Don‘t Panic

MOBILE DEVELOPER‘S
GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
 published by:

Open-Xchange GmbH
Olper Hütte 5f
57462 Olpe
Germany
www.open-xchange.com

Customlytics GmbH
Schönhauser Allee 167 C
10435 Berlin
Germany
www.customlytics.com
 18th Edition November 2019
This Developer Guide is licensed under the
Creative Commons BY 2.5 License.
Please send your feedback,
questions or sponsorship requests to:
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Follow us on Twitter: @MobileDevGuide

Art Direction and Design by

Cornelius Haverland
Sarah Duwe
Editors:
Marco Tabor
Mladenka Vrdoljak
www.mobiledevelopersguide.com
Mobile Developer’s Guide
Contents

1 Prologue

4 The Galaxy of Mobile

by Robert Virkus
14 From Idea to Prototype
by Andrej Balaz
45 Android Development
by Daniel Böhrs
67 iOS Development
by Swen Hutop & Dennis Kluge
83 Cross-Platform Development
by Robert Virkus
91 Mobile Web
by Ruadhan O'Donoghue
130 Mobile Gaming
by Oscar Clark
158 Security & Privacy
by Dean Churchill
173 Accessibility
by Cathy Rundle
201 Testing
by Marc van't Veer & Julian Harty
223 Monetization
by Linda Harnisch
241 App Store Optimization (ASO)
by Laura Spikermann
259 User Acquisition and Retargeting
by Christian Eckhardt
281 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)
by Christian Eckhardt
297 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback
by Linda Harnisch
315 Epilogue

317 About the Book

 Prologue
The edition you are holding in your hands is the very first one
that has been co-published together with Customlytics. We at
Open-Xchange are happy to have found a partner that shares
our goals and that allows us to continue printing hardcopies
to provide our little book to an even larger audience. Most
importantly, this partnership has a hugely positive impact on
the content of the Mobile Developers Guide. Readers of previ-
ous editions will notice that the chapters about user analytics
and monetization have seen massive updates and that we
added new chapters covering topics like app store optimiza-
tion, user acquisition and retention. In our opinion, covering
these topics in depth was overdue. As the industry grows and
changes, it has become clear that developing an app is just
one part of the adventure. No matter how good your piece of
software might be, you will not succeed without at least some
knowledge about how to market it. We hope our guide helps
you to learn and build upon this knowledge.

Mobile marketing has become highly data-driven these

days. There are numerous 3rd party tools that allow you to, for
example, attribute installs to their respective source properly
and enable marketers to capture a huge range of user data
at particular stages in their marketing campaigns. Before we
proceed, we want to issue a word of caution to our readers
when it comes to handling this (user) data. We advocate for a
responsible way of collecting, storing and handling user data,
which respects users´ right for privacy and which is in-line
with the latest legal requirements such as GDPR. Throughout
the book, especially in the marketing chapters, you will notice
the reference to the use of these tools from time to time.

1 Prologue
 We make the case that using SDKs of independent 3rd
party tool providers - in contrast to certain other “data
hunters”- will give app developers sovereignty and control over
their data. You can read more on this in the mobile analytics
chapter.
Of course, you will also still find tons of updated informa-
tion about how to create mobile software that is worth the
marketing effort. So make sure to read all the chapters and
understand how to convert your idea into code. Once you are
finished reading this edition of the Mobile Developers Guide,
we would like to hear your feedback. Please let us know what
content you think we may have missed or where you see room
for improvement. Or, even better, get involved and share your
knowledge by becoming a contributor for the next edition.
Cheers,
Marco / Open-Xchange & Christian / Customlytics
Bremen & Berlin November 2019

PS: Please follow us on Twitter @MobileDevGuide and visit

mobiledevelopersguide.com to obtain the electronic edition of
this booklet.

PPS: As usual, the articles reflect the opinions of the

respective authors.

2 Prologue
Robert Virkus

The Galaxy of Mobile

BY

Looking back into the past, the mobile scene looked a bit like
the home computer ecosystem in the 1980s: many players,
many operating systems, lots of innovation and changes. Today
we are dealing with a global duopoly: 98% of today's mobile
devices are running either on Android or iOS1.
Will this change? Without political pressure or a paradigm
shift we do not expect the situation to change for the
foreseeable future. Looking at the details, however, reveals an
exciting micro-cosmos of options, challenges & opportunities.

Notable Players
You should watch the following players carefully, obviously
depending on your market strategy and app/game/service
category. Of course, each of these players bring way more to
the table than just the mentioned products and services, but
these are the most relevant in the mobile segment that we
cover in this guide. Some of these players form global digital
leaders summarized by the GAFAM acronym, which stands for
Google-Apple-Facebook-Amazon-Microsoft.

Google
In the mobile industry Google's Android operating system
remains the major smartphone player - both by numbers and
by revenue.
Android has many variants like Android Go for lower end
smartphones, Android One promising regular security updates

1   76% Android, 22% iOS, see gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/

worldwide/2019

4 The Galaxy of Mobile

 for three years and OS updates for two years2, Wear OS for
smartwatches and Android TV for smart TVs, and an integration
option for cars called Android Auto. Then there is of course
AOSP - the Android Open Source Project3 -, which provides
the core Android OS platform without the proprietary Google
services. AOSP is used mostly in China but also forms the basis
for LineageOS.
Additionally, Google taps into the emerging game streaming
market with Stadia and has established a solid share of the
smart speaker market with Google Home and Google Assistant-
equipped devices from other vendors. With Chrome OS Google
also established itself as an important PC operating system
vendor. After Amazon and Microsoft, Google is the third
biggest cloud service provider.
Last but not least, Google launched with Flutter4 a cross-
platform framework that spans across Android, iOS, Windows,
macOS and the web. Flutter also powers UI development on its
future research microkernel-based OS called Fuchsia5.

Apple
Apple single-handedly created the smartphone market in
the first place with the iPhone and specifically with the
iOS operating system and the App Store in 2007 and 2008
respectively. Apple is also a leading tablet provider6 and leads

2   android.com/intl/en/one

3   source.android.com

4   flutter.dev

5   fuchsia.dev

6   Asof July 2019, iPads held 70% of the global tablet market: gs.statcounter.
com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide/2019

5 The Galaxy of Mobile

 the smartwatch market with its Apple Watch product7. Last but
not least they also have a solid multimedia offering based on
the Apple TV with its tvOS.
Compared with Android, Apple has a comparatively smaller
but very lucrative market share.

Samsung
Being the biggest smartphone vendor, Samsung influences the
market to a large degree. Samsung is running Android mostly,
but they also work on the Tizen operating system - however,
so far every attempt to establish this OS in the smartphone
segment has failed. With DeX (Desktop eXperience)8 Samsung
fuses the tablet and PC market by supporting keyboard, mouse
and external monitors to work with selected hardware like the
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 handset.
Samsung also operates the Galaxy Store for app distribution
which can be an attractive alternative to the Google Play Store.

7   Accordingto Strategy Analytics, Apple's smartwatch market share in Q2 2019

was 46%: bit.ly/2MkTFzK
8   samsung.com/global/galaxy/apps/samsung-dex

6 The Galaxy of Mobile

 Huawei
Huawei has grown to become the second largest smartphone
vendor. Same as for Samsung Huawei is using the official
Google-Android for the international market.
Possibly the US administration triggered a new wave of
innovation by forcing Huawei to move away from the Google-
approved Android OS. Huawei presented its own operating
system called Harmony to the public in August 2019. This is
aimed to run on a Microkernel but the initial release relies on a
traditional Linux kernel.
With App Gallery, Huawei also operates its own app
distribution platform, which can be an attractive alternative to
Google Play.

Facebook
Facebook provides the leading mobile messaging systems with
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram. FB Messenger
specifically provides easy extension options for developers
while Instagram recently introduced an AR extension called
Spark AR Studio. Facebook is also the main player of the Libra
cryptocurrency project and provides various other developer
tools. Rightfully Facebook is under pressure for its various data
and privacy breaches.

Amazon
Amazon is the leading smart speaker provider with Alexa,
which is extensible using skills. Amazon also uses its own
Android variant FireOS9 for its tablets and provides its own
Android app distribution platform Amazon Appstore. Amazon
also provides the leading cloud platform with AWS.

9   developer.amazon.com/de/android-fireos

7 The Galaxy of Mobile

 Microsoft
Microsoft is still the leading desktop operating system
provider but failed to get traction with its Windows Phone and
subsequent mobile offerings. Still, the desktop and gaming
market make Windows and Xbox attractive targets for develop-
ers. Microsoft also cooperates with Sony on the emerging game
streaming market using its own Azure cloud platform.

TenCent
With WeChat and QQ Chat Tencent provides the third and
fourth biggest mobile messengers worldwide. With Mini
Programs, WeChat provides an important option to discover
services and games. WeChat Pay is one of China's leading
mobile payment systems.

KaiOS
KaiOS10 is an operating system aimed at low cost feature
phones and is based on the Firefox OS. It has gained sub-
stantial market share in some regions specifically emerging
markets11. With KaiStore you can distribute your HTML5 apps
easily.

Sailfish OS
Sailfish12 is around for quite some time and currently in its
third generation. Traction so far is limited, but thanks to an
Android compatibility it can run at least some Android AOSP
apps.

10   kaiostech.com
11   In India, KaiOS has a market share of >4% which makes it the second most
popular mobile operating system (gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/
mobile/india).

