Mobile applications for your customers

Case study: Brussels community website

• Customer

– Brussels hoofdstedelijk gewest

– CIBG (central IT department of Brussels)

• Goals

– Reinforce economy by creating a digital local community

– Monetise services / platform (in the long term)

• Must-have features

– Works offline: permanent presence on the user’s phone

– Automatic update of content through web services

– Easy distribution (SMS “MyService” to 3236)

– Website integration

– Works on 80% of mobile phones

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Functionality: online city community

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Solution architecture:Citylive Community Services

Platform• Functionality

– Service creation

– Service delivery

– Service management

• Technical

– SOA architecture

– SQL server 2000 DB

– MS .NET 3.0 framework backend / ASP.NET frontend

– Web services (JSON, REST, SOAP) through WCF

– Session management and telco service integration through

Microsoft Connected Services Framework 3.0

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Solution hardwarde• Hosting:Kangaroot

datacenter with Global Crossings, Tiscali and FreeBIX 1GB connections

• Servers: HP cluster with SAN as virtual server host

• Mobile phones: everything that runs Windows Mobile or Java J2ME

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Solution software: Hydra• Functionality:

– Collection of enabling services out-of-the-box

– Central & secure repository for profile and application data

– Provides abstraction layer for applications & websites using simple API’s

– Controlled environment handling privacy/authentication/authorization

• AD based authentication of services (internal or external)

• Impersonation for non-authenticated service consumers

• Authorisation: own service or CSF

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Solution software: Application creation

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Solution software: Mobile Widget engines

• Reference implementation on .NET Compact Framework

• After validation, porting to J2ME, Javascript, Flash

• Symbian: tried, but too fragmented / difficult process / weird architecture

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Operation / system management

• Service Operator: Has a web-based management interface

• Widget authors: publish their apps and remain responsible (are supported through separate glowe.org website and can come to information sessions)

• Community members: can transfer ownership of data entities in the system to each other. Escalation process with manual intervention if no agreement

• Users: select their own content & widgets, create their own accounts, distribution by SMS and self-installation

• Technical operations: regular process monitoring / server monitoring with MOM, regular DB and software maintenance schedules

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Development cycle for mobile• Starts on PC

prototyping in .NET on desktop before implementing in .NET CF(is one of the bis advantaged of Windows Mobile)

• Methodology: Scrum++agility linked with the room to breath for some innovation

• Tools: Microsoft toolchainVisual studio, team server with sourcesafe, documentation on Sharepoint

Challenges / lessons learnedThings to do

• Make mock-ups FIRST– Mobile apps have no set expectation– You can’t predict what will work– Do extensive user testing– Be prepared to change your concept– Technical POC alone is not enough

• Use the internet & its protocols– A mobile does not live in your network– VPN’s are a thing of the past– SOAP is nice when critical, XML is easier– Use the universal firewall bypass port (80)

• Think Multi-platform– 1 platform only is not realistic– When you can: move up an abstraction layer

or two (but web browser might be too thin)

Things to avoid

• Stay out-of-control– With mobile, the user is in control– You can’t manage his device. Forget it.– Give users tools so they can DIY.

• Avoid the bigger picture– Focus on a concrete function with an

immediate value add for the user– Trying to change work processes,

integrate with business intelligence, cover a larger scope: it will all fail

– Mobile is new: create demand first– When it’s time for the bigger picture,

current technology will be obsolete

• Translate the web to mobile– In some cases, mobile websites are OK– But: don’t just convert existing web tools– Mobile has a different usage model then

fixed (“browsing” is done on a desk)

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Influence of future evolutions from MS

• XAML: would make a great open cross-platform mobile abstraction layer (please)

• SQL server compact: gets you there fast, but needs to open up to other platforms to be viable outside of corporate walls. (e.g. use XML schemes in WCF)

• Popfly (mashup dev tool): will really take of if given some mobile service delivery blocks

• DirectX: user input,video rendering,sound and 3D are big problems in mobile. MS has a nice architecture here

• Directpush: Don’t keep the magic for Activesync, open up the API to ISV’s.

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Whishlist of things Microsoft can do for the mobile application industry

Stay in touch

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