Creating Mobile Apps Without Coding

Who Am I?

Neil Perlin - Hyper/Word Services.– Internationally recognized content creation and

delivery consultant.– Help clients create effective, efficient, flexible

content in anything from print to mobile.– Working with mobile since Windows CE and

WML/WAP c. 1998– Certified – Viziapps, Flare, Mimic, RoboHelp.

Contents

1 – Overview 2 – Pages and Page Elements 3 – Creating the Database 4 – Connecting App to Database

1 – Overview

Market and ViziApps Basic Terms App Design Basics

Market and ViziApps

Market – Why Mobile?

Provide information when users want it.– Now.

…where they want it.– Where they are now.

…how they expect it.– Mobile devices to take top spot from PCs.– With much caution, see …Mobile Web Will

Rule by 2015» http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/mobile-web-stats/

Why Mobile?

“Mobilize” online doc or help for use in the field.– Create using tech comm tools like

Flare and RoboHelp. Reduce or eliminate paper.

– Airline boarding passes. Brand differentiation.

– “They’re not mobile, we are” – i.e. “we’re cool, hire us”

Why Mobile?

Provide “mobilized” desktop apps:– Weather (Weather Pro) – Astronomy (Firedale’s Messier Objects)– Surveys (Surveyor)

Why Mobile?

Provide novel new apps:– Document scanning– Sports bar (“footie bar”) locators– Card-swipe, NFC-based payment– Inventory data entry in the field– Contact lead tracking at trade shows– Concrete calculator with contractor referral– For tech comm, perhaps – SnapGuide, iFixit– Apps aren’t the entirety of “mobile” but they’re

the focus of this workshop.

Why ViziApps

Custom mobile apps cost between $5,000 and $50,000.

Average time to market is 12 weeks. Modifying mobile apps costs $2,500 to

$15,000.

– From Viziapps.

Viziapps’ Approach

Replaces traditional dev with a GUI model.– No coding.– Uses familiar concepts, Google Docs spread-

sheets as a database for “simple” apps.» SQL and web services

for heavy duty work.

– This app, with the underlying voting page and database, took me 4 hours.

Business App Use Cases

ViziApps Inc., 2011 12

Employee Productivity

Example App: Real Estate Capture and Listing

Business App Use Cases

And more…

The ViziApps Workflow

In a nutshell…

The ViziApps Workflow

Develop visually – no coding. Preview live, as well as in an emulator, by

using a preview app from ViziApps.– Without the delay and uncertainty of getting it

into a store.– A more realistic test involving real processor

power, live data, and network latency. Iterate until done. Publish, subject to vendor judgment.

Why ViziApps Specifically?

One of a larger class of GUI app dev tools.– Includes AppInventor, appmakr, IBuildApps,

others. IMO, ViziApps is the least template-bound

and most visually flexible for design and offers the most options for data handling.– Which is why I’m also certified in it.

Basic Terminology

Why Terminology Matters

Affects choice of authoring tools, hardware and software delivery “mechanisms”.

Terminology problems can = disaster.– Just saying “mobile” is an invitation to buy the

wrong tools or hire the wrong developer.– Like being unclear re Web Help vs. WebHelp.

Basic Terms

App – Short for application, typically used re mobile devices – “iPhone app”.– Typically highly focused on one task (“micro-

tasking”) vs. PC-style applications.– Three categories:

» Native – Follow a platform standard – e.g. “iPhone app” or “Android app”, access device resources directly.

» Web (“mobile web”) – Run via a browser on any device – the browser is the app – but can’t access device resources directly.

Basic Terms

And:– Hybrid apps:

» Can appear in an app store and can access device resources, like a native app.

» Can run in a browser, like a web app.» Can operate cross-platform.» Can be extended with custom Javascript or HTML.» Make heavy use of HTML5 and CSS3.» Emerging.

App Design Basics

Viziapps simplifies app dev mechanics and makes it tempting to just dive in.

Before you do, however, consider:– Goals– Design– Usability

Goals

Define and limit the app’s goals.– Too many goals can make the app “fuzzy”.– Can’t fit too many options on tiny screens.

Define the app type, whether users under-stand the concept and task flow.– Mobilized desktop app, like weather – yes.– True mobile app, like sports bar finder – no.

Know the app’s context, and test.

