Mobile Project vs. Mobile Product

Are you thinking about starting a “mobile project” to build an app?  Think again—your plan may have a high probability of failure.

Why?  Depending on the characteristics of your initiative, planning to build a “mobile product” will be a much more effective long-term approach to meeting business objectives than a project.

What’s the Difference?

First of all, what’s the difference between a project and a product approach?  Isn’t it just semantics?  Actually, they are quite different.

While there is some overlap between project- and product-based approaches, the key difference is that a project is typically focused on delivery of a single mobile app release while a product is focused on achieving business outcomes throughout a product lifecycle spanning multiple mobile app releases.

But that’s not all.  Here’s a summary of a number of significant differences between project and product mindsets (credits to Marty Cagan and Moonshot Horizon):

Why a Product Approach Matters for Mobile

Wouldn’t the comparisons above apply to any application development initiative?  Unquestionably, yes. So, why the big deal about taking a product approach to mobile?

Mobile initiatives are subject to a unique set of vectors that impact success, including:

• Users’ Experience Expectations.  You’re not just competing with competitors’ latest features; you’re competing with well-designed games, social media, music, video and other apps for your users’ eyeballs—and brand estimation.  Frequent updates required!

• Stakeholder/Sponsor Expectations.  They want their app to do that new thing that Instagram does.  How hard would that be?  Popular apps are often updated with the latest capabilities inside of monthly—nobody wants a stale app.

• Fluid Technology Landscape.  New devices, new OS versions with new capabilities, security or privacy issues, integration changes, new tools, regulations, etc.   The ground is constantly shifting.  Keep up or risk quick irrelevance.  Or worse, a security/privacy event.

• Data.  User ratings/reviews, user event data, application crash data, customer service information, etc.—not to mention business KPIs—all must be constantly be monitored and analyzed to ensure key objectives are being met.  Data must also be analyzed to surface insights that will drive and prioritize changes to the product.

So, what are some of the risks in treating your mobile initiative as a project rather than product?  

• Missed Opportunities/Lack of Innovation.  Some of the best-loved mobile apps today started as apps of a different color; that is, they made major pivots or innovated based on user feedback.  Here are two classic examples:

• The founders of SnapChat struggled to attract users, but it started going viral in high schools.  This discovery led to the shift in focus in customer segment.  Today SnapChat is ranked as the #7 free app in the Apple App Store.
• Burbn started as a mashup of Foursquare and Mafia Wars that let you check in to locations, earn points for hanging out with friends, post pictures, and so on. User data indicated that photos was the real opportunity so the team cut everything except for its photo, comment and like capabilities.  What remained was Instagram, the #11 free app in the Apple App Store.

By the way, did you know that Android was originally conceived as an operating system for cameras?

• Wasted Investment.  Analysts believe that mobile apps typically require four major version releases—and typically a pivot—before they begin to deliver on business objectives.  Have you looked at a successful app’s App Store or Google Play release log?  It’s unlikely you will achieve lasting success on the first try.  Alas, your project budget was all spent on the first release.

• Brand Injury.  Whether a mobile app is customer-facing or internal, users will judge your brand based on a wide range of factors such as effectively addressing their mobile needs (or needs not addressed), quality of user experience, device and OS support—and much more.  It’s highly unlikely you will achieve the right balance of these factors the first time around.  Don’t worry; app store ratings and reviews, social media, and blogs will all happily share the story.

• Customer Satisfaction.  Mobile app users are often much more annoyed by a failure to improve (by releasing an updated app) than they are by an initial effort that falls short and is then improved based on feedback.  When you approach mobile as a project, you’re telling your users that their feedback is not important.

If a typical project is delivered on time, within budget and meets key requirements, we happily declare victory—no matter what may happen next.  However, achieving ongoing success with a mobile app clearly requires a much more complex, iterative and nimble journey.

How to Evaluate Your Mobile Initiative

Do all mobile initiatives need to take a product approach in order to be successful?  For the vast majority of mobile apps the answer is unequivocally Yes!  But there can be certain sets of circumstances where a project approach may suffice.

Here’s a few simple criteria for evaluating your mobile initiative:

Might be a Project if…	Might be a Product if…
Corporate-supplied and managed device or only a single device is targeted No vision for future functionality Private distribution (MAM) Not customer-facing (B2C or B2B) Not strategic for the business Success will not be measured Will be owned and managed by IT Static, well understood environment Very small user group	Customer- or partner-facing BYOD/CYOD, public device support Public app store distribution Strategic (e.g., competitive differentiator) or new capability Supports or enables key business objectives Product owner and roadmap focused on customers’ needs Data will be collected, analyzed Investment will be measured; KPIs Dynamic environment Back office/third party integration

Each of the product characteristics indicate that change is highly likely.  Consequently, if you find that your mobile initiative has any of the characteristics of a product, a product-oriented approach is going to be the best long-term approach.

However, even if your initiative has several of the more static characteristics of a project, it would still be advisable to think through the anticipated mobile capability lifecycle.  What might be necessary in six months or a year from now?  The mobile app’s overall context may prove to be more dynamic over time than you think.

