1. Randy Scovil
Cuesta College
14th Annual Central Coast High Tech Symposium
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2. So who is this guy anyway?
 Developer for 30+ years
 Started on punch cards with 1s and 0s
 Numerous languages, OSes
 Software projects primarily for Education
and Broadcast markets
 M.S. Computer Science, Cal Poly - audio,
graphics, software engineering emphases
 12 years teaching core college computer
science at Cuesta/Cal Poly, taught literally
thousands of people to program
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3. Mobile in Education
 Taught Mobile Device Programming
Spring Semester 2010 at Cuesta
 iPhone emphasis
○ One of the first iPhone college courses
 Mobile Device Programming returns in
Spring 2011
 Android emphasis
○ One of the few Android courses in existence
 Two course sequence starts in Fall 2011
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4. Mobile Development
 Developed location-based apps for
Cuesta College in Summer 2010
 Simultaneous release for iOS and Android
 Mobile, location-aware, campus guide
 GPS, email, phone, and web integration
 1st iPhone app developed by a California
Community College
 1st known Android app in the nation by a
community college
 Additional contract apps in development
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5. Oh yeah I do other stuff too
 25 years of Broadcast Media Experience
 Primarily radio, some TV
 Combination of management and on-air
(“talent”) work
 12 years managing programming and
marketing at radio stations in a highly-
competitive (i.e. before de-reg) 24-7
environment in large media markets
 Co-founder of Cuesta TV project, broadcasts
Cuesta content online and on cable
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6. We’ll assume that…
 We’ll talk mobile development in
general, focusing on iOS and Android
 We’re looking at it from a business
perspective
 As a marketing arm
 As a source of revenue
 As a means of partnership/community
 Cuz it’s cool and the (our) kids dig it
 We may occasionally wake the obvious
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7. So what is an app?
 It’s a focused program custom designed
to run a specific platform
 Relatively small in scope
 Native to the platform, and looks it
 Fully leverages the device
 Fast and efficient
 Utilizes connectivity but is not necessarily
dependent on it
 Limited by what the platform supports
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8. What can an app do for me?
 Engage your customer
 It’s always with them, so connect with them
○ Build passion within your community
 Inform them – give them a leg up
 Provide a purchase avenue
 Help them do what they want/need to do
 Provide strong partnership opportunities
 Cross-promotion with business partners
 Event-oriented apps
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9. Why would I get myself…
 …into this?
 Yes, it’s custom software, but on a more
manageable scale
○ Very feasible to have an app done by an
experienced mobile developer/team in weeks
depending on the scope, bells, whistles
○ Easy to iterate – updates go live in about a
week (iOS) or instantaneously (Android)
○ Distribution (and billing, hosting, copy
protection, etc.) is handled by the platform
 Will not take 103s of years and 106s of $
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10. Iterative Development
 Flexibility in how much how soon
 Waves of releases, or one big bang?
 Update process is seamless for the user
 Single-feature updates are not a bother
 Easy to update supporting info
 Encourages experimentation and evolution
 Makes it manageable
 Can ship at reasonable junctures
 Fewer things to stop the show
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11. What to do, or not
 Keep it simple, stay focused
 Screen size is limited – don’t try to cram
○ We can always pull up more info
 Don’t overwhelm with choices
○ It’s personal and the app is the user’s focus of
that moment, so make it easy if not fun
 Consider likely behavior
○ Allow for customization/history
 Using your app
 Using the Settings app
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12. Optimize the user experience
 Keep your friends close, keep your data
closer
 Look for static (unchanging) data that can be
part of the app
○ Less dependence on connectivity
 Depending on the amount of info, you can
consider embedding smaller media items
(photos, short audio/video) in the app for
maximum responsiveness
 Be resource-aware (esp. battery)
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13. Can I get there from here?
 Location, location, location
 Where are they now…but also, where can
they find you?
 Are you close?
 How accurate do you need to be?
○ A fixed location, or finding within a location?
 Ensure you are opt-in on using their
location, especially when sharing with others
○ Opt-in %s are low, especially with older (29+)
demographics***
***http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/technology/30location.
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14. Encourage communication
 Hotlinks
 Phone
 Email
 Web
 Text
 Social
 Custom messaging
 Push notifications – opt-in, no cost,
exclusive
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15. What’s your financial model?
 Is the App the product?
 Selling the app may require a cut to go to
the store/market-keeper
 Free app with a subscription model - you
deal with customer directly, keep the
revenue and keep it flowing
 Is the app meant to support your primary
products?
 App serves as a means stay in touch with
the customer and market the product(s)
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16. Other forms of revenue
 In-App Ads
 Those you’ve sold (incl. couponing)
 Partnership agreements
 Third-party through platform owner
 In-App Purchase
 Remember anything third-party will cost
you a piece (is it worth the sale?)
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17. iOS or Google?
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18. Check the trend as of today
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19. So now what?
 You can’t ignore either one
 They are two:
 Very different constituencies
 Distinct user interfaces
 Platform strategies
 App distribution philosophies
 Different development environments
 But…just 3% of iOS developers develop
for Android as well***
***http://blog.appstorehq.com/post/760323632/ios-
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20. It’s not about which, but both
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21. Tablets?
Yes.
Android
Tablet(s)
coming
soon.
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22. Thanks!
• Randy Scovil
• CIS (Computer Science)
• Cuesta College
• rscovil@cuesta.edu
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