Mobile Applications

Tutorials

MI Building Cross Platform and Mobile Apps with XAML NEW

Mike Benkovich, Imagine Technologies, Inc.

Mon, 11/09/2015 - 1:00pm

To make it possible for designers and developers to collaborate and build compelling user interfaces using the same assets, Microsoft created the extended application markup language XAML and introduced it in the release of the Windows Presentation Foundation. Based in XML and using language features that enable data binding, templating, styling, and adaptive layouts, it creates the interfaces declaratively and efficiently. XAML has appeared in Silverlight, Windows Phone, and Metro and has now gone cross platform to Android and iOS with Xamarin. Mike Benkovich begins with the basics of XAML—controls and containers, options for layout including canvases, stack panels and grids, and responsive layouts that take advantage of the available screen real estate. Next Mike dives into XAML advanced data binding and converters. Finally, he takes a brief look at Xamarin to show how you can deliver great applications across platforms on almost any device.

TK Mobile App Usability and UX for Developers and Testers

Philip Lew, XBOSoft

Tue, 11/10/2015 - 1:00pm

Many enterprises today are migrating to mobile while new organizations are adopting a mobile-first or mobile-only strategy. Because of the special characteristics of the mobile platform and its user base, usability and the user experience (UX) take on an increased emphasis, although there are currently no formal models describing UX. With SaaS-based business models, where users can pay by the month and switch applications in a heartbeat, UX becomes paramount. Phil Lew explains the definitions of usability and user experience, describes the connections between them, and explores evaluation methods you can use as the first step toward improving UX on the mobile platform. To build a deeper understanding of how to improve your own app’s UX, Phil gives examples to illustrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of mobile UX. Discover key principles for design and evaluation of usability. Develop a methodology for continuous improvement of your users’ experience.

Concurrent Sessions

BW2 Real-Time Contextual and Social Media Relevance in Mobile

Jason Arbon, appdiff.com

Wed, 11/11/2015 - 11:30am

Personalized mobile user experience is a hot topic today because a smarter app will delight users, keep them coming back, and make your business stand out above the crowd. The extreme version of personalization is real-time contextual and social relevance. According to Jason Arbon, the contextual brain for your app is only a few API calls away. Based on lessons learned working on search relevance and personalization at Google, Bing, and a stealth mobile app startup, Jason describes the value, performance, limitations, and data-privacy of local and web services available today. He demonstrates practical examples of leveraging APIs such as Foursquare, Yelp, Google Places, Facebook, Twitter, and Location APIs (latlong + velocity). Then, Jason describes available natural language processing APIs such as NSLinguisticTagger and illustrates ways to use in-app usage data to improve an application’s contextual experience. Take away ideas to make your users happier—and you and your app look smarter.

BW5 Designing Apps for Emotional Engagement

Jaimee Newberry, SWINGSET, Inc.

Wed, 11/11/2015 - 1:30pm

Do the products you’re creating engage users on an emotional level? Do you deliberately design in the personality and tone of your product? Are you thinking comprehensively about every touch point your product has with a user? Jaimee Newberry has been helping Fortune 500 companies and startups with their digital products for more than seventeen years. Through years of refinement, Jaimee has learned how to create products that engage and empathize with users. Her abilities evoke client responses such as “You’ve earned our trust,” “You understand who we are,” and “Thank you. We love you!” It is through these experiences that Jaimee shares key considerations when creating winning mobile products—whether concept, startup, corporation, or enterprise apps—that connect emotionally with users and make them want to come back. Jaimee explores her proven app design and personality thinking, on-boarding dos and don’ts, and copywriting tips to help you develop and deliver products that are more fun, emotionally engage your users, and delight the business.

BW6 Privacy, Security, and Trust in the Mobile Age

Philip Lew, XBOSoft

Wed, 11/11/2015 - 1:30pm

As mobile technologies penetrate our lives, the rate at which we generate and access data accelerates. Our mobile phones now have more memory than we thought we needed—and somehow we fill it up—and are repositories of important and private data. A recent study revealed that, due to concerns about personal information, more than half of mobile application users have uninstalled or decided not to install an application. So what does this mean for us? It means that no matter how great or how slick our app is, unless we give users the sense of security and privacy they want and deserve, we will fail to gain their trust. And because users are now more vocal than ever, trust is becoming a new currency that will drive end user uptake. Join Phil Lew to discover how we can foster trust in our apps. In this thought-provoking session, Phil reveals key elements and characteristics to enable us to design and evaluate a mobile application that generates end user trust.