company and an industry leader among
mobile application development platform (MADP) providers. Kony empowers todays leading organizations to
compete in mobile time by rapidly delivering multi-edge mobile apps across the broadest array of devices and
systems, today and in the future. Kony offers ready-to-run business mobile apps to help organizations better
engage with customers and partners, as well as increase employee productivity through mobile device access to
company systems and information. Powered by Konys industry-leading Mobility Platform, enterprises can design,
build, configure, and manage mobile apps across the entire software development lifecycle, and get to market
faster with a lower total cost of ownership.
For two years in a row (2013 and 2014), Gartner has named Kony a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Mobile
Application Development Platforms. Gartner also gave Kony the highest scores in 3 of 4 enterprise mobility use
cases in their latest Mobile Application Development Platform Critical Capabilities Report, released December
2014. In additional to these recognitions, Kony was also honored in the Mobile Star Awards for achievements in
enterprise application development; named the first place winner in CTIAs MobITs Awards in the Mobile
Applications, Development & Platforms category, and included on the Inc. 500|5000 list of fastest growing
private companies in America.
For more information, please visit www.kony.com. Connect with Kony on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
7380 West Sand Lake Road #390 | Orlando, FL 32819 1.888.323.9630 | info@kony.com | www.kony.com