Closing Thoughts

Clearly there are many persuasive reasons for organizations to take a product-oriented approach to developing and managing their mobile investments.  And consequential pitfalls for those who don’t!

Frictionless Mobile Experiences—and Why They Matter to You

We’ve all now heard how important a great mobile user experience is to customers.  But what is a “frictionless” mobile experience?

In the mobile context, “frictionless” means to simplify key elements of the user experience to the point where they’re almost unnoticed, taken for granted—and therefore truly delightful, and ultimately more useful.

Popular Examples
Let’s look at a few well-known examples:

Uber

Using location-tracking technology Uber knows where you are (you don’t have to supply an address) and the driver closest to you.  This makes getting a cab quickly one button press away—it couldn’t be any simpler.

Then, when your ride is complete, you just walk away.  No fishing for payment or tip, no receipt—no waiting while the cabbie fumbles for their manual credit card imprinter.  Secure.  Awesome!

Amazon

Amazon launched one-click buying in 2000.  Complex on the backend, but a simple-as-possible customer experience.

Now, with Amazon Dash, Amazon has made buying replenishable items even easier.  You’re out of laundry detergent?  Click a button mounted by your washer and another container of laundry detergent is shortly at your doorstep.  The cost of the Amazon Dash Button is rebated on your first purchase and shipping (with Prime) is free.  With apologies to Office Depot, this is the “Easy Button”!

Square

Square has something for both retailers and customers.  First, for retailers, Square is a small device that turns any connected smartphone or tablet into a point of sale terminal.  And transaction fees are lower than most competitors.

For customers and retailers alike, Square delights by associating your credit card with your account.  As a result, the retailer now has no need to print a receipt as your receipt will go directly to your email address—and you don’t have to carry a receipt or enter your email address (after the first time).  A very simple transaction for both parties.

Now let’s look at how to create a frictionless experience from another angle:  the learning pattern the experience requires.  Typical mobile experiences tend to be cognitive; that is, the learning pattern requires the user to read basic instructions in order to learn how to use an app.  Frictionless app experiences, however, tend to be perceptional where the learning pattern provides the user just enough information to allow an empathetic engagement where the user can “feel” their way through the experience.  No instructions required.

Here are several more examples from a learning pattern perspective:

Domino’s Pizza iPad App

By using a known, almost pre-prescribed perceptual learning pattern, customers engage and “play” with building the order they want.  Little or no cognitive learning is needed and the experience is almost entirely perceptual.  Customers are engaging in the experience without really knowing it.  The “why” can be understood by Domino’s mission statement: “Sell more pizza, make more fun."  The experience was so well received it got Domino’s a webby. 

Motion Savvy App

Natural user interfaces (NUI) are redefining what “frictionless” experiences can be.  Not only can they provide intuitive engagement patterns that are built on a perceptual learning model, they can take very complex cognitive learning patterns and translate them. The Motionsavvy mobile app uses a NUI to provide a masterful engagement model that will only become more mainstream as a learnable model.  Voice, eye tracking, gesture tracking and location will be the new input devices for these emerging models.  The “Why” is rooted in the source of all of user experience… the right accessibility offered in the best mental model.  Leap, Kinect for Windows, and Myo are all emerging and will redefine how we engage with our devices.

Shyp App

Using a very simple experience the customer becomes part of the process verses just engaging with an app. Simple, direct, and a clever model that plays on the embedded expectations that customers already have with regard to buying and selling on the web.

So, why does all this matter to you?  Because without a conscious focus on creating a frictionless experience pitfalls await.  A few examples:

• It is all too easy to simply duplicate an experience designed for the web
• Mobile’s unique hardware capabilities are not well used (e.g., GPS/location services)
• The mobile ecosystem is not effectively leveraged and you lose opportunities to add value

In short, you risk losing mobile users and that means losing significant business to competitors who are thinking how to create a frictionless experience.

How to Eliminate Friction
So, how can you make your mobile users’ experience frictionless?  Here are a few suggestions to get started:

• Simplify registration and authentication.  Use Facebook, Google+ or another service—don’t make users create yet another user account with IDs and passwords they won’t remember.  Use biometric authentication—no one forgets their thumb.  And don’t make a user log in unless they have logged out on purpose (secure apps like financials, healthcare, excepted).
• Respect users’ time (and lack of patience).  Can data be loaded in the background?  Can important information be shown on one screen instead of two?  Can a transaction be completed with one tap instead of two?  Or better, can you do something valuable for the user without their explicit input (e.g., use location services to fix their location, determine time to get to an appointment, etc.)?
• Use appropriate learning patterns.  “Intuitive” is overused when describing mobile user experiences.  But what we’re aiming for is an experience that flows (e.g., is perceptional), needs almost no explanations, clearly identifies objectives and makes it easy to perceive how to reach them.
• Remember.  Remember me and my data so that I don’t have to re-type anything.  If I have to input data, make it easy—for example, accept voice input or a text message (see what /Slash has done to make things easier).
• Leverage context.  Is the user at home, in a store, at an event or favorite haunt?  If they’re in a store, push information they want like offers or coupons.  If they’re at an event, inform them when friends are nearby.  Anticipate needs and desires.
• Technical ecosystem.  To make things even more seamless, make sure you take advantage of the users’ technology ecosystem.  For example, a user may have a smartwatch, TV device, tablet, etc.  How can those devices—all with their unique usage contexts—become part of a complete and satisfying experience?
• Experience ecosystem.  What partnerships with other apps might support your offering of a complete experience?  For example, Spotify partnered with Nike+ and RunKeeper to deliver music while users are exercising.  Sonos, who makes wireless audio systems, partnered with Pandora and Spotify to enable Sonos users to play their music libraries from directly inside the Sonos app.  Less friction, more satisfaction.

