Android to
- 1. I Wish I’d Known That When I Started Chris Haseman AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 2. 9 Years in Mobile Development I’ve got more experience than many of you in one thing... AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 3. 9 Years in Mobile Development Screwing Up AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 4. You’ll do it too... AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 5. Myths of Android Development I still hear these even now... ✦ Android applications are ugly ✦ Simplicity is a matter of doing less ✦ Phones have an ‘always on’, reliable connection ✦ Users will trust applications from the Play Store AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 6. Android can be stunning. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 7. Gingerbread isn’t by Default. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 8. Visual Design Learn the rules, so you can break them: ✦ Read about Android’s Design Patterns ✦ Think of it as learning a new vocabulary ✦ Anything you dream up, we can build ✦ Don’t let a developer tell you ‘No’ AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 9. Smart layouts can adapt. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 10. Visual Design Engineers, put on your artist hat! ✦ Don’t be afraid to ask for help ✦ Avoid anything default in Gingerbread ✦ ActionBarSherlock and HoloEverywhere ✦ Gingerbread is still 50% of the install base ✦ Don’t be afraid to ‘borrow’ from things you like AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 11. Simplicity and Responsibility AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 12. Simplicity Making things ‘clean’ is essential. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 13. Simplicity Making things ‘clean’ is essential. ✦ Small screens require clean interfaces ✦ Applications are used in Motion ✦ Challenging lighting situations ✦ You have limited, large touch rectangles ✦ Short attention span AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 14. Simplicity and Responsibility How I’ve Done It Wrong: Too Many Settings AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 15. Simplicity and Responsibility Killing clutter means making choices. ✦ There are an infinite set of possible features ✦ Kill or fix unused features ✦ Don’t be afraid to experiment ✦ Settings should be a bonus, not a requirement ✦ Every feature you add is one you must support AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 16. Simplicity and Responsibility Bad user choice can be a cop-out. Do not offload the app’s complexity. Make good decisions for your users. Analytics can help you see what’s used. Simplicity is the result of your good choices. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 17. Efficiency and Preparation AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 18. Information and Latency The Myth of the Connection: ✦ Your phone tells you it’s always online -- it lies ✦ Mobile OS design makes waiting painful ✦ Fetching data consumes resources AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 19. Efficiency and Preparation How I’ve Done It Wrong: Loading Spinners... AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 20. Getting Data is Complex Your job is to make it look easy. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 21. Getting Data is Complex Your job is to make it look easy ✦ Users should never worry about their connection ✦ Attention is precious, don’t waste it on failure ✦ The connection is unreliable, hide it ✦ Don’t ‘lie’ to your users, you’ll be caught AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 22. Waiting Sucks Make data transaction look instant. ✦ Get new data before you notify users ✦ Use SyncAdapters to pre-fetch data ✦ Avoid progress bars and spinners ✦ Use a persistent data cache! ✦ Have separate presentation and sync layers AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 23. Preparation and Efficiency Phone’s lie. Help maintain the myth. Be mindful of user attention. Obsess over your battery use. Make it your job to hide complexity. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 24. Trust and Awareness AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 25. Marketing in the Wild West The Freedom of the Play Store: ✦ Any application can destroy a days worth of battery ✦ While the freedom to innovate is amazing, it also means building trust is now on you ✦ Apps can execute bad behavior anonymously AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 26. Trust and Awareness How I’ve Done It Wrong: The Vocal Minority AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 27. Building Trust Trust must be earned, it’s not given... ✦ Let users try before they buy ✦ Monitor your permissions vigilantly ✦ Make sure every permission has a clear user- facing purpose ✦ Support, Support, Support AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 28. Beware the Trolls Angry users are LOUD. ✦ Angry users will threaten, cajole, and bargain ✦ Clearheadedness is hard in the face of rage ✦ Contented users will remain quiet ✦ Your silent majority is hard to track ✦ It’s easy to appease the loudest AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 29. Frustrated Users can actually help... ✦ There are a LOT of Android phones, your app cannot work perfectly on all of them ✦ Look for themes in negative reviews ✦ Helpful error messages and friendly support can help your rating a LOT AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 30. Never Waste a Mistake Hidden benefits of 1-star reviews: ✦ They’re written by angry users who care ✦ Rage is always better than apathy ✦ Look for stacked issues if the service goes down ✦ If they mention a competitor, investigate ✦ Respond, in any way, if you can AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 31. Trust and Awareness Build and maintain trust. Be free with returns. Give out rewards. Ignore the Trolls. Fight for your majority. Work with Google -- Staff picks are mighty. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 32. This leads me to one last thing... AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 33. The Last Thing Google does not control Android. Carriers do not control Android. OEMs do not control Android. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 34. We help shape the future of Android. Take responsibility. Be prepared. Build a community. Make something incredible. AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12
- 35. I Wish I’d Known That When I Started Chris Haseman haseman.tumblr.com haseman@tumblr.com My Book: Creating Android Applications http://bit.ly/tGgDRh Thanks! AndroidTO Monday, October 29, 12