PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Mobile Phone Application Project Management

Mobile Phone Application Project Management

Introduction

The recent boom in mobile computing development has been highlighted by the release of Apple's iPhone and accompanying platform. Since its launch the phone has acquired 17.3% of total Smartphone market share, overtaking other more experienced mobile phone platforms including Microsoft Windows Mobile (Thayer & Richard, 2000: 36). The sheer growth and popularity has been (amongst other things) attributed to the simplicity of its interface design as well as its intelligent use of multiple ambient sensors. This has made the use of complex functions far simpler and has therefore reached a larger and less technically able audience.

Task 1: Mobile Phone Applications

Disadvantages of Mobile Apps

Apps have short lifetimes, 20 days or less

Less than 20% of brand apps are downloaded more than 1000 times

Apps are limited to phone platforms

Requires long term investment, updates to an app every few months

If its heavily ad supported, users will not like it

Requires customers to download it before they can experience it

You have to get it right first time - app reviews stick.

App updates and revenue cut taken by the app store

Disadvantages of Mobile Optimised Websites

Relies on having an internet connection

Sits inside browser chrome

Less control on how the site renders on different handsets

Can't make use of native interactions

Advantages of Mobile Apps

Good for linear processes and tools

Can use all the screen, without any browser chrome

With customer market research to establish your customer app use and platform, you can tailor an experience for them

Can use the phone's native interactions, taps, rotation, GPS, Camera

Can use the phone's native tools and toggles, all familiar to the customer

Advantages of Mobile Optimised Websites

Can be updated more easily than apps

Work well to extend or convert an existing site

Can be developed to be in sync with the main site

Often require less maintenance, updates annually or more often

Platformless (apart from support for JavaScript, flash and screen size)

Investment required is often less

Reach a wider market by not limiting to platform

No fees to update or revenue to share with an app store

Task 2: Estimation of the Time and Cost for the Entire Project

For the proposed project we will be implementing bottom-up technique for estimating time and cost. Bottom-up estimating is an extremely helpful technique in project management as it allows for the ability to get a more refined estimate of a particular component of work. In bottom-up estimating, each task is broken down into smaller components. Then, individual estimates are developed to determine what specifically is needed to meet the requirements of each of these smaller components of the work (Shelly, 2011: 114). The estimates for the smaller individual components are then aggregated to develop a larger estimate for the entire task as a whole. In doing this, the estimate for the task as a whole is typically far more accurate, as it allows for careful consideration of each of the smaller parts of the task and then combining these carefully considered estimates rather than merely making one large estimate which typically will not as thoroughly consider all of ...