THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Mobile APP
dEVELOPMENT

1. Mobile, Mobile, Everywhere

Scenario
The Office of Alumni Relations approaches Angela, the vice
president for IT, with a proposal for a mobile app that would
let users access schedules for athletic events and up-todate player stats, buy tickets to sporting events, coordinate
meetings for local alumni chapters, and donate to the
Alumni Association. Access to the alumni directorywhich
is limited to alumni and university staffwould be useful as
well. And with so many graduates going back to school, the
app also should let alumni order official transcripts from
the registrars office. Angela shudders as she considers
the complexity of building an app that could do all this
and work on nearly any device. About 75 students in the
physics department are piloting a program in which they all
have identical mobile devices, which were funded through
a grant, but alumni number in the thousands and they carry
every kind of device made.
As Angela investigates options for developing such an app,
she hears about mobile apps that other campus users want.
Some apps would be easy, like the one that shows the daily
menus in each of the dining halls, but most app ideas extend
functional tentacles into enterprise systems and through
password-protected barriers. Commercial providers tell
Angela they haveor are deep into development ofmobile
apps that offer all of the functionality the campus needs.
The prospect of waiting to see whether those providers can
deliver is appealing, but Angela recognizes that she risks
finding out that third-party apps dont meet the institutions
security requirements or are otherwise incompatible with
existing university systems.
In conversations with the physics students about their pilot
program, Angela confirms that the app development in that
model does not extend easily to other kinds of devices, but
she also learns that some of the most valuable functions are
unique to the device in that program. She hears about the
benefits of mobile apps for teaching and learning, though a
colleague reminds her that such apps must provide content
in a way that complies with the Americans with Disabilities
Act. A member of her IT staff points out that the universitys
network is not prepared to support many more devices,
but Angela also recognizes the excitement and potential
surrounding mobile devices and knows that mobile app
development, in one form or another, is now part of the IT
departments mission.

By some estimates, two-thirds or more of college students
have smartphones today, and rates of ownership continue to rise.
Other mobile devices, including an emergent class of tablet
computers, further broaden the landscape of mobile computing,
and large numbers of faculty and staff are also adopting mobile
devices. Users increasingly expect that mobile apps will allow
them to do virtually everything their laptops can do (if not more),
in a smooth, integrated experience. Mobile users want to check
the availability of a resource in the library, for example, and then
have a mapping app guide them to it. Or receive notifications
about campus events and seamlessly share that information on
social networking sites. Or read a review of a new band, buy its hit
song online, see when the band is coming to town, and purchase
tickets to the showall from a mobile device, wherever they are.
Complicating matters is the range of mobile devices and operating
systems and the rate at which they are changing. The challenge of
creating a consistent, reliable experience for all users, not to
mention maintaining that experience as the tools evolve, might
make any institution feel like it is trying to catch a train that has left
the station. Still, there is little disagreement that mobile computing
will beor already isan essential element of IT operations, and so
the question facing many colleges and universities isnt whether
but how best to pursue mobile app development.

2. A Fork in The Road...?

The initial decision point for any mobile development
program would appear to be between native apps and the mobile
web. Native apps are developed for a particular device and/or
operating system, such as the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, or
others, whereas mobile web development pursues device-agnostic
applications that work on virtually any device with a mobile
browser. Each path has benefits and drawbacks, and the unique
context and needs of each institution might argue for the tradeoffs of one approach over the other.
Well-built native apps often provide a richer user experience, with
greater control over the look and feel of the app, as well as access
to device-specific features such as GPS, accelerometers, or cameras. In addition, native apps are more likely to work when the
device is not connected to the Internet. Developing and maintaining a separate version of each app for numerous devices can be
prohibitive, however, and native apps might be subject to the
development standards of the hardware maker, which might also
require developers to share revenues with the vendors app store.
Alternatively, an institution could standardize on a single platform,

more >>
2011 EDUCAUSE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

educause.edu

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Mobile App
Development

require all users to own or have access to it, and develop for it.
Some have done this to good effect, but for many institutions,
such an approach is not feasible.

to take sooner or later, and having an integration plan upfront might

shape decisions about an overall app development strategy.

