There are so many applications readily available today, often for free, that jumping into mobile application development is a decision no company should take lightly.
Though it's sometimes difficult to recognize it from the results, even bad apps were developed to accomplish one or several goals. Typically, apps are born from frustration by a group of potential users -- whether they're in IT, sales, marketing, human resources, or elsewhere. Yearning for a more efficient process or a better result, an energized individual or group embarks on a solution to a specific challenge: providing timely information, repeating a known calculation, integrating a big-data grab and translating the information into a pertinent interface, or some other task that demands a better solution.
A good litmus test for any application development team is to search for something that could already solve your problem. If nothing is available, there could very well be a reason. Be on the lookout for a hidden challenge that could present itself during the development process. You may encounter a missing piece of technology, or you may need an expensive testing process. There could be an immature standard or an interface that is broken beyond all recognition.
After finding something that is close but not quite close enough, I suggest you analyze the near-miss app. What keeps it from providing the functionality you need? You may want to contact the app's developer to see if it can add or subtract capabilities. Remember that the goal here is to satisfy your need for information, fix a broken process, or find an operational efficiency. Building an app just because you can or because it is cool is not a real reason. Refer to your frustrated user. What is that user's pain?
If you cannot find a workaround, your next step is application development. Defining what platform to use -- the best piece of hardware for your application -- is a seminal step. You must understand the user's environment, mobility needs, and governance standards. Leveraging a platform like Facebook, Google, or YouTube speeds up your release date and cuts down on development costs.
The nuts and bolts of any application development rely on two major components: the application programming interface (API) and the software development kit (SDK). They allow your development team to interface with data and function on multiple platforms.
An SDK allows the front end to perform on multiple platforms -- iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, or Linux. A good API takes all currently usable technologies into account.
SDKs give the data engines used by the front-end software the ability to share information safely and securely. All software projects consist of three components: backend data, middleware, and front end (or user interface).
Losing sight of the goal (the end user's pain) is often a byproduct of application development. When considering whether you really need to write an app for that, look carefully. You might find another frustrated user who has already met your need.
— Michael Starnes is CEO of Starnes Consulting in Orlando, Fla.
Constant updation is required to meet to the changing needs. What else would be benefit for updation if it is not able to keep pace with the requirements?
Syed: If its updating on a constant basis yes its a good ploy but if not then I dont think so. There are so many available in the market so why not move for something like that ?
You are right, Kim. It would be a brilliant idea to project images on surfaces in HD. The only concern I have is that it will further drain the battery. Since, our battery woes are not addressed I believe this option would not be practical unless we see much better batteries.
In some cases hanging onto the gadget seems to be the best solution. Unless the gadget that you want to switch to has good user reviews and outstanding performance.
Asanka: To do multi tasking you do not need any super easy gadgets. None of the gadgets we have right now are super easy btw. We have to adapt towards them to make things easy for us.
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Throughout their generations, medical records have promised us lowered costs, increased efficiency, and generally better healthcare. However, despite untold dollars and the efforts of some very smart people, we've yet to realize a fully electronic medical record.
When one of my team members recently responded to network-down call at a client's home office, he quickly established, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the edge device -- a customer premise equipment (CPE) router -- had been compromised. Regaining control of the edge router proved difficult. A neighbor who was within range of the 802.11n wireless radio was actively hacking the router, overpowering the field tech with password resets in real time. In order to regain control of the network, the tech had to remove the antennas, allowing for LAN access only to the routing edge, and effectively cutting off the hack by cutting off his basic access.
This year's opening keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) broke the mold: Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, delivered the first non-Microsoft presentation in a dozen years. Though Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did make an appearance, the presentation was dominated by a core technology for release by Qualcomm this year.
More companies are trolling social networks to find and vet potential job candidates. Beware the pitfalls of blurring the line between personal and professional lives.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
A recent release of the popular TweetDeck app for Twitter power-users gives new life to software that had previously taken a wrong turn. Here's a quick walk-through of the new TweetDeck, to show you why it should be at the top of your Twitter toolkit.
As enterprises leap into the Web 2.0 world of blogging, commenting, and social networking, just 'being there' won't deliver ROI. You may want a 'Web Evangelist' to systematically harvest the feedback in order to polish your product or service.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
New tools like laptops, tablets, smartphone, and wireless connectivity let us work from San Diego to Katmandu, and anywhere in between. But time management remains a problem.
Companies need to take advantage of new technologies to simplify interfaces, improve capabilities, and enhance back-office processes. But they can't upgrade their Websites too often.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
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M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
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