Mobile solutions, apps or mobile webs, rarely stand isolated from business processes and line-of-business systems. In order to optimize the ROI in mobile projects, it’s therefore important to make sure the three key disciplines are in place when starting:

  • Sector insights – Understanding of  the specific opportunities  and challenges, rules and regulations, and best practices in the particular sector the company operates in is critical.
  • Business Process Management (BPM) – Aligning and optimizing business processes requires deep knowledge in change management and organizational theory.
  • Mobile solutions design, development and testing – The art of system design, including integration, user experience design, development and testing is in constant change and the best in this field are the craftsmen and women of IT.

You can’t deliver the best app or mobile web with only one or two of these disciplines represented in the project. While I am always seeking the most efficient and to the point approach, looking for the shortest path, my experience is that any shortcut in these three areas will eventually come back to haunt you.

The following questions can help you focus on the right aspects of your mobile projects:

  • What are the best practices in the sector? What opportunities can be found in the intersections between the latest technologies and sector specific needs?
  • What processes can be accelerated by mobile solutions? How can the organization collaborate more efficiently using new solutions?
  • What systems need to be integrated to support and consolidate flow of information and functionality to mobile users? Do you use the practice of storyboarding and mockups to mold user requirements before developing? Have you implemented a mobile testing practice to make sure that you verify functionality, usability and performance across platforms and form factors?