Functional Design

Determine what platform features you need.– On-device only?– Data input, retrieval, and processing locally or

in the cloud – e.g. need internet access.– GPS, camera, orientation, etc.

Aesthetic Design

Design for the small screen.– Keep it simple and ruthlessly minimize:

» “Typing.”» Scrolling.» Internet access that can eat up battery.

Make it attractive/compelling.– Remember what your competition is and what

users will compare you to.

Design for a Small Screen

This… or this… or this…

Aesthetic Design

Group related elements on one screen, within screen size limits.

Provide clear transitions between screens.

Usability

Consider physical context:– Number of hands available.– Range of motion of hands – effect on

button and field position.– Distractions.– Ambient light.– Size of fingertips vs. mouse pointer.– Need for internet access.

» From iPhoneGuide.com

Usability

Provide feedback for user actions. Consider adding “help” for complex apps.

– Usually assumed that apps are simple enough to not need help, but...» May need “assistance” or domain knowledge.» Multi-key or multi-touch controls may also need

user assistance.

– Can connect web app to native app to use the former as context-sensitive help for the latter.

“Programmatic” Design

Font, size, color, button color, background color, etc.

Define conventions based on O/S limits…– For example, can’t resize picker

in iOS.

“Programmatic” Design

Consider O/S differences…– Such as picker in iOS

vs. Android equivalent, a drop-down.

“Programmatic” Design

Define terminology conventions before starting app dev, such as…– Consistent element names – e.g. object_label

for field labels vs. object_field for entry fields.– Consistent name prefixes, like btn for buttons.– Element names in lower case, no spaces in

multi-word element names.» Use consistent app and database element names to

avoid confusion or ambiguity in data management phase of app dev.

Viziapps Dev Process

Four major steps:– Design the app using paper or a wireframe tool.– Start a new app or select an existing app to edit,

then create the app interface and flow – Design pane.

– Define data handling – Manage Data pane.– Publish – Publish pane.

2 – Page and Page Elements

ViziApps’ Interface

Design Screen – Overall

Design Screen

To open your last app or create a new one (from a template or from scratch).– Most of these options are missing if this is your

first app.

From a Template…

Lets you start a new app using a Viziapps-supplied template, vs. from scratch.

New App Dialog Box

Fields are self-explanatory.

Design Screen – Existing Project

Design Screen Options

Field options – List of all field options and various actions.

Design Screen Options

Various optionsand features.

Current App – The app being worked on and its type.– Also to rename, duplicate, convert the app type,

or delete the app.– Plus…

Design Screen Options

Select… for test… – To run this app thru ViziApps’ previewer app.

Validate… – Check for dupe field names. App page options:

– The page to display on the canvas.– Add, duplicate, rename, resequence, etc., pages.– Save and Undo – Self-explanatory.– Manage Page Data – Opens the data manage-

ment window.

App Background Screen

To set the app background.

Storyboard

Storyboard

Shows mockup of pages, elements and their code names, and links between pages.– Hover over an element code name to highlight

it in red on the screen mockup.– Hover over an element code name that links

two pages, like a button, to highlight it in red and draw a line to the target page.

– Click a page to open it on the canvas. Download… – To output the storyboard to

PDF for review or markup.

Design Screen

Field insertion buttons.

Click a button to open its properties screen.

Sample Properties Screen

For example, for an image…

Element Notes

Requires a unique “internal” name. Has appearance controls. May have action controls.

Element Notes

Every element that can invoke an action has various action controls.

Ex. 1: Create the Pages

3 – Create the Database

Overview of GDocs

Data Handling Options

Multiple app data management options:– Web services.– Quickbase.– Salesforce.com.– ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) –

compatible db like MySQL and SQL Server.– Google Docs (GDocs) spreadsheets.

Can apply a different data source to each page in your app.

Manage Data Options

We’ll focus on the GDocs spreadsheet for two reasons.– Concepts are familiar to anyone in business and

easiest option for non-techie developers.– Ties into the de facto standard spreadsheet –

MS Excel.

Overview of GDocs and the Spreadsheet

Overview of GDocs

Free, web-based suite with spreadsheet, word-processing, presentation, drawing, forms, and data storage modules.– Now redirecting to Google Drive – similar idea.– Lets users work online and collaborate in real-

time with other users.– Runs under any modern commercial browser.

Business sub-text is to undercut MS Office.

