The Importance of Mobile Design

[Former Member]

An effective mobile solution is one that addresses business objectives, supports functions across an enterprise, and is accepted and adopted by users. Efficacy is often a deciding factor for deeming an effort a success, and the success of an enterprise mobile solution is highly dependent upon the design.

Design really is the centerpiece of a solution. Design is about the look and feel, and the navigation of applications. Well-designed and good-looking applications are intuitive, easy-to-use, and perform as expected.

The entire design process encompasses more than just the user interface and how that translates into experience. It also includes everything happening beneath the screen and behind the app in terms of performance, data transmittal, load time, and support to avoid outages or crashes. These design elements are key to users and developers and a well-designed and built app is essential to the initiative.

Through the design process, there are common challenges that require a level of expertise far beyond the basics.

Challenges can include:

• User Expectations – users will expect enterprise solutions to match consumer experiences, so the apps must provide the same level of satisfaction.
• User Sophistication – target groups often include a range of users, from novice to “expert” so the solution must address all levels ensuring everyone receives a similar experience.
• Screen Size – designing for small screens requires creative, disciplined approaches.
• Touch and Gesture UI – direct manipulation of objects on the screen along with gesture recognition offer many UI options, some familiar, others new to users and developers.
• Context – while using the solution, users may be standing, walking, glancing, etc. under variable lighting, with noise and through other conditions.

The design determines whether users are satisfied with mobile solutions or frustrated, resistant to using, or accepting and ready to adopt and use.

The SAP Mobility Design Center focuses specifically on identifying, designing and building mission-critical, user-centric mobile solutions that address and solve these challenges. Since the design is the center of success for the solution, it is key to ensure that those working toward an effective design are trained, have proven expertise, and are able to create and deliver exactly what the end-user and back end need.

For more details on mobile solutions, refer to the Building Custom Mobile Solutions for Enterprises – Lessons Learned and Best Practices whitepaper.