And, last of all, pay attention to the user experience through analytics and automated reporting of application issues—there’s always room for improvement.

Closing Thought
Create the frictionless mobile experiences users crave and meet your business objectives successfully.  Do something amazing!

Why Your Mobile Initiative Isn’t Getting Funded

One of the biggest challenges in starting your company’s mobile journey is getting funding.  Potential financial sponsors are often positioned at one of two extremes.  

On one hand, some sponsors seriously underestimate the strategy, expertise, and overall effort that goes into building mobile apps and supporting a successful mobile program.  These sponsors tend to make a number of faulty assumptions, often including the following:

• We don’t need a strategy—let’s just start with my pet project idea and see what happens
• We have people internally who can develop applications, so they should be able to do mobile apps, too
• It’s a small screen—how much effort can it take?

At the other end of the spectrum, potential sponsors will find every reason why now is not the right time to tackle mobile enablement.  They will typically bring up a variety of valid—but surmountable—concerns that, if not effectively addressed, will kill your mobile initiative.  Here are some common examples:

• Fear of the fluid technology environment and potentially wasted investment
• Security and compliance risks
• Existing technical debt, question ability to integrate legacy back office systems

In addition to the challenges presented by both types of sponsors, you may be making your own missteps in presenting a case for mobile investment.

• Lack of focus on producing ROI by impacting key KPIs 
• Lack of an innovative, compelling story—you’re just “mobilizing” existing processes
• Unrealistic perspective on mobile TCO
• Selecting a set of mobile technologies before having a solid grip on business objectives

Clearly, there are many pitfalls to getting your mobile initiative off the ground and securing funding.

Here are several ways you can address your financial sponsors’ assumptions and fears—and look smart in the process:

Start with Strategy

Do an assessment of the organization’s needs as a whole.  Identify mobile opportunities in terms of mobile moments.  Then prioritize based on business value, feasibility, risk, differentiation, opportunity for innovation, and so on.  Make sure to identify KPIs that impact the business for each potential mobile product.

This is often a good time to invest in a few proofs of concept.  Target opportunities to translate a series of mobile moments into an app vignette, which can be as simple as a visual prototype (no code) or a skeleton app (coded)—both of which must run on a mobile device.  

The key in either case is to create an amazing user experience that you can socialize to enable stakeholders to envision success.  Alternately, if you have technology risks, you may wish to focus on proofs of concept that smooth the way forward by addressing technical barriers.

Create Product Roadmaps and a Supporting Technology Roadmap

Think of your mobile opportunities as products, not projects.  Each product needs to have a roadmap that maps out evolving business value.  Look for opportunities to innovate, differentiate, and positively disrupt existing inefficient processes.  Each product roadmap needs to support a clear, compelling story of how investment is strategically aligned with overall digital strategy and business objectives.

Create technology roadmaps that support product planning.  Don’t make the mistake of selecting a technology stack before business objectives are clear!  Also be cognizant of the reality that user experience design for each product may also influence technology selection.

Technology road mapping is also a perfect time to align needed infrastructure upgrades with creation of new mobile products that will deliver clear value—don’t miss this opportunity.

Plan for Delivery

Become familiar with the key workflows and expert resources required to operate an effective mobile delivery organization.  Understand probable release cadence, deployment and all the factors that drive it.  Don’t hesitate to bring in outside experts to provide guidance both for delivery process and technology selection.

Be realistic in estimating TCO.  Identify which resources and skill sets may be staffed internally versus relying on partners.  Determine if your delivery strategy will be reliant on partners long term or needs to include a knowledge transfer plan to bring key components or roles in house over time.

How will product maintenance and support be prioritized?  Who will users call for help?  Who will be responsible for training support resources?

Don’t Forget Governance

Once the mobile journey is begun users’ expectations—already high--will quickly rise.  Plan how you will approach maturing your organization’s ability to manage a portfolio of mobile products.  From best practices to standard architectures to ensuring leverage and alignment with business objectives, position your mobile governance model to enable mobile teams, not create barriers.

Closing Thoughts

The secret to getting your mobile initiative funded is to align with business objectives, demonstrate a value-driven plan based on product roadmaps, plan for operational success, and put in place an appropriate governance model to sustain success.