GDocs (Redirected to Drive) – Main Screen

Overview of GDocs

Notice the two controls on the main page. They let you create a new spreadsheet

or upload an existing spreadsheet.

Now a closer look at the spreadsheet…

Sample GDocs Spreadsheet

Spreadsheet Details

A spreadsheet can have 1+ worksheets. Each worksheet’s name appears and is

managed on a tab at the lower left.– Give worksheets real

names, not “sheet1”.

Spreadsheet Details

For Viziapps interfacing:– A column in a spreadsheet is a field.– Field names are in the first row of each column.

» Must be lower case, no spaces in multi-word labels.

– Field values are in rows 2 and down.

Access Control

A GDocs spreadsheet is initially restricted to you.

To use it with Viziapps, you must make it publicly viewable and writeable.– Click the Share button on the

spreadsheet page.

Access Control

The Sharing Settings dialog box displays.

Setting Access for ViziApps

Click Change. Change the Private option to Public on the

Web. Select the Allow Anyone to Edit option

under Edit Access.

Ex. 2: Create the Database

4 – Connecting the App to GDocs

Viziapps Spreadsheet

Viziapps can pass data between an app and a spreadsheet using four operations:– Select from – Insert field values from a spread-

sheet into app fields.– Insert into – Insert app field values into 1+ rows

in the spreadsheet.– Update – Change 1+ rows of values in the

spreadsheet based on some condition.– Delete From – Delete 1+ rows of values in the

spreadsheet based on some condition.

A Five-Step Process…

1. Open the Manage Data page and register the data source API for a new project.

2. Connect your app to the spreadsheet.

3. Select the app operation to define.

4. Specify the command(s) to apply to the operation.

5. Specify any conditions for the command.

6. Repeat 3-5 for the next operation or page.

1 – Register the Data Source API

1 – Register the Data Source API

This is a scary but straightforward process that uses Google Docs/Drive for security.

Need to fill in the Data Source ID, Client ID, and Client Secret fields.

Only need to do this once. Can re-use the values later if necessary. Process documented in Exercise 4. Note – May change due to Google changes.

2 – Connect App To Spreadsheet

After registering the data source API, select the desired spreadsheet.

Then click Save, wait for the “Your database info has been saved” message, and click Close.

3 – Select the Operation to Define

Select the data source and the operation to define on the selected page.

The working area displays, shown next.

3 – …Working Area Displays

4 – Specify the Commands

Click the Add Command button.

The command line displays.

4 – Specify the Commands

Select the specific data command.

And worksheet.

4 – Specify the Field Mapping

Click the Add a Field icon to start the first field mapping.

The first mapping line displays.

4 – Specify the Field Mapping

Drag the desired field from the storyboard to the command line field.

4 – Specify the Field Mapping

And select the corresponding worksheet field.

5 – Specify Any Conditions

Specify any conditions to apply to the command.

And repeat as needed… For example…

Manage Data Page of Exercise

For save_info.

Ex. 3: Connect App To the Data

Preview and Publishing

Overview of Preview

Try the app on your phone often during dev to be sure it looks and works as you want.– You’re previewing live on the phone, not in an

emulator.– This is more realistic since the app is running

live on the phone. When you finish, you’ll have to get it to the

vendor’s store.

Publishing

Depends on the vendor, the client, and the app, but, in general:– Get a ViziApps account.– Get the vendor’s developer license.

» Get the “organization” license for Apple.

– Select the data handling method.

Ex. 4: Preview

A Few Sources of Information

iOS Human Interface Guidelines – http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#documentation/userexperience/conceptual/mobilehig/Introduction/Introduction.html

LinkedIn Mobile Groups – Too many to list; search for “mobile” groups and skim.

A Few More…

Mobile Design and Development, Fling, O’Reilly, 2009

Beginning Smartphone Web Development, Frederick and Lal, Apress, 2009

iPhone Application Development for Dummies, Goldstein, Wiley, 2010

Tapworthy, Clark, O’Reilly, 2010

Hyper/Word Services Offers…

Training • Consulting • DevelopmentViziAppsMobile Flare • Mobile RoboHelpFlare • RoboHelpMimicSingle sourcing • Structured authoring

Thank you... Questions?

978-657-5464nperlin@nperlin.cnc.net

www.hyperword.comTwitter: NeilEric