CREATING A
MOBILE AP PLICATION

1. PICK A PLATFO
RM

1. PICK A PLATFO
RM
Smartphones reached 30%
market share in 2011.
Globally.

1. PICK A PLATFO
RM
1st Qtr 2012
106M Americans own smart phones
Operating Systems
• 51% Android
• 31% iOS
• 12% RIM

1. PICK A PLATFO
RM
1st Qtr 2012
76.2M PCs shipped, down 15%
Apple:
•17.2M “mobile PCs”, up 118%
•13.6M iPads, 63% of market, up 162%
HP: 8.9M; Acer: 6.9M

1. PICK A PLATFO
RM
2011 estimate
Apple store:
•Twice Android store
Android owners:
• “Less likely to buy”
Apple owners:
• 83 apps, 61% increase; free-to-paid: 4.5-to-1

2. CONTEXT
What makes your
idea MOBILE?

3 . GET TO KNOW
THE JARGON

3 . GET TO KNOW
THE JARGON
The more GeekSpeak you
know the better. Visit the
UW Smartphones website

4. PIC K A CONCEPT
Understand What Makes Apps
Successful

4. PIC K A CONCEPT
Understand What Makes Apps
Successful
Today, we’re gonna talk (mostly) Mac

BE THE DOVE IN A
STOR E OF PIGEONS

BE THE DOVE IN A
STOR E OF PIGEONS
There are 1,000s of apps in the app store.

BE THE DOVE IN A
STOR E OF PIGEONS
There are 1,000s of apps in the app store.
What will make yours STAND OUT?

ANSWER THESE 1.Does your App
QUESTIONS
solve a unique
problem?
~Jen Gordon, Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE 1.Does your App
QUESTIONS
solve a unique
problem?
“Figure out what sucks, and how your app can make
the life of its user more comfortable.”
~Jen Gordon, Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
2. Does your App
serve a specific
niche?
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
2. Does your App
serve a specific
niche?
Find a passionate niche
audience (i.e. dog
lovers) and watch your
app go viral. Passionate
people spread the word.
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
3. Are you
building a better
wheel?
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
3. Are you
building a better
wheel?
You must do
something better.
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
4. Is your app sticky
enough to warrant
return visits?
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
4. Is your app sticky
enough to warrant
return visits?
Attention spans are
short. Make sure
you’re engaging
your user enough
by encouraging
participation.
Smashing Magazine

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
5. Should you build
a web app?

ANSWER THESE
QUESTIONS
5. Should you build
a web app?
Mobile devices are
“task compromised.”
How intensive is your
app? If you’re
replicating web
content, consider
HTML5/CSS.

5. RESE ARCH YOUR
COMPETITION
What are their core
functionalities?

5. RESE ARCH YOUR
COMPETITION
What are their core
functionalities?
How are you going
to be better?

4. ESEARCH YOUR
5. R
COMPETITION
Play with the Top 10 apps.
Smashing Magazine

4. ESEARCH YOUR
5. R
COMPETITION
Play with the Top 10 apps.
How do they navigate?
Smashing Magazine

4. ESEARCH YOUR
5. R
COMPETITION
Play with the Top 10 apps.
How do they navigate?
How are they organized?
Smashing Magazine

4. ESEARCH YOUR
5. R
COMPETITION
Play with the Top 10 apps.
How do they navigate?
How are they organized?
How do they take advantage of
the unique characteristics of
mobile (GPS, touch, etc.)?
Smashing Magazine

6. USER
EXPERIENCE

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
Using your app should be
‘as easy as pie.’

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
SUCCESSFUL APPS ARE:

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
SUCCESSFUL APPS ARE:
FAST

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
SUCCESSFUL APPS ARE:
FAST
SIMPLE

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
SUCCESSFUL APPS ARE:
FAST
SIMPLE
EFFECTIVE

4. USER
6. No one wants to
dig through layers,
EXPERIENCE icons or prompts to get
where they need to go.

6. USER No one wants to
dig through layers,
EXPERIENCE icons or prompts to get
where they need to go.
Easy Navigation is Key.

4. USER
6.
EXPERIENCE
Become familiar with
Interface Guidelines
and usability
principles.

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
FIND YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE
Understand what they
will want to do.

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
FIND YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE
Understand what they
will want to do.
EX: If Your App is a GAME users will want to beat
their high scores, and new users may need
guidance and encouragement to keep playing.

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
FIND YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE
Understand what they
will want to do.
EX: If Your App is a UTILITY think about how or
where the task will be completed in real life, what
will happen when the task is completed?

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
FIND YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE
Understand what they
will want to do.
Figure out what types of people will use your app.
Don’t leave anyone out, and create live scenarios
for testing.

6. USER
EXPERIENCE SKETCH
YOUR
INTERF
ACE

6. USER
EXPERIENCE SKETCH
YOUR
INTERF
1. W
ACE
hat inf
on eac o will b
h scre e
en?

6. USER
EXPERIENCE SKETCH
YOUR
INTERF
1. W
ACE
hat inf
on eac o will b
h scre e
2. How en?
will yo
your u u guid
sers? e

6. USER
EXPERIENCE SKETCH
YOUR
INTERF
1. W
ACE
hat inf
on eac o will b
h scre e
2. How en?
will yo
your u u guid
sers? e
3. How
should
be disp items
layed?

6. USER
EXPERIENCE
Developers:
Get involved early
so designers know
what’s feasible
and what isn’t.

7. TOOLS
Make sure you have all the basic
tools needed to execute the app.
1. Get a SmartPhone or iPad.
2. Join the developer program and
download the SDK.
3. Prepare a
Non-Disclosure Agreement.

7. TOOLS
1. Create your Certificates
2. Define App IDs
3. Create your
Distribution Provisioning Profile
4. Prepare Application
5. Upload iTunes Connect

8. PROMOTION
Get involved in Social Media.
Set up fan
pages and
start creating
hype about
your app to
your target
market(s).

8. PROMOTION
Contact Friends
and Family.
Create email lists
and start spreading
the word. You may
be surprised at
how quickly 20
“likes” turns into
2000!
Smashing Magazine #2

8. PROMOTION
Prepare for
a Huge
Launch.

8. PROMOTION
Prepare for
a Huge
Launch. Exploit all
resources including
online PR, App
review panels, niche
networks and social
media to build
launch anticipation.

8. PROMOTION
Prepare for
Multiple Releases

8. PROMOTION
Prepare for
Multiple Releases
Save some features
for future releases;
iterate often. Multiple
releases also give an
opportunity for
ongoing promo.

KEEP THE
MOMENTUM
GOING
If you have a great
app, following
these steps are
guaranteed to bring
you mobile app
success.

CREDITS
Danielle Gatsos
MCDM: UWSmartPhones
Kathy Gill
UW, MCDM
@kegill, wiredpen.com
http://www.slideshare.net/kegill/creating-m
Photos CC
Mobile web/Native charts, Peter Friese