Looking Back to Move Forward
By Mimi Rosenheim
It's the early days of mobile computing, and I've been reminiscing about past technology breakthroughs. There were some very painful and embarrassing experiences during the proliferation of desktop publishing and Web development. Mobile computing could fall victim to the same sort of bad delivery methods that were prevalent in the awkward, early stages of desktop publishing and the Web. How many horrible newsletters and brochure-ware sites did we have to endure before people moved beyond the limits of the existing media and truly applied the power of the new technology?
It's our responsibility as innovators and business professionals to ensure that we approach this latest technology trend with professionalism and consideration for the end user. We must develop applications that address the user's specific needs. We can't simply modify existing Web applications by slapping together code and delivering the apps wirelessly. It's time to tap into the amassed knowledge of what makes a quality product that users will integrate into their lives. If we do that, the result will be wireless applications that make sense and that account for the strengths and weaknesses of the technology.
What We Already Know
Good application design requires thought about intent, context, and technology. Intent is what the user wants to do with an application; context is the user's environment and how he or she got there; and technology is how the application is delivered (including the technical and interface specifications).<>