12   sailfishos.org

8 The Galaxy of Mobile

 Stand Out in a Crowded Market
With the increasing competition in the apps space there are
various aspects that are worth considering:

— Experiences can carry across a variety of form fac-

tors - may it be in-car-systems, TVs, PCs, game consoles,
augmented reality or voice-enabled smart home systems.
As mobile technology moved to many systems, you can
use your existing app development skills to reach these
form factors. But make sure to adapt to each platform in
the best possible way, do not limit yourself to the least
common denominator!
— Users seem to be less likely to try and install new apps,
therefore existing apps will increase their features - mov-
ing from a single-purpose to a multi-purpose app world.
— With multi-purpose apps, extensions play an important
role. Instead of creating and maintaining your own app
you can also extend existing apps such as WeChat, Face-
book Messenger, Google Assistant, Apple Siri, Microsoft
Office, or system extensions like the iOS FileProvider or the
Today app extensions. Search for "zero UI" and "atomized
apps" to learn more.
— Think about creating extension points in your own app
as well, in order to allow others to get their services into
your app.
— Take notifications seriously and make sure to add interac-
tion options to your notifications.
— Driving engagement is - as always - critical. One of the
biggest driver for apps is communication and socializing
- also compare our brand new "Mobile Customer Relation-
ship Management" chapter for learning more.

9 The Galaxy of Mobile

 The focus of this book is on developing mobile apps, which
encompasses a number of phases including: planning and
specification, prototyping and design, implementation, internal
testing and deployment, deployment to an app store, discovery
by users, installation, use and feedback. Ultimately, we want
our users to enjoy using our apps and to give us positive
ratings to encourage other users to do likewise.
While developing, mobile apps share many common features
with developing other software, it has specific characteristics.
We will cover some of these next.

How to Service Mobile Devices

There are several ways to realize a mobile service:

Native Apps
A native app is programmed in a platform-specific language
with platform-specific APIs. It is typically purchased, down-
loaded and upgraded through the platform-specific central
app store. Native apps usually offer the best performance,
the deepest integration and the best overall user experience
compared to other options. However, native development is
often also the most complex development option. When start-
ing new apps you should consider using Kotlin for Android and
Swift for iOS, rather than Java and Objective-C. Find further
information on how to get started in the dedicated Android
and iOS chapters.

10 The Galaxy of Mobile

 Websites & Web Apps
Websites or - increasingly - so called single-page applications
are written in a variety of languages and use HTML and CSS for
rendering. Consider using progressive web apps13 and configure
them for iOS desktop pinning14 .
Web apps run without an app store, so you are independent
of app stores which is both good, because you are not limited
by the app store and bad, because it is harder for your users to
find you.
Of course, you can also find a dedicated chapter on mobile
web development in this book.

Cross-Platform Apps
There is a multitude of cross-platform services, that provide
write-once run-everywhere scenarios. Even when dealing with
only two dominant platforms, cross-platform tools can help
you to update and maintain your services with less effort. Read
the cross-platform chapter to understand your options in this
regard.

Flamewars
As developers, we tend to have a passion for our chosen
darlings. However, let us not forget that these technologies
are just that - technologies that are relevant at a given time
and in a given space, but not more. Yes, flamewars are fun but
in retrospect, they are always silly. Hands up those who fought
about Atari versus Amiga back in the good ol' 80s! Probably

13   developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps
14   developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/AppleApplications/
Reference/SafariWebContent/ConfiguringWebApplications/
ConfiguringWebApplications.html

11 The Galaxy of Mobile

 not many of you but, surely, you get the point. Initiatives
such as FairPhone15, ShiftPhone16 or the GuardianProject17 may
prove more important than the OS or vendor of your choice in
the future.
If you are lost in the vast space of mobile development, do
not worry, stay calm and keep on reading. Go through the op-
tions and take the problem that you want to solve, your target
audience and your know-how into account. Put a lot of effort
into designing the experience of your service, concentrate on
the problem at hand and keep it simple. It is better to do one
thing well, rather than doing 'everything' only so-so. Invest in
the design and usability of your solution. Last but not least,
finding the right niche is often better than trying to copy
something that is already successful. This guide will help you
make an informed decision!

15   fairphone.com
16   shiftphones.com
17   guardianproject.info

12 The Galaxy of Mobile

Andrej Balaz

From Idea to Prototype

What makes a service successful? Why do so many start-ups
BY

fail, often despite their technological superiority? Why do so

many products fall into the build trap1 and end up stuffed
with features that are used little, yet had cost considerable
development and maintenance time?
One of the biggest pitfalls in product development is failing
to understand how your product fits into people's lives. Not
knowing what progress your customers are trying to make when
choosing your product over another, can lead your team to
build the wrong or over-engineer the correctly scoped product.
This might seem paradoxical at first. It would be completely
reasonable to expect that companies would not invest into fea-
tures that will rarely be utilized. Unfortunately, start-ups and
established companies alike, often lack a process to analyze
the reasons why customers hire their product in the first place.
Instead, they frequently take the shortcut and decide what to
build next based on some sort of “best-practice-remixing” of
the competitors’ successful features or uninformed ideation.
Building and failing fast is misinterpreted as a goal in
itself. Teams forget that recovery from failure can be difficult
and that pivoting needs to be done carefully and informed by
the right type of data (more on that later).
It is in every team’s interest to explore methods that allow
them to uncover the most about their customers’ contexts,
motivations and struggles with as little investment as possible
before they start building.

1   youtu.be/DmJXpI7OJuY

14 From Idea to Prototype

 In this chapter we will explore:

— Why people buy new products

— What data is useful to drive innovation
— How to conduct pragmatic customer research to frame your
product’s value proposition and discover what to build and
what not to build
— How to formulate insights and align your team around the
progress that users are trying to make.
— How to prototype and test your ideas by involving your
customers at every step

At the end of the chapter you will be equipped with a

powerful perspective and a set of tools that will help you on
your next endeavor to start building a service that customers
will value.

Why do people buy products?

People do not buy products, they buy better versions of
themselves.
In order to explain what this means, consider this example:
Remember the last time you purchased wine to serve it
to your friends. How much did you know and care about the
wine’s properties and features such as vintage, grape, price
etc.? If you are not a wine expert, I am sure the context of the
upcoming meeting with your friends played a more important
role in your decision than the individual features of the wine.
The price and grape might have come up in your mind but the
region and vintage probably did not influence your decision
much. You might have simply selected a dry wine because you
know that is what adults drink. Depending on the strength of

15 From Idea to Prototype

 your desire to impress your friends, you might have selected
wine in a wine store to make sure you are serving something
respectable to your friends. Or you might have visited the
supermarket to simply get more of it — you know, to get the
conversation rolling faster.
No matter what the case, you selected the wine based
on your desire to be a better host in that given situation.
To speak in a software analogy, you wanted to upgrade the
“version” of the host you were before. The attributes of the
wine only played a role in your decision-making if you were
able to connect them to this purpose in your mind. The wine
helped you to “progress” – you hired it for the job of making
you a better host.
Accordingly, when you interview a customer about a
product, do not only talk about the product itself, focus on
what they do with it. They hire the product to make progress
in their lives, not only because of its features or attributes.
This motivation to make progress arises when they encounter a
situation where their current state is not good enough. We can
describe this condition and desire for progress as a Job to be
Done2 . The 'job' stands for the desired progress a person wants
to make. Since it is still only a desire and not reality yet (there
are some constraints blocking the person), this job is 'to be
done'.
Progress is not only functional.
It is important to note that when describing customer
progress and the jobs they are hiring products for, it is not
sufficient to think and talk only in functional terms (What they
can do with a product). The wine from our previous example
certainly needed to meet a certain standard to help you stand

2   To learn more about the Jobs To Be Done innovation perspective, read this
free ebook by Alan Klement: whencoffeeandkalecompete.com

16 From Idea to Prototype

out as a good host, yet being a better host incorporated
emotional and social goals, as well. You tried to impress your
friends and feel appreciated. Because most human decision-
making and motivation is ultimately emotional, framing how
your product helps your customers to improve always includes
an emotional dimension (How I want to feel and how others
should think of me).
Product do not have jobs, people do.
To truly understand what a 'Job to be Done' means, one
must grasp that people and not products have jobs. One should
not say that the job of a car is to move people from A to B.
Instead, the owner of a car may have the job of getting to
work on time or spending a great vacation on a road trip.
The car is the solution hired for the job, and could have been
substituted by many others (e.g. carpooling or hitchhiking)
to help the person make the same kind of progress. The same
product can be hired by people for wildly different jobs.
Jobs are not tasks. People do not want to do tasks.
One common misconception is that people hire products
to do the certain tasks, such as cutting their lawn, or driving.
Given what we stated before, this innovation perspective is
misleading. It can bias teams to incrementally improve lawn
mowers and cars and forget about solutions that make these
tasks completely unnecessary.
 People are interested in making progress in their lives, not
in doing the tasks that are currently necessary to make that
progress. If they find a solution that allows them to forget
about mowing their lawn and still have a presentable garden,
they will be very much inclined to leave their lawn mower
behind and switch3.
To get this point across, let us look closer at the 'Job to
be Done' metaphor. People 'hire' products in the same way
a manager would hire an employee to get a job done. The
manager wants the benefits of somebody else's work, without
having to do the work themselves. After all, that is why they
hire somebody to do the job. People hire products in the same
way. They want to enjoy the benefits and get their job done
without actually doing the work. People do not want to do
stuff, they want the benefits of that stuff being done for them.
Ergo, the best interface is no interface.
Customers do not see competition in the same way many
organizations do.
When customers experience that something is not good
enough and start looking for something better, they consider
a variety of solutions that might deliver the desired progress.
The term solutions may refer to products and services, but it
also includes behaviors, workarounds, a combination of the
latter — sometimes even — doing nothing. Following on our
wine example, a party host who is interested in entertaining
his guests might consider hiring wine, telling friends to bring
their own favorite drinks or not hiring drinks at all and hiring
a DJ instead.
Notice how the customers consider solutions outside of
a particular product category (e.g. alcoholic beverages) and

3   Forexample, they could use gene-modified grass or hire the neighbor to do

the work.

18 From Idea to Prototype

 how this perspective differs from a traditional way to look at
competition. When challenged with innovation, companies
often focus on their closest competitors (beer, soft drinks,
other wine producers) and end up remixing the competitors’
best features into one-size-fits-all solutions. Failing to ac-
knowledge that this approach often leads to over-engineering
good enough solutions, companies become blind to disruptive
efforts from other markets.
By embracing the view that customers are hiring solutions
to progress and get a job done and not because of their
features and functionality, you enable your team to innovate
more freely and learn to categorize the market in the way your
customers do. As a wine producer, you might incorporate your
primary product (wine) into a service ecosystem that helps
your customers to become knowledgeable and fun party hosts.

