What We Learned by Developing Our Own Mobile LMSWalter Wimberly, III @waltdesign

What we are going to see

BusinessNeeds

UserNeeds Capabilities

What we are going to see

What we’re not going to see

What we are going to see

What we are going to see

What we are going to see

Our Perspective

» I (used to work) in the Training Department» Because of the development, I now work in the

IT (Internal Apps) department

Who Gets our Training

Customer Training (69%)Employee Training (29%)Other (2%)

Special Event Training

Our Initial Reasoning» We wanted to create a more conference feel for

our employees» We wanted to project a more user friendly

experience to our customers

What we needed to know» Should/Could we build or buy?» Could we access our existing LMS?» Could we display those results in a mobile

app/site?» Could we update our LMS from this mobile

app/site?» Could we deliver a good enough experience to

our customers?

How to Deliver: Mobile App» Pros:

˃ A Native Feel˃ Find in the App Store˃ More Capabilities

(Like class reminders)

» Cons:˃ No existing knowledge˃ Not 1 application,

but up to 4˃ Have to get approval of

Apple

How to Deliver: Mobile Web» Pros:

˃ Write once˃ Use our/my Existing

Knowledge˃ Can use existing

frameworks

» Cons:˃ No app store˃ Requires more testing

What the developers say:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/26/survey-most-developers-now-prefer-html5-for-cross-platform-development/

Tech Notes» Built with PHP for the backend» Accessed the database using ODBC used for

writing reports» Built with jQuery Mobile

for the front end» Could not register for

classes/sessions

Setting your features» What do your users REALLY need/use?» Class offerings – but only for the event» Their schedule – but only for the event» Special Events

˃ Food˃ Games˃ Breaks˃ Opening / Closing Ceremonies˃ Local Restaurants˃ Twitter link˃ Conference Map

Our Step Wise Process» Step 1) Create a mobile interface for our

employee conference.˃ Include minimal features.˃ Working Proof of Concept

» Step 2) Create for our customer conference˃ Add additional information˃ Get customers used to working with a mobile site

» Step 3) Create a full interface to enhance our live web offerings.˃ Allow customers to register/cancel from classes˃ Sign into WebEx directly

Design Schedule» Oct 2011

˃ Determine Needs˃ Our LMS came out with a

Mobile App

» Dec 2011˃ Choose App vs. Web

» Jan – Feb 2012˃ Develop Mobile Site for

Employee Conference

» March 2012˃ Employee Site goes Live

» April – May 2012˃ Review Employee site usage˃ Get feed back˃ Develop Mobile Site for

Customer Conference

» June 2012˃ Customer site live

» July – Sept 2012˃ Develop 2nd Customer Site

» Oct 2012˃ Release 2nd Customer Site

Employee Conference Site

Customer Conference (SUGA)

Let’s Take a Look

Promoting the Site» Links from main training site» Email to all registered conference attendees» QR Codes» Flyers / Posters

Tracking the Usage» Google Analytics» Built our own system (also as a backup)» Out of about 325 local users» About 1/5 employees used it during the week» Because it is focused, it has little use outside of

that week

Employee Site Usage

Customer Site Usage» About 650 attendees» 363 different visitors for approximately 50%

Customer Site Usage

Why the Difference in Usage?» Different type of audience» Higher % of smart phones» Relevant Information» Different motivations

Major Phase 2

Supporting our Web Classes

What was Different?» No longer using jQuery Mobile

˃ to improve speed to download/access

» Allows user to register for classes» Only focuses on web classes/

new conference classes

What we learned» Internal politics can kill a project!» Knowing your users is invaluable!» Just because you build it doesn’t mean

they’ll come.» So don’t stop promoting it.

Questions

@waltdesign http://www.linkedin.com/in/walterwimberly3

Thank you for Attending