By contrast, mobile web apps can allow for a single development

and support process, irrespective of the list of supported devices.
Mobile web tools typically depend on Internet connectivity and
often have less functionality than a native app, but most mobile
web apps will work on a very wide range of devices. Unlike native
apps, mobile web apps do not need to be downloaded and
installed, and the tools for building web apps are growing in
sophistication, providing a user experience that increasingly rivals
that of native apps. If the benefits of native apps dont justify the
additional overhead, the mobile web could be an effective
approach.

In many cases, the mobile landscape fundamentally
changes the role institutional IT plays in app development.
Third-party developers might be students, admissions staff, the
library, faculty, campus health centers, or open-source com
munities. Most providers of cloud computing are developing
mobile versions of their services, as are LMS providers. Policies
and culture at each institution will determine how the growing,
fluid ecosystem of mobile apps works together (or does not),
which ones will be institutionally supported (centrally or
otherwise), and how much integration is feasible. New partnerships
and consortiaamong institutions, with vendorsmight bring
some order to the turbulence surrounding mobile apps.

3. ...Or a Third Path?

5. Potpourri of Apps

Some contend that the debate between native apps and
mobile web might represent a false choicethat its not an either/
or propositionand some initiatives appear to support this
position. As mobile activities become more commonplace on
campus, particularly for academic tasks, access is vitaleither
everyone must have the same device, or the apps must work on
all supported devices. Standardizing on a single platform would
be a high bar for many institutions to get over, but the lowest
common denominator experience might be unsatisfactory. Some
vendors provide tools that allow a developer to build an app once,
and that code is then translated into native apps for multiple
platforms. Such tools hold considerable potential, but they remain
relatively new.

6. Full-Featured, Internet-Connected

Computer...in Your Pocket

Another option, which is being pursued by at least one statewide

university system, is to create a base mobile web app, one that
ensures compatibility with all supported devices and meets
institutional standards for factors such as security and appear
ance. Developers can then build enhanced versions of that app,
without having to worry about the underlying usability guidelines,
and can take advantage of device-specific features. With this
model, a balance is established between access and innovation,
and sophisticated native apps are developed while guaranteeing
a base level of access to a broad range of devices.

7. Accessibility Opportunity

4. Anticipate Integration

Regardless of the approach to development, institutions will
likely find that apps range from relatively trivial to implement to
highly challenging. Apps for directories, maps and shuttle schedules,
news, and events calendars, for example, tend to be straightforward.
Tying into library or registrars systems that require login and
transmit data that the institution is legally bound to protect adds
layers of complexity, both in terms of technology and policy.
Beyond that, apps might allow users to conduct transactions
register and pay for classes, sign up for community events, and
complete and submit assignments. Such integration with
enterprise systems is a step that most mobile initiatives will have

Mobile devices are easy to lose or steal, and they often dont have
password protection enabled. If someone gains unauthorized
access to a students smartphone, for example, how much risk do
the mobile apps pose for sensitive data or the university systems
integrated with those apps? Are policies governing mobile storage
of sensitive information effective at minimizing risks? Controlling
or even knowingexactly how mobile apps use, store, and
transmit data is increasingly difficult, and yet institutions are
responsible for protecting electronic data and IT systems. All
security represents a compromise between usability and protection,
and mobile apps introduce new factors in that balancing act.

Many institutions continue to grapple with accessibility.
Retrofitting existing IT systems to be accessible for users with
disabilities can be very expensive, and at many institutions it has
become an elephant in the room. With mobile apps, colleges and
universities have an opportunity to ensure that accessibility
standards are included in the upfront design, ensuring compliance
with accessibility regulations while avoiding the expense of adding
it later. And, particularly with mobile apps, this makes sense: In
many cases, the design decisions that make IT services function
well on mobile devices (fewer images, scaled-down displays,
simpler navigation) are the same steps that benefit accessibility.

EDUCAUSE 7 Things You Should Know About

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit membership association created to support those

who lead, manage, and use information technology to benefit higher education.
A comprehensive range of resources and activities are available to all EDUCAUSE
members. For more information about EDUCAUSE, including membership,
please contact us at [email protected] or visit educause.edu.

April 2011