Design and Architecture

Tutorials

Luke Wallace, Bottle Rocket

Tue, 04/14/2015 - 1:00pm

With the many versions of Android available today on hundreds, even thousands, of device types, just how do you build something that will look good on Android devices you’ve never seen? Is it possible to build an app that will look good on the newest devices and not look strange on your grandma’s phone from 2012? Luke Wallace clears a path through the jungle of Android-based hardware and takes on the fragmentation beast. See how his company, Bottle Rocket, one of the top mobile development companies, handles this challenge day-in-and day-out—without compromising the experience.

TH Building Cross-Platform Mobile Apps

Troy Miles, Kelley Blue Book

Tue, 04/14/2015 - 1:00pm

PhoneGap (aka Cordova) is a cross-platform framework for developing mobile apps using standard web development tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Join Troy Miles to learn how to create mobile apps with PhoneGap by building a simple but full-featured app during this hands-on class. Troy explores PhoneGap’s important capabilities, including GPS, camera, and audio recordings. Because JavaScript has a reputation as a somewhat difficult language, Troy teaches techniques for keeping your code robust and clean.

Keynotes

K1 Crazy (and Focused) Mobile App Development

Daniel Steinberg, Dim Sum Thinking, Inc.

Wed, 04/15/2015 - 8:30am

Developers mostly focus on improving their creation skills—learning about programming languages and coding techniques; attending dev conferences; downloading and analyzing code; reading blogs, and listening to podcasts. However, they often become so focused on the delivery deadline that they forget they aren't just building an app for some arbitrary faceless customer. They are trying to help real people solve real problems. So, before the coding starts, there is lots of work to do to identify THAT customer. Narrow your scope.

K2 Designing for Engagement

Jaimee Newberry, Independent Consultant

Wed, 04/15/2015 - 4:00pm

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 touchpoint 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 knows 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.

K4 Thought: The Future of Mobile and Embedded Application Input

Jim McKeeth, Embarcadero Technologies

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 9:45am

Control of complex machines by human thought has been a mainstay of science fiction writing and films for years. In the movie Firefox, Clint Eastwood steals a highly advanced Russian fighter jet that is controlled by the pilot’s thoughts. But real devices are now appearing that purport to use our brainwaves as input. Is this technology a reality today? If not, how far away is it? What sort of thought input is possible and where could it be used?

Concurrent Sessions

W1 Real-Time Contextual and Social Relevance in Mobile

Jason Arbon, appdiff.com

Wed, 04/15/2015 - 10:00am

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 from 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, limitations, performance, and data-privacy of local and web services available today.

T2 A Look into the Future: App Testing and Quality in 2025

Jason Arbon, appdiff.com

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:00am

In ten years, the applications we develop—mobile, embedded, wearable, and more—will be radically different from today’s apps. And so will be the testing and quality tools, methods, and solutions we employ. Extrapolated from his experiences at Google, Microsoft, and Applause (formerly uTest), Jason Arbon leads a thought-provoking look into the future. Our new world will be powered by nearly infinite—and almost free—computing power, storage, and networking. Standardized software stacks and centralized testing as a service will enable machine learning not possible today.

T3 The Software Developers Guide to Prototyping Wearable Devices

Lance Gleason, Polyglot Programming Inc.

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:00am

Prototyping wearable devices used to be something that required specialized skills in electrical engineering, embedded development, and mechanical engineering. Today, thanks to the maker revolution, we can combine our deep knowledge of programming with basic electronics, soldering skills, and access to a 3D printer to create useful devices. In this session, we’ll take a quick tour of some of the options and then do a deep dive into creating a wearable prototype using off the shelf boards.

T9 The Internet of Things and You

Jim McKeeth, Embarcadero Technologies

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 2:00pm

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? What are the technologies that make it happen? Where do we see it today? Where will we see it tomorrow? What capabilities will it provide, and what do we need to know to take part in it? Jim McKeeth considers where IoT is taking us and discusses the hurdles we face today and in the future. With a focus on applications, Jim offers examples of IoT technology from the perspective of developers. Join Jim to learn about cross-platform development, cloud synchronization, app-to-app communication, Bluetooth, WiFi, security concerns, privacy issues, and more.

T10 Architect a Winning Mobile Application

Shadi Saifan, FIS Mobile

Thu, 04/16/2015 - 3:15pm

Building mobile apps in today’s highly dynamic environment comes with great uncertainty and risk. It’s imperative to make the right design choices early on. Poor architectural decisions can make or break an app. In this technical session, Shadi Saifan focuses on the architecture and design considerations critical for building a winning mobile application—regardless of the device, operating system, or language.