19
 Why is understanding people's desires
for progress important for innovation?
Companies usually focus their research efforts on understand-
ing the quality of their users' experience. They might collect
usage analytics across different steps of the user journey,
analyze their sales funnel, collect and sort frequent feature
requests etc. While this data is immensely helpful and should
definitely be gathered to improve the quality of the user's ex-
perience4, one must understand that this is not the only data a
company should collect, especially when challenged with new
product development, scope creep challenges and growth.
The problem stems from the sampling bias5 inherent to
collecting data that originates only from analyzing the current
product's usage. When only talking to people who already use
the current version of the product, one can easily forget about
people who are not customers yet and who might have left the
product (churners). This practice leads the team to focus on
improving of what already is (optimize and innovate incremen-
tally), rather than thinking of something radically different
(think gene-modified seeds as opposed to an improved lawn
mower). This can inhibit growth and lead to bloated or highly
specialized products for a small group of vocal users. Collecting
only so-called 'data for quality improvement' does not allow
teams to think beyond what already is and reimagine products
radically, opening up space for unbiased competition and
disruption.
The Jobs to be Done perspective provides a helpful way for
analysis of underlying motivations, goals, constraints and other
factors that create and influence demand for a new product

4   see the Analytics chapter to learn more about this important aspect
5   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_bias

20 From Idea to Prototype

 before the product is used. It provides the 'why' behind the
'how' and the right mental model for new market innovation.
We can call this additional type of data Jobs to be Done
research provides, 'data for growth.' 'Growth data' can be used
to explain analytics, inspire ideation of new solutions and
inform market positioning.
Only when 'data for quality improvement' and 'data for
growth' are both collected and understood, a team is equipped
to sense when to optimize or to pivot and innovate.

Why do people buy a certain product?

We have established that it is desirable to concentrate on
helping your customers to become better versions of them-
selves when building new products. But how do you find out
how this better version looks like? How do you find out which
job your customers are hiring your product for?
The most pragmatic way to uncover what motivates people
to progress is to research their shopping and decision-making
behavior in qualitative interviews. These so-called 'switch
interviews' allow you to understand what progress they were
seeking and what was important to them as they chose a
product. To understand better how we can describe the jobs
people might have, let us look at the following data model.

21 From Idea to Prototype

 The Jobs to be Done data model
As people go about looking for a new solution, they want
to reach 'unmet goals'. These goals are unmet because some
'constraints' exist that prevent people from reaching them.
People become aware of their unmet goals and constraints
when some 'catalysts' happen and trigger them. To meet their
goals, they hire a set of solutions from which they choose one
or a combination of a few. We call this last element a 'choice
set'.
These four elements combined create demand for something
new. They create the aforementioned 'Job to be Done' in
people's lives. Understanding them helps us describe what
people are looking for in a new product and design it accord-
ingly. Let us look at each in detail.

Unmet Goals
Unmet goals describe experiences we want or want more of,
but cannot have at the moment because of constraints. The
goals can have various types, for example:

1. Competence: Become very capable and effective in your

actions rather than feeling incompetent and ineffective.
2. Control: Determine the behavior of, or supervise the
running of things around you.
3. Relatedness: Have regular intimate contact with people
who care about you rather than feeling lonely and uncared
of.

22 From Idea to Prototype

 4. Self-Actualizing: Develop your best potentials and make
life meaningful vs. feeling stagnant and without meaning.
5. Security: Have safety in your life, rather than feeling
uncertain and threatened by your circumstance.
6. Others include Influence, Physical thriving, Self-esteem,
Pleasure, Self-expression, Recognition, Care, Insight, Self-
proficiency, Scale, Time-saver, Risk-reducer, Reliability.6

Constraints
Constraints prevent us from fulfilling our unmet goals and
make progress. They create a discrepancy between where I
want to be and where I am now. Constraints usually relate to
unmet goals directly. The types of constraints can be:

1. Anxiety: Concern about undesirable things happening.

2. Lack of skill: Lacking of knowledge to understand
something or lacking the physical capability to execute.
3. Switching cost: A perception that making a change is too
much effort, or will not be worth it.
4. Habit: Mental schemas and physical behaviors that one
is accustomed to, that are hard to unlearn or disengage
from.
5. Organizational Barrier: Attributes of the current work
environment that are outside of one's control
6. Others include Functional dependency, Time, Money,
Situational Barrier, etc.

6   Read more in 'The Jobs to be Done Data Model' by Alan Klement: jtbd.info/
the-jobs-to-be-done-data-model-b270f6fc445

23 From Idea to Prototype

 Catalysts
These are events which create or affect unmet goals,
constraints and the choice set. They make people aware of
something not working or trigger action. They can be:

1. Anticipated Events: Expecting that something will hap-

pen, for example a deadline.
2. Unexpected Events: Something that caught you by
surprise, for example a thing breaking.
3. Advertisement: Promotional content intended to inform
you of a product or persuade you to use or buy it, for
example a discount.
4. Word of Mouth: First-hand information gained from
someone you trust, for example a friend's recommendation.
5. Lower-order Job to be Done: Seeking progress somewhere
else that causes a desire to progress elsewhere, for
example mastering cooking of a recipe to shine at a dinner
party.
6. Others include Repeated events, Observed use, Positive
experience with a product, Negative experience with a
product, Making progress, Job getting done, etc.

Choice Set
The choice set describes everything that people consider hiring
to make progress towards their unmet goals or overcoming
their constraints. These can be products and services, but also
behaviors or combinations of products and services. Imagine
you wanted to impress friends at a dinner. You might choose
a delicate wine, but you could also bring a surprise or a great
story.

24 From Idea to Prototype

 Switch interviews
Talking to customers who have switched to your product is
an effective way to uncover why your customers hired your
product and surface their unmet goals, constraints, catalysts
and choice set. Switch interviewing is all about getting the
story of your customers’ shopping and decision-making on
record, understanding all the causes and moments that led
to hiring the product you want to analyze – yours or your
competitor's. In the following, we will look at how to conduct
these interviews. Mastering this technique will help your team
to frame the design problem for your service and spot valuable
innovation opportunities.
You start your interview by asking questions about the
moment the customer purchased your product (The Switch).
During the interview you retrace the story from the switch to
their first thought, when your customer thought that what she
had was not good enough anymore.
You then try to understand their 'old me', what constraints
they were trying to overcome and what catalysts played a role
in triggering that demand for change. You ask about how they
imagined their life to get better once they found a new solu-
tion, putting some light on their unmet goals and formulate
their idea of a 'new me'.
To help you with this retrospective interviewing process,
here are some questions you can ask:
Start with the Switch:

1. Can you tell us when you started thinking about buying or

signing up for our service/software?
2. Can you remember why you decided to make a change?
3. Was buying this product related to a problem you were
having? Or a new initiative?

25 From Idea to Prototype

 4. Did you have to convince anyone else to buy our product?
5. You first started thinking about buying our product a few
months before you actually bought it. Why did you decide
to buy when you did? Why not a month before? Why not
wait another few weeks?
6. What other products were you thinking about using
instead of ours?

When appropriate, ask more questions to get all elements of

the data model:

1. How did you think things would be better for you person-
ally once you had the product in place?
2. How did you think things would be better for your
company or your customers?
3. Did you have any problems convincing others to use our
product?
4. What other things were happening within your company
during this timeline? Were there any changes in leadership
or strategic direction? Did any of these influence the
decision to start using our product?
5. Once you started using the product, how did you know
things were progressing as you had hoped (or not)?

When wrapping up the interview, make sure that you under-

stood the unmet goals and constraints the person had as they
chose the product. Reiterate with them if your understanding
seems right to them. Do not be worried to highlight contradic-
tions or things that are still not clear to you. Switch interviews
are engaging conversations that focus on the person's personal
journey, not the product. There are no right or wrong answers.
Last, but not least, make sure to compensate people for
their time.

26 From Idea to Prototype

 Debrief directly after the interview and create a profile for each
interviewee. Use the data model and collect what you heard for
each category. Here is a Demand Profile template to help you
with that: bit.ly/mdgg-demandprofile.

Who to interview
It is important that you talk to people who have already
bought and used your product who have a somewhat fresh
memory of all the important tradeoffs and circumstances that
shaped their decision. Because people are prone to rational-
ize their decisions, avoid talking to customers who are only
thinking to buy but did not commit yet. Similarly, talking to
people who got a product gifted will not reveal any valuable
insights — they simply did not spend any energy thinking about
it. You will use the story of the shopping and decision-making
process as a tool to identify customers whose motivations have
undergone the test of reality, getting a clearer view on their
actions as opposed to their aspirations and beliefs.
As a guide: Interview customers who switched to your
product in the last 90–120 days. They will not be in love with
the brand-new product anymore and will have had time to
evaluate if they were able to reach the desired progress or not.

What if my product does not have customers yet?

It does not matter whether your app (or app feature) is already
on the market or not. While interviewing current customers is
easier for beginners, what you are after is the story of change.
Once customers leave their old way of doing things in order to
progress (for example starting to pay for premium features),
they can be interviewed. In case your software is not released
yet, you can simply interview people who switched to a
similar competitor’s product. In case you cannot think of any
competitor or your app is free, talk to customers who exhibit

27 From Idea to Prototype

 a new behavior that is in line with the progress you are trying
to enable.
To give you an example: To create a new service that helps
people to become better hosts, you could interview people who
hired wine, DJs, a cooking class or use a new recipe app and
see what motivated them. Be creative and sensitive to what
people do today to improve in a similar way or situation.
For further tips, please read this article on Medium: jtbd.
info/uncovering-the-jobs-that-customers-hire-products-and-
services-to-do-834269006f50.

Define the problem: Job Statement

After you have conducted 10–15 switch interviews, you should
be able to spot patterns emerging in the data that shaped the
customers’ desire for progress and demand for a new product.
The profiles you created after each interview will help you to
analyze the data in order to identify commonalities in behavior
and decision-making that people demonstrated. You can create
a super-profile, or in other words, a 'demand segment' for each
group of similar unmet goals and constraints combinations.
Furthermore, it is helpful to summarize these insights in a
structured and concise manner. This process will streamline the
communication with your team and will help you to see which
parts of your product are essential and which you can abandon.
The so-called 'job statement' helps your team to establish
a high level vision for your project. It expresses what your
customer is struggling with and what job they desire to get
done. It opens up space for ideation by capturing insights into
the customer's current state and motivation to progress. And
it helps to shape your product’s value proposition and aligning
your company’s strategy around a customer-centric purpose.
A job statement has two parts: 1. The situation in which a

28 From Idea to Prototype

 desire for progress arises ('old me') and the future. 2. Desired
state once the job is done and the progress has been made
('new me').
For a grocery shopping application, the job statement might
be: “Free me from the stress of looking for healthy ingredients
(STRUGGLE), so I can rekindle the fun of cooking for my family
(STRUGGLE IS RESOLVED).”
A job statement should not include any solutions or
features, otherwise it will limit your team’s creative potential.
Consider this job statement that ignores this rule: “Deliver
groceries to my home, so I spare time shopping.”
The latter statement describes the functionality of a grocery
shopping app well, but it does not provide room for broader
thinking. Solutions, such as ready-made inspirational boxes
sold at the supermarket or recipe collections would not be
captured by it. Observe further, how the goal of the second
statement is creatively limiting (“so I spare time shopping”).
“Sparing time” does not describe a desired future state, a
'new me'. It is an effect that might alleviate a problem people
experience that blocks them from having fun while cooking
(shopping takes time and is stressful), but it does not describe
how the life the customer would improve.
For further tips how to formulate your job statements,
consult the free book “When Coffee and Kale Compete” by Alan
Klement7.

7   whencoffeeandkalecompete.com

29 From Idea to Prototype

 Define Situations: Job stories
After having formulated demand segments and a high level
vision of your product using the job statement, you can now
use Job Stories to describe concrete struggling moments in
your customers' lives. They capture all the different struggling
moments, contexts, anxieties, goals and emotions that you
heard throughout your interviews. While job statements and
demand segments give you a vision and the larger picture
of someone's motivation, you can use job stories to frame
smaller design problems to kick off the ideation process for an
individual product within the scope of a service or a particular
feature.
Job stories explain how a particular group of customers
acted in a particular, concrete situation, what they were doing,
what effects a solution should have in their mind and in which
direction they wanted to progress. Let us have a look at an
example job story for a grocery shopping application:
When I feel bad about shopping ingredients for my children
that are not organic because visiting multiple stores with my
small children is very exhausting,
I want a way to avoid having to shop at multiple locations,
so that I can serve my family healthy meals without trading
convenience for quality.
When… describes the situation in which a problem arises
and the person is looking for a change. What happened?
I want to… captures the expectations that customers
have regarding the effects of a solution when they use it. The
solution itself or its features are not mentioned.
So I can… describes what happens when the struggle
is solved. It describes how life will be when the solution is
effective in getting the job done.
If you are familiar with user stories, you will recognize that

30 From Idea to Prototype

 job stories are fairly similar in their structure. The important
difference is that job stories attempt to tell a story of progress
instead of describing the needs of a particular persona towards
reaching a goal. The reason for this is the observation that
very diverse people can act similarly when they find themselves
in the same situation. Consider this example:
A wealthy business man has about 25 minutes to pass
security at the airport. He is hungry and sees that the line at
the checkpoint is pretty short. He figures that he can grab a
Snickers quickly to recharge before entering the nasty proce-
dure. He enters a kiosk, grabs the chocolate bar and pays. He
knows that a Snickers is not the best choice and goes against
the advice of his nutritionist, but he enjoys it anyway.
Now try to answer this question: Which elements of the
story had stronger influence on his decision? That he was
wealthy, a businessman and is concerned about his nutrition or
that he found himself in an airport with limited offerings and
time and an appetite for a quick bite? People quickly override
their stated preferences and attitudes when they are confront-
ed with a situation or social context that makes alternative
behavior more favorable. This is the main reason, why asking
people what they would do or what they want is such a risky
activity. People adapt. It is not who they are, it is where, when
and with whom they are that causes their behavior.
However, many software development teams work with
"personas", fictional characters representing certain segments
of their target group.

31 From Idea to Prototype

 But as we discussed before, it is not who the customers are
in terms of their demographic and psychographic group, what
they state they want, how they look, where they live or what
brands their prefer which causes them to switch. While these
data can correlate with certain behavior, they do not cause it.
Context does. It is therefore to frame your customer insights
around situations and the behaviors and tradeoffs they cause,
not around personas.
That is why job stories offer an improved way to frame
insights into customer motivation and can be used as a foun-
dation in agile development processes. While going in-depth
on how to turn these insights into a complete product roadmap
would extend beyond the boundaries of this book, let us have
a look at a few helpful tools that help your team to frame what
you have learned and start building:

— If your team is used to working with personas, reduce

the amount of meaningless data and focus on customer
motivation8.
— Intercom offers free ebooks9 on topics such as product
management, jobs-to-be-done and starting-up. They also
provide a format called Intermission10 that can help you
kick off a project. It is a brief project that tells a story of
a customer wanting to progress which contains a couple
of job stories and ways to measure the team’s progress
towards solving the customer’s problem. To see how this
works in real-life, read their blog11.

8   slideshare.net/AndrejBalaz/improving-personas-with-jobs-to-be-done

9   intercom.com/books

10   blog.intercom.com/accidentally-invented-job-stories
11   blog.intercom.com/how-we-build-software

32 From Idea to Prototype

 — Eric Ries and his Lean Startup methodology12 provide you
with a great toolkit and perspective in order to avoid
building features that customers will not use and ensure
that you do not miss opportunities for improvement as you
build. Ries recommends a scientific approach of formulat-
ing customer-centric hypotheses, building solutions and
prototypes as soon as possible, testing them quickly and
analyzing how customers react with the help of clear
metrics.

Define the Use Case: Customer Journey

Before you dive into building complicated prototypes or
drawing wireframes digitally, it is essential that you sit down
with a couple of sheets of folded paper or a block of long,
screen-sized post-its and attempt to sketch how your customer
will use your app.

Create a storyboard that captures the user’s physical
surroundings, who they are with and what they are interact-
ing with. If your service has more than one touch point, for
example if it enables the customer to share a ride and both
the riders and drivers have an app, you need to think about
the interactions between these two people. Your goal is to get
the story and different interactions right. In this way, you will
quickly notice and improve inconsistencies and get a feeling of
which portions of the customer’s journey are most challenging.
Pay special attention to what happens outside of the
screen’s boundaries. In some circumstances, users cannot hold
their phone in a hand, for example when moving around at
airports with lots of baggage in tow. This will enable you to

12   theleanstartup.com/principles

33 From Idea to Prototype

 open up your imagination to other forms of interaction. Think
about a bus service. It combines physical, as well as digital
touchpoints that together help reduce the customers’ anxieties
and guide them through the experience.

Create the User Interface: Prototypes

and Visual Design
When you understand how individual journeys fit together in
the bigger picture you can move into more defined design.
It does not matter whether you have a big budget or are
working on a personal project over the weekend, having a
fairly complete prototype of your app is the best way to com-
municate your concept and discuss it with others. Prototypes
are usually developed before you spend time on implementing
code and pixel perfect design. An agreed clickable walkthrough
is a useful reference that teams can work towards without
risking going too much off track. An interactive prototype is
the best way to visualize and evaluate your app’s interactions.
It is usable enough to communicate the design, so you do not
need to provide as much documentation as you would need to
annotate static images. Your prototype can have visual design
applied and look exactly as it will after the implementation,
or you can stay on the wireframe or sketch level and focus on
functionality and content. Even working with paper, prototyp-
ing might be a viable option at an early stage.

34
 Google Ventures Design Sprint
The design sprint methodology by Google13 helps you to
develop a tested prototype within 5 days. If you follow Design
Sprint 2.0 by AJ&Smart14, you can run it in 4 days. It does
require user research before you start, but if you followed
our suggestions so far, you should be equipped to start it
right away. In the beginning of the week you decide on scope
and the experience you want to design, then you progress to
ideation, sketching and building of a testable prototype. By
the end of the week you will have tested your idea with real
users, gathering invaluable feedback about your idea.
The Design Sprint will get you a good overview of various
helpful methods that you can apply to prototyping and sketch-
ing. In the following section let us highlight a few methods
that will help you to transform your idea into a more coherent
concept.

Prototyping & Wireframing Tools

While paper should remain a truthful companion to your
design process all along the way, teams around the world have
spawned great prototyping tools that help you test your ideas
directly on the device and share it with others. They allow you
to further elaborate your ideas, test concepts quickly and work
on your devices. Below you will find a few tools that work well
together.

13   gv.com/sprint
14   youtube.com/watch?v=Z8MOwcqZuuU

35 From Idea to Prototype

 Quick prototyping with Sketch and InVision+Craft or Marvel
Sketch is a design tool for Mac that has become the de-facto
standard for designing user interfaces. Its community offers
hundreds of useful plug-ins and Sketch keeps improving the
tool at a rapid pace.
Sketch is easy to learn and integrates well with tools
such as InVision or Marvel. The latter allows you to build
lightweight clickable prototypes that can be previewed directly
on your device and speed up your design process (especially
thanks to the many helpful real-data import features from Craft
by InVision).
The prototypes are great for communication with your client
(if you have any) and early usability testing. We recommend to
make your designs interactive early on to spot problems with
the interaction flow. Viewing your designs on your device is
the only way to take the right visual design decisions regarding
type sizes, whitespace and many other usability considerations.

— Sketch: sketchapp.com
— InVision:  invisionapp.com
— Marvel: marvelapp.com

36
 High-fidelity prototyping with Framer, Principle
If you are looking into prototyping animated flows and transi-
tions that feel like the real thing and are programmed, Framer
will be your first choice. Framer is based on React, which is a
complex web framework with a steep learning curve, but can
therefore easily transfer prototypes into the real-world environ-
ment. If you prefer to postpone any coding, Principle provides
you with a simple interface to make interactive prototypes
reality. It has its limitations when your prototype requires
many states, so be prepared to “fake” things a lot. Both tools
are well-documented and integrate well with Sketch.

— Framer:  framer.com
— Principle:  principleformac.com

Keeping specs and assets in order with Zeplin and InVision

Craft
When transferring your designs to development, exporting
of specifications and UI assets have been a painstakingly
time-consuming process. Zeplin, as well as InVision help in
this regard, allowing you to view information about margins,
color values, code snippets at one glance interactively. While
InVision Craft eliminates the need to spec designs, Zeplin goes
further by simplifying exporting of assets. Both tools allow
you to organize assets in helpful libraries that greatly improve
cross-team collaboration.

— Zeplin:  zeplin.io
— InVision:  invisionapp.com/craft

37 From Idea to Prototype

 Windows: Affinity Designer, Adobe XD
If you are working with a Windows computer, your options are
a bit more limited, but you are not left alone. Affinity Designer
is an excellent program for graphic design which allows you to
create user interfaces as well. It is fast, cheap and supports
reusable components. If you are familiar with Adobe Illustrator
and Photoshop, you should feel right at home.
If you have the Creative Cloud subscription, you might give
Adobe XD a try. While still relatively young, it is faster than
any other Adobe application in creating and exporting clickable
UI prototypes while sporting an easy-to-use interface. It has
made great strides in catching up to Sketch, but it lacks its
community and plugin ecosystem.

— Affinity: affinity.serif.com
— Adobe XD:  adobe.com/products/xd.html

Visual Design
Unless you are building an app that uses a non-visual
interface, your app’s UI will rely on graphical elements, anima-
tions, colors, illustrations and to the largest extent typography.
You probably clarified conceptual aspects of user interface
design in the prototyping phase. You decided on where to
place interface elements and what copy to write so that the
user can progress through the app with as little friction as
possible. It is a good practice to also think about the size of
visual elements and typography while prototyping and creating
wireframes. Common mistakes include making copy too small
and hardly legible, cluttering screens with too many elements
and not thinking of animations and transitions. Tools such as
InVision or Marvel help you to wireframe directly on the device
and streamline your navigation flow and typography very early.

38 From Idea to Prototype

 Besides the obvious usability benefits, a clear and well de-
signed interface provides, visual design is key to making your
app memorable and unique. If your service includes multiple
touchpoints, following the same design principles across all of
them becomes increasingly important. A consistent and well-
designed experience is a crucial part in how your customers
perceive your brand. No amount of visual finish can make up
for a cluttered interface or a buggy product. By adhering to the
platform's design principles, providing a frictionless experience,
staying focused in your visual presentation and providing
unique functionality that helps people to progress in their
lives, you will be able to transcend the common misconception
that a brand experience can only be evoked through colors,
logos and styleguides.
Visual consistency throughout the flow helps users make
sense of your UI and learn interactions faster. Decide on a
primary action color and limit the amount of accents you use
for purely decorative reasons. Your user should always know
which actions are most important and possible in each view.
Classic principles of graphic design15 and the platform's
design guidelines help you to guide the user's attention and
navigate throughout the app. Your app can look very different
depending on which platform it was designed for. Make sure
that your design follows the recommended practices for font
use, standard icons and layout conventions. See the platform-
related chapters of this guide to find more information and
links to specific resources.
Finally, the launch icon is the first impression visual ele-
ment that your app will be identified by and judged on. Make
it look clean and easy to recognize, even in small sizes. Do not
include your company's logo unless you turn it into an icon.

15   learndesignprinciples.com

39 From Idea to Prototype

 User Testing
The best way to validate your interface concept is to show it to
users as soon as your work is representative enough to prompt
feedback. You do not have to wait until you have a finished
and polished product. Testing early can save you a lot of time
in the long term. It will expose concepts that do not work
early in the process. The more time you invest into developing
your designs, the harder it gets to let go of them and start
over. It is more difficult to accept feedback on something that
you considered almost done, than on a clickable prototype that
you can update quickly.
Test your assumptions regarding interaction, visual design
and content as often as you can. It will help you to streamline
your design process, uncover problems quickly and generate
new ideas.
The best way to test your designs is to invite some users
over and watch them perform your testing tasks. You will
quickly see where they struggle and will be able to invite
stakeholders to sit in or watch a live recording of the test to
help your team members empathize with your customers. A
typical user testing session is about an hour long. During that
time users that are unfamiliar with the product are asked to
perform certain tasks, usually around core functionality.
Here are some helpful tools that will greatly improve your
process:

40 From Idea to Prototype

 1. Build a testable prototype
2. Set up your hardware for recording. Use Reflector 316
and QuickTime or Lookback17 to record your screens and
cameras. Try to record the device and the user’s face for
later analysis.
3. Print a short introduction for your participant. Imagine a
description similar in length and style to those in the App
Store. (Value proposition, short)
4. Print every task on a separate sheet for your participants
to read.
5. Recruit participants and invite them. When searching
for people to interview it is good to refer to the original
personas descriptions and look for users that match those
profiles. Offering rewards makes it easier to find appropri-
ate candidates, but be careful when choosing them: You
do not want people to show up because they get money,
you need people that fit your target group and give you
honest feedback. So consider offering rewards that fit
your target group, e.g. a photo printing voucher if you are
testing a photo app.
6. Introduce yourself, clarify that there are no right or wrong
answers and that the person should think aloud. Let them
know that you want to hear everything they think when
they do something with your prototype. Mention that
the prototype is not complete and there might be some
unfinished parts. If they assume that the person that
is running the session is the author of the design, they
might feel cautious of giving critical feedback. Reassure
them that they are free to express their honest opinions.

16   airsquirrels.com/reflector
17   lookback.io

41 From Idea to Prototype

 After all, the only reason you arranged the testing session
was to get an independent feedback.
7. Let your participant read the introduction and then
perform all tasks.
8. Do not lead users to any conclusions. Do not help them
out by revealing how things work (unless they cannot
figure it out and you cannot proceed with the session) and
word your questions in a non-interruptive way.
9. Give a reward to your participant.
10. Discuss key insights directly after the test with your other
team members. What went well, what went bad, what was
surprising? As you progress through the tests with 4–8
participants, patterns will start to emerge.

For a more robust approach, use Lookback which allows

your users to participate in your test by simply downloading
an app to their device. Not only can you record what your
users are doing, you can choose to perform in-house tests, let
users perform the test on their own (unmoderated testing) or
jump into a live session with them (moderated testing). The
Lookback tools are thorough and easy to use and can spare you
lot of time and fiddling with your own setup.
If you want to spare time with recruiting and recording your
participants, you can use platforms such as usertesting.com
to facilitate your testing process. You will receive recordings
of your users as they are confronted with your prototypes and
tasks. The biggest advantage of usertesting.com is their large
pool of potential users, allowing you to recruit people from
different countries and demographics. The recruiting criteria
do not allow you to select people based on their situations,
struggles or switching behavior. But on the plus side being
able to let your tests run over the weekend is a great time-
saver. The downside is that your prototypes need to be more

42 From Idea to Prototype

 refined than in an in-person test where you can moderate if
something breaks.
When you get feedback, you can reiterate your design
and improve the parts that were not quite complete or if the
feedback was good move on to the development phase.
If you are still exploring new areas and your own prototype
is not quite ready, you can run testing sessions on other apps
that have been already released. It can surprise you how much
others notice about the application that you might never have
thought of.

Keep Iterating and Learning

As you build your product, it is important that you test your
assumptions frequently. Not only will you be able to uncover
what works and what does not before committing large sums of
money and time to building the wrong features, you will build
empathy for your customers within your team.
Users, their motivations, struggles and circumstances
change continuously, so it is crucial to develop processes
within your company to gather feedback at various levels of
the creation process.
Successful innovation does not have to be guesswork, but
it will always remain a study of complexity. The sooner you
develop your own process of learning and understanding, the
sooner will you be able to qualify your customers’ feedback,
take better scoping decisions and find customers that will
value your efforts. On to the challenge!

43 From Idea to Prototype

Daniel Böhrs

Android Development
The Ecosystem
BY

The Android platform is developed by the Open Handset

Alliance led by Google and has been publicly available since
2007. Its use by the majority of hardware manufacturers has
made it the fastest growing smartphone operating system ever
which today dominates the market: More than 75% of the
mobile operating system market share worldwide1. At the 2019
I/O developer conference, Google announced that there are 2.5
billion active Android devices2 which also includes wearables,
tablets, set-top boxes, TVs, phones and car entertainment
systems.
The term Android describes a whole ecosystem beside the
operating system itself. Google and multiple other companies
like Amazon are providing stores, default apps and other com-
ponents not directly bundled with the operating system itself.
All required components combined, provide the user with an
extendable system for daily usage. Every device licensed with
Google is allowed to use the Google Play Service and the
Google Play Store. The store provides around 2.4 million apps3
and is the biggest store for mobile applications world wide.
The proprietary Play Services provide access to Googles own
APIs, like Google Maps and the Google Assistant.

1   gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide

2   theverge.com/2019/5/7/18528297/google-io-2019-android-devices-play-
store-total-number-statistic-keynote
3   statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-
stores

45 Android Development
 Beside the big players like Google and Amazon, also so
called custom ROMs, developed by the Android community
or other companies can be used. Those often use alternative
stores to provide apps. An example is the F-Droid4 store, which
only allows open source apps. Utilizing those, allows Android
users to get a Google free experience if preferred. The Android
ecosystem is a huge and flexible system for software on differ-
ent hardware devices.
Due to a huge amount of manufactures, devices and
adaptations of Android, one of the biggest problems of the
platform is the fragmentation of the used versions. This leads
to uncertainty over whether or not your Android application
will run everywhere and often requires additional work by the
developers. Furthermore, the adaption of the latest OS version
is slower compared to other mobile platforms. However, in the
last years Google increased efforts to reduce the fragmentation
and today you will reach around 90% of the installation base if
you decide to target 5.0 Lollipop or above5.

4   f-droid.org

5   developer.android.com/about/dashboards
 Lollipop 5.0
API: 21
3.0% Kitkat 4.4
Marshmallow 6.0 API: 19
API: 23 6.9% Nougat 7.1
16.9%
API: 25
7.8%

Pie 9
Oreo 8.1 API: 28
API: 27 10.4%
15.4%

Nougat 7.0
API: 24
11.4%
Oreo 8.0
API: 26 Lollipop 5.1
12.9% API: 22
11.5%

Data collected during a 7-day period ending on May 7, 2019. Any

versions with less than 0.1% distribution are not shown and devices
without Google Apps (like those from Amazon and many China-based
manufacturers) are not counted. All versions prior Android 4.4 were
also excluded due to their outdated nature.

Recent Versions
Once a year Google releases a new Android version with
features, improvements and security fixes. This also means new
possibilities and challenges for developers. In preparation for
updates, developers should also check for usage of deprecated
or removed SDK functions or APIs, to avoid incompatibilities.

47 Android Development
 Android 9 (Pie)
Android 9 (codename: Pie) was released in August 2018. With
the Adaptive Battery and Brightness features, Android 9 auto-
matically adjusted apps, services and the brightness depending
on the users habits, to further extend the battery time.
It also introduced App Actions6: Powered by machine learn-
ing, Android tries to predict user behavior and offers shortcuts
based on detected individual usage patterns.
The interaction model for recent apps, which allowed users
to quickly switch between apps was another new feature of
Android Pie.
Just like iOS, Android also allows users to keep an eye on
their screen time since this release: A dashboard was added to
visualize the number of times apps where used. Users can also
limit usage times for apps and enable automatic grayscale or
Do Not Disturb mode.
As notch hardware designs are getting more and more
traction Android 9 was the first Android version supporting it.
From a developer's point of view, the most relevant news in
Android 9 included new indoor navigation features using indoor
positioning with Wi-Fi RTT and enhanced notifications, e.g. the
new Person class, which allows providing richer information.
It is now also possible to access cameras simultaneously
and create for example streams with picture in picture content.
A new image decoder, a class for image animations, better
codecs and media APIs aim to provide developers more options
to create optimized multimedia applications. The Neural
Networks API was also updated to provide more operations.

6   developers.google.com/actions/app

48 Android Development
 Android 10
With the most recent Android release in September 2019,
the naming scheme has changed. Google has long named its
Android software after sweets. These times are over. To avoid
confusion, the latest version is simply called Android 10
without any additional codename.
Android 10 brought support for foldable phones as well as
native support for theming, including the popular dark modes
some apps provide. Users now also have access to a native
screen recorder and an all new floating settings panel.
Another interesting feature from a user's point of view is
the new sharing option: Android 10 provides specific shortcuts
to share content directly to contacts.
If your app needs permission to access certain user data,
be aware that Google increased security by limiting location
access. This adds new permission handling for background
interactions and limits the access to device identifiers.
And if you are working on media apps, there are some good
news for you: Android 10 supports multiple new multimedia
codecs and provides a native MIDI API to interact with music
controllers. It is now also possible to capture audio output
provided by other apps.
Android 10 allows the developer to provide peer-to-peer
network connections e.g. for setups with other devices. To
configure things like the network or the volume the mentioned
floating settings panel can be triggered by the developers, to
grant changing configuration without leaving the app context
completely.

49 Android Development
 An optimized handling for the creation of files on external
storage were added, which informs about a pending creation or
helps to store specific file types in the appropriate directory.
To provide an enhanced real-time experience while gaming
or during other interactions, the Wi-Fi high-performance
and low-latency modes can be used. While doing so the new
Thermal API helps to keep track of temperature and load of the
device.

Hardware Adaptations
Android is not only a smartphone operating system but also a
car entertainment system and operating system for wearables
and TVs. To adapt to different form factors, controls and
usage areas, and to mitigate possible limitations, like e.g. no
touch input, multiple variations of the Android system were
implemented.

Wear OS
Wear OS7, previously known as Android Wear, is Google's
adoption of Android for smartwatches. It provides a simplified
interface, as smartwatches provide much smaller displays than
smartphones. Therefore, voice controls are playing an impor-
tant role in this context. Wear OS is mostly used in combina-
tion with a connected smartphone, even if Wear OS devices
can technically be equipped with their own SIM card. A key
feature is the Google Fit ecosystem of apps that support run
and ride tracking, heart activity, step-counting, etc. Users can
use their watch to control their phone – music, for example.
Notifications via the vibration engine are another key element.
Those can be used for notifications from Google Now like flight
reminders, traffic warnings, meeting reminders, etc.

7   wearos.google.com

50 Android Development
 Android TV
Android TV8 provides an adoption of the operating system in
regards to big screens and non existing touch interactions. A
much bigger interface with simplified controls, usable with
remote and voice controls was added. It is also possible to
control the TV via the smartphone. One of the most important
use cases of Android TVs is the usage of streaming apps like
Youtube and Netflix. Some Android TVs also provide direct
support for the Chrome Cast Receiver, so users can mirror their
screen or stream content directly from their phone or the web
to the device.
Android TV apps use the same structure as those for
phones and tablets. Developers can thus leverage their
existing apps and knowledge to target the TV platform. See
developer.android.com/tv to learn how.

Android Auto
As smartphones are often used as navigation devices, Android
Auto9 was developed as an adjusted version of Android, which
allows to display content on the car's internal screen. Doing
this enables a special user interface focused on navigation,
communication and entertainment. Interactions are often
performed via voice commands to allow the driver to focus on
the street.

Software Adoptions
The Android ecosystem allows vendors to extend or change the
default behavior and design provided by the system in many
regards. Some vendors, like Samsung or Amazon, often provide

8   android.com/tv

9   android.com/auto

51 Android Development
 a completely customized user interface or even different
implementations of base functionality on their devices.
This leads to vendor specific ecosystems and different user
experiences across the Android ecosystem. This comes with an
upside, for instance a very tight integration which provides
an amazing experience for users, and also a downside, such as
increased fragmentation of the ecosystem.
Google is providing a vendor interface to mitigate incon-
sistencies, while also providing vendors some flexibility. This
should also help to decrease the time-to-update for system
updates. The interface is meant to be used by vendors who
want to adjust the look and feel of their Android version, but
it is not feasible if a total conversion is planned, like Amazon
did with Fire OS.

Android One
Android One is Google's attempt to provide a pure Android
experience with the latest software updates for two years and
security updates for three years. Android One was introduced
in 2014 and is meant to be a secure and consistent Android
version for everyone. This version can be treated as vanilla
Android with some extra optimizations by Google.

Android Go
Android Go is a lightweight version of Android which has been
developed to provide a smooth performance also on low-end
devices. It is designed to run on smartphones that have 1 GB
or less RAM. Even apps on the Play Store will be optimized for
these devices mostly targeting emerging markets like India or
China. Core features are data saving, less storage requirements
and better performance on low-end devices.

52 Android Development
 Getting Started
The Android operating system is based on free software and
uses a Linux kernel as a base. The most important layer
for developers is the Java Runtime Environment above the
OS layer. The so called Android Runtime (ART) allows the
execution of APK files. Those are created by compiling Java or
Kotlin code via the OpenJDK for Android. This is the main way
to create apps for the Android platform. C or C++ code is also
possible via native libraries. Especially resource intense compo-
nents like multimedia codecs, browser engines, and database
encryption layers utilize this approach.
During the Google I/O 2019 conference, Kotlin has been
declared the main language for Android development. It should
replace Java. However, it is also possible to mix both in one
project.
The Kotlin language is developed by JetBtrain, the creators
of IntelliJ Idea. It provides a more modern, safe and concise
approach to create Android apps. Kotlin code can be compiled
to Java byte code and also JavaScript code. Even if Kotlin is
progressively replacing Java, Java is still a well-established
platform for developing Android apps. But beware, only a
subset of the Java libraries and packages are supported and
there are many platform specific APIs that will not work
with Android. You can find answers to your "What and Why"
questions online in Android's Dev Guide10 and your "How"
questions in the reference documentation11. Furthermore,
Google introduced two sections in their documentation called

10   developer.android.com/guide
11   developer.android.com/reference

53 Android Development
 "Codelabs"12 and "Courses"13 that help new developers learning
various best practices for Java and Kotlin. This is where you
can learn about basics such as navigation and inter-app
communication, as well as more advanced features such as
intelligent Bitmap downloads and optimizing your app for
better battery life. Experienced developers are able to acquire
the Associate Android Developer Certification by Google14 .
To get started, you need the Android SDK15, which is avail-
able for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It contains the tools
needed to build, test, debug and analyze apps. Development is
done within an adapted version of the IntelliJ Idea16 IDE. This
Tool is called Android Studio17 and allows besides developing,
also automatic building, syntax checking and testing.The latest
Android Studio versions are bundled with all required tools and
components to quick start Android development.

IDE support
Android Studio is the official IDE for Android and comes
directly with Gradle Support and many features explicitly
tailored to Android development. It is available as pre-packed
download including the Android SDK. An extended feature
list18 as well as an end user documentation19 can be found
on the official Android Studio website. Android Studio itself
comes with example code and provides code documentation

12   codelabs.developers.google.com/?cat=Android
13   developer.android.com/courses
14   developers.google.com/training/certification/
15   developer.android.com/studio#command-tools
16   jetbrains.com/idea
17   developer.android.com/studio
18   developer.android.com/studio/features
19   developer.android.com/studio/intro/index.html

54 Android Development
 for all system classes and methods available. Android Studio
supports also latest Kotlin development features and enables
the developer to utilize the modern, safe and concise features
of Kotlin.
To measure performance the Android Profiler allows you to
keep track of CPU + RAM + GPU usage and the Network Profiler
lets you inspect packages send over your wireless connections.

Native development
The Android NDK20 enables native components to be written
for your apps by leveraging both JNI for invocations of native
methods and using native subclasses that offer callbacks to its
non-native pendants. This is important for game developers
and anyone who needs to rely on efficient processing.

20   developer.android.com/tools/sdk/ndk

55
 Implementation

App Architecture
Android apps usually include a mix of Activities, Fragments,
Jobs, Services, BroadcastReceiver, ContentProvider and more;
these all need to be declared in the application's manifest. The
manifest also includes the metadata of an application, like the
title, version and its required permissions.
An Activity is a piece of functionality with an attached user
interface. Fragments can be used to split Activities into smaller
and reusable parts. A Service or Job is used for tasks that run
in the background and, therefore, are not tied directly to a
visual representation. A BroadcastReceiver handles messages,
broadcasted by the system, sent by your own or other apps. A
ContentProvider is an interface to the content of an applica-
tion that abstracts from the underlying storage mechanisms,
e.g. SQLite.
An application may consist of several of these components,
for instance, an Activity for the UI and a Service for long-
running tasks. Communication between the components is
achieved by Intents or remote procedure calls handled by
Android Interface Definition Language (AIDL).
Intents bundle data, such as the user’s location or an
URL, with an action. These Intents trigger behaviors in the
platform and can be used as a messaging system in your app.
For instance, the Intent of showing a web page will open the
browser. A powerful aspect of this building block philosophy is
that any functionality can be replaced by another application,
as the Android system always uses the preferred application
for a specific Intent. For example, the Intent of sharing a web
page triggered by a newsreader app can open an email client
or a text messaging app, depending on the apps installed and

56 Android Development
 the user’s preference: Any app that declares the sharing Intent
as their interface, may be used.
The user interface of an app is separated from the code
in Android-specific XML layout files. Different layouts can
be created for different screen sizes, country locales and
device features without touching the actual code. To this end,
localized strings and images are organized in separate resource
folders. Of course, you are also able to define and design
layouts in code or make use of both strategies to enable
dynamic UI updates.

Android Jetpack
Android Jetpack bundles components for developers to program
faster and more robust apps. It contains tools, libraries and
multiple other components to simplify development and
provide backward compatibility to older Android versions.
Some of the core parts are the foundation components,
which provide Kotlin language support and backward compat-
ibility and the Architecture components which help you to
structure your app in a proven way. Also important are the
Behavior components, those provide easy and stable access to
the Android permissions system and the Google Assistant.
The UI components will help you to create more beautiful
apps without writing more code.
Every new and existing Android developer should at least
have a look if some of the modular designed components,
usable via the androidx.* libraries, could be useful for his/her
projects.

Material Design
Androids basic design language "Material Design" was intro-
duced in 2014. Designer Matías Duarte explained the basic
idea: "Unlike real paper, our digital material can expand and

57 Android Development
 reform intelligently. The material has physical surfaces and
edges. Seams and shadows provide meaning about what you
can touch."
Material Design brought a strong, consistent visual identity
to the Android ecosystem, parallel but distinct from iOS's
flat design and Windows' Metro design. To encourage a solid
user experience and consistent appearance of Android apps,
Google provides a comprehensive documentation for the design
language21 and a design guide for developers22 . Going into the
importance of color schemes, design patterns, and Material
Design, the guide provides a great orientation when building
apps for the Android ecosystem.
Material Design also forms the basis for the operating
system's UI and the system apps. Additionally, a variety of
libraries brought support for Material Design to other different
platforms, like the web.
Theming is also supported while still adhering the Material
Design guidelines. One example for this is the Basil theme23.

The SDK and Plug-Ins

To aid development, you have many tools at your disposal in
the SDK, the most important ones are:

— adb: To query devices (physical and virtual ones) and to

connect and interact with them by moving files, installing
apps and alike.
— avdmanager: To create and manage virtual devices of all
types.

21   material.io
22   developer.android.com/design
23   material.io/design/material-studies/basil.html

58 Android Development
 — emulator: To emulate the defined features of a virtual
device. Due to fast snapshot startups and hardware
acceleration the emulator is very helpful for daily develop-
ment routine.
— sdkmanager: To install and update Android SDK compo-
nents.

These tools along with many others, including tools to

analyze method trace logs, inspect layouts and test apps with
random events, can be found in the tools directory of the SDK.
Most of them are also accessible via the Android Studio IDE
user interface.
If you are using features such as ConstraintLayouts24, be
sure to add the corresponding Support Library/AndroidX
packages from Google. They are available through the Android
Jetpack foundation components. They enable developers to
deploy modern features also on older Android versions without
compatibility issues. If possible always use those backward
compatible components over normal elements to avoid
problems on older Android devices. To provide some backward
compatibility in general, Google began to use the Google Play
Services framework25 which gets updated via the Play Store
and adds some core libraries such as the latest Google Maps
version. That is how older devices are enabled to access newer
APIs and components of the Google software chain.
Beside backward compatibility it is mostly always recom-
mended to target a recent API version of Android in your
build.gradle file, to profit from new system features. Your
Android Studio should also be up to date, to be able to use the

24   developer.android.com/training/constraint-layout
25   developer.android.com/google/play-services

59 Android Development
 latest performance improvements and feature updates while
developing.
To provide push notifications, analytics, machine learning
capabilities and crash reports Google Firebase26 could be a
solution worth investigating. Firebase provides a huge set
of functions which are easy to integrate into Android Studio
projects.

Testing
The first step in testing an app is to run it on the emulator or
a device. You can then debug and analyze it via Android Studio.
All versions of the Android OS are built to run on devices
without modification, however, some hardware manufacturers
may have changed pieces of the platform. Therefore, testing on
a mix of devices is essential. To get an idea of which devices
are most popular, refer to AppBrain's list27.
The Android Testing Support Library provides a collection
of modular tools to cover most test scenarios. JUnit4 is the
foundation for all unit tests, Espresso28 provides a very lean
API that helps to quickly write procedural tests for your UI and
the AndroidJUnitRunner29 helps you to execute your tests.
Tests can be written using the standard JUnit format, using
the Android mock objects that are contained in the SDK. Ad-
ditional libraries like Mockito can help to increase performance
while creating Android unit tests30.
To automate testing, the Android SDK comes with some

26   firebase.google.com
27   appbrain.com/stats/top-android-phones
28   developer.android.com/training/testing/espresso/
29   developer.android.com/training/testing/junit-runner
30   developer.android.com/training/testing/unit-testing/local-unit-tests

60 Android Development
 capable and useful testing instrumentation tools. The UI
Automator31 requires Android 4.3 (API level 18) and will
present you the captured device interface including some
information about the views presented. Executing the tests
is relatively easy: After you have written your test, it can
be build, executed and delivered to the device or emulator
directly from within Android Studio.
MonkeyRunner32 is a powerful and extensible test automa-
tion tool for testing the entire app. These tests can be run on
both virtual and physical devices. The tests written in Python
can monitor the UI by creating screenshots and sending
system events such as key presses. Your tests can then check
the status of your app after these events have occurred.
Open source testing frameworks, such as Robotium33, can
complement your other automated tests. Robotium can even
be used to test binary APK files if the app's source is not
available. Roboelectric34 is another great tool which runs the
tests directly in your IDE in your standard/desktop JVM.
Your automated tests can be run on continuous integration
servers such as Jenkins or Hudson. Roboelectric runs in a
standard JVM and does not need an Android run-time environ-
ment. Most other automated testing frameworks, including
Robotium, are based on Android's Instrumentation framework
and will need to run in the respective JVM. Plugins such as the
Android Emulator Plugin35 enable these tests to be configured
and run in Hudson and Jenkins.

31   developer.android.com/training/testing/ui-automator
32   developer.android.com/studio/test/monkeyrunner
33   github.com/RobotiumTech/robotium
34   robolectric.org/
35   wiki.jenkins.io/display/JENKINS/Android+Emulator+Plugin

61 Android Development
 Building
Aside from building your app directly in the IDE of your
choice, there are also more flexible ways to build Android apps.
Gradle36 is the officially supported build automation tool for
Android. There is also a Maven plugin37 which is well-supported
by the community. Both tools can use dependencies from
different Maven repositories, for example, the Maven Central
Repository38.
The Gradle build system provides a huge selection of
configuration possibilities. It is possible to use different
flavors to build e.g. a free and a paid version of the app, while
a general differentiation between debug and release builds is
also possible. Mostly everything can be configured within your
build.gradle file, which enables the developer to also automate
the building process.
To shrink the size of apps and to obfuscate the code the
new R8 compiler39 can be used out of the box within your
Gradle build pipeline.
To reduce the size of apps even further Google introduced
Android App Bundles40, which contain the compiled code
and resources, but generate and sign APKs especially for the
requirements of the requesting devices. This happens directly
on Google Play if an App Bundle is provided.

36   developer.android.com/studio/build
37   simpligility.github.io/android-maven-plugin/
38   search.maven.org/
39   developer.android.com/studio/build/shrink-code
40   developer.android.com/guide/app-bundle

62 Android Development
 Signing
Your apps are always signed by the build process, either with a
debug or release signature.
The same signature must be used for updates to your app
- so make sure to not lose the keystore file or the password.
Remember: you can use the same key for all your apps or
create a new one for every app.
Google also provides a centralized solution for signing.
Google Play App Signing41 hands over a lot of the work to
Google's infrastructure and could reduce problems with manag-
ing and securing the needed keys.

Distribution
After you have created the next killer application and tested
it, you should upload it to Android's app store called "Play" at
play.google.com/apps/publish.
You are required to register with the service using your
Google Checkout Account and pay a $25 registration fee. Once
your registration is approved, you can upload your app, add
screenshots and descriptions, then publish it.
Make sure that you have defined a versionName and
versionCode in your build.gradle and an icon, a label
and the required permissions in your AndroidManifest.xml.
The Google Play Store provides, beside production rollouts,
also alpha and beta testing plus staged rollouts. This allows
you to do some friendly user testing before publishing the app
to all users. Furthermore, you can target specific countries and
devices by setting the right flags in the Developer Console

41   developer.android.com/studio/publish/app-signing.html#app-signing-
google-play

63 Android Development
 and export detailed statistics that help in understanding your
userbase. Using the inbuilt localization service, you can easily
add new languages to your app by paying a fee - make sure
to check the Localization Checklist42 for detailed information
about the importance of this topic.
As there are lots of competing applications in Android
Play, you might want to use alternative application stores.
They provide different payment methods and may target
specific consumer groups. One of those markets is the Amazon
Appstore which comes pre-installed on the Kindle Fire tablet
family. But you should keep in mind that alternative play
stores force the user to enable unknown sources for app instal-
lation, which is always a potential security risk.
And make sure to read the chapter about app store
optimization in this guide to pave your road to success.

Monetization
Google Play is the main distribution channel and of course the
most popular platform for Android app distribution. Google
charges you $25 for the registration and a transaction fee of
30% of your earnings.
But the Play Store is not your only option. For the vendor
specific ecosystems, such as Samsung Apps or Amazon's
Appstore, you should consider using their SDKs to enjoy the
benefits of optimized monetization.
In addition to selling an app in one of the many app stores
available, there are several different ways of monetizing an
Android app. One suitable way is by using advertising, which
may either be click- or view-based and can provide a steady
income. Other than that, there are different In-App Billing

42   developer.android.com/distribute/googleplay/publish/localizing.html

64 Android Development
possibilities such as Google's own service43 that utilizes the
Google Play Store or Square's In-App Payments SDK44 .
Most services differ in transaction-based fees and the
possibilities they offer for example subscriptions, parallel
payments or pre-approved payments.
Be sure to check that the payment method of your choice,
is in harmony with the terms and conditions of the differ-
ent markets where you want to publish your app to. Those
particularly for digital downloads, for which different rules
exist, are worth checking out.
Again: There is of course a dedicated chapter about moneti-
zation in this guide as well. So go ahead and read further.

43   developer.android.com/google/play/billing/
44   squareup.com/us/en/developers/in-app-payments
Swen Hutop & Dennis Kluge

iOS Development
In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone and significantly
changed the way we perceive and interact with mobile phones.
Besides the device itself, two other factors made a significant
contribution to its success. Firstly, the new iOS operating
system, which had been radically designed for gesture-based
BY

interaction, and made sure that the hardware and software

smoothly merge into one another. Secondly, the App Store
has opened up the platform and created the ability to install
third-party apps, which led to a thriving market that provides
users with a huge choice.
Over time, the original smartphone operating system has
undergone an extreme transformation from a once-closed
ecosystem. It now includes several forms: iOS for smartphones,
iPadOS for tablets, watchOS for smartwatches and tvOS for
televisions. All derivatives use the same technical foundation
and offer specific elements for creating apps. These applica-
tions are developed using Xcode as the development environ-
ment.
When comparing iOS with Android, one of its key advan-
tages is the lack of fragmentation compared to Android:
Ten months after the release of iOS 12, it has already been
installed on more than 80% of devices1. In comparison,
Android Version 9 only made it to 10% within a whole year
after its release2 . It is not just that iOS versions essen-
tially spread faster, but that the longevity of iPhones is also
astonishing. The update period is around four years: Even the
iPhone 6s, which was first delivered in 2015 with iOS 9, can

1   macrumors.com/2019/02/25/ios-12-installed-on-83-percent-of-devices

2   developer.android.com/about/dashboards

67 iOS Development
 still be updated to iOS 13. Another aspect that Apple attaches
great importance to, is security and privacy. In iOS 13 for
instance, you can use your personal Apple ID, to securely log
in to websites, as it is also possible with the Facebook login.
The significant difference here is that only randomly generated
data is made available to the apps.

Developing iOS apps

First of all, to develop iOS apps, you need a computer running
macOS. Apple restricts access to its development tools, since
these can only be used on its platform.
Before getting started with coding it is necessary to create
an Apple ID and a developer account3. If you intend to release
the application or deliver it to a beta test group you have to
subscribe to the Apple Developer Program. The yearly costs are
$994 .
The architecture of the iOS operating system is built up in
different layers5. It starts with the Core OS, which handles ac-
cess to the hardware, sensors, etc. Core Service and Media are
intermediate layers which handle e.g. images, video and audio.
and lastly Cocoa Touch, which is the primary framework used
by developers. It handles the UI creation, Touch Input etc.
Each layer adds a certain abstraction, which makes handling
the underlying logic much easier.
Choosing the right tool for development is rather easy. With
Xcode6 Apple provides a free Integrated Development Environ-
ment which lets you create, test and distribute your app. If

3   developer.apple.com

4   developer.apple.com/programs

5   see aruniphoneapplication.blogspot.com/2017/01/ios-architecture.html
6   developer.apple.com/xcode

68 iOS Development
 you are looking for an alternative we recommend to take a look
at JetBrain's AppCode7.
Xcode lets you easily create a new project; multiple
templates for iOS, iPadOS and watchOS apps are available.
After having chosen your target, you have to provide an App
ID. This unique identifier is used to distinguish your app from
others. It can be created through the Apple Developer Portal.
Furthermore, it is necessary to create keys to sign your applica-
tion. This process makes sure that the app originates from you,
as a verified developer. Nowadays Xcode handles this whole
signing procedure automatically8.
The primary app programming language is Swift9. It is
a fairly new multi-paradigm language released in 2014 by
Apple, which created a lot of traction over the last years. The
predecessor was Objective-C10 an object-oriented interpretation
of the C language.
The main pattern used for development is MVC – Model
View Controller11. However, different approaches like MVVM
(Model-View-ViewModel) or even reactive programming are pos-
sible. The latter gained more and more traction after Apple's
release of SwiftUI and the Combine framework. Both are more
explained in a sub-chapter.
A lot of iOS apps are known for their clean and beautiful in-
terfaces. Those can be developed by using Interface Builder12,
a tool provided by Xcode which lets you interactively configure
your view. Another way is to declare the user interface within

7   jetbrains.com/objc

8   developer.apple.com/de/support/code-signing

9   docs.swift.org/swift-book

10   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objective-C
11   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model–view–controller
12   developer.apple.com/xcode/interface-builder

69 iOS Development
 your Swift code. Both ways are proven and sufficient. Apple's
Human Interface Guidelines13 provide rules and standards for
apps and their interfaces. It is a worthwhile read, especially
for beginners.
A huge platform like iOS brings the advantage of a big
developer ecosystem. Many libraries are open-sourced and can
be integrated into your app. Cocoapods14 is a tool which lets
you integrate third-party code within your iOS project. For
example, if you need to add the Instagram API in your new
app, there is a pod for it.
Apps can be tested on an iPhone device or through a
simulator. Xcode provides a tool which lets you run your iOS
code on macOS. You are able to choose between different OS
versions and device types. It does not completely replace test-
ing on the device itself, but provides a convenient workflow.
It especially reduces waiting time as Xcode has to compile and
package the app every single time you want to start a test
after a change has been made.
Many aspects need to be covered while developing an app.
This incorporates things like unit testing and performance
measuring. With XCTest and Profiler, Apple provides tools which
already cover these aspects.
We dedicated a whole subchapter about the aspects of
distribution and monetization, since many different ways
and methods exist. It is important to understand that some
restrictions and clear guidelines exist.
Starting iOS development comes with some entry barriers.
These include the knowledge of Swift and some general under-
standing on how UI applications are developed. Fortunately, a
huge variety of open resources already exist. Those are covered

13   developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios
14   cocoapods.org

70 iOS Development
 in an extra part. It is worth the effort to become a part of one
of the most interesting markets today.

iPadOS
With the first version of iPadOS15, publicly released in autumn
2019, Apple's tablet got its very own operating system variant
- which previously ran the same OS as the iPhone devices. With
iPadOS, Apple has succeeded in allowing the iPad to make an
enormous leap forward in terms of professional use. First and
foremost, multitasking options have been hugely extended.
In addition to Picture-in-Picture and Split View, Slide Over
functionality also allows switching between apps very quickly.
Another long awaited feature is the option to access con-
nected USB hard drives and SD cards directly via the native
Files app.
Other important new features of iPad OS 13 include:

Multiple Windows
Multiple window support for iPads16 introduced the possibility
to open several windows of one app simultaneously on an iPad.
For example, you can simply move an app icon from the dock
to the side of the screen to select existing windows or open a
new one.
The system offers two different types of windows: The
primary window, which can contain multiple app objects and is
used by users over a longer period. And secondly, the auxiliary
window. This can only contain a single object of an app.
Usually, it only comes in use to perform a single action before

15   developer.apple.com/ipad
16   developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/system-
capabilities/multiple-windows

71 iOS Development
 closing the auxiliary window. For example, in the Mail app, the
primary window can be used to display the inbox, whereby the
auxiliary window is just used to write a mail.

Drag & Drop

One of the biggest enhancements in iPad OS, besides
multitasking, is the Drag & Drop activity17. On an iPhone
this is only possible within one app. On the iPad, data, text
and images can even be moved across apps. You can start as
many drag activities as you wish. This greatly enlarges the
opportunities available to you for using your iPad productively.
The source and destination app for the data to be moved run
in parallel and are not paused, so that you can continue to use
them. You can also call up the dock and open another app in
the split view.
From a developer's point of view, it is possible to develop/
design the app here so that the user sequentially adds Drag
Items, i.e. things he wants to move. The target app can then
accept and store these items.
Text views and text fields automatically support drag &
drop. Collection and table views provide specific methods and
properties for doing so. For text views, an API is provided that
makes it possible to adjust the drag & drop behavior for the
views. Furthermore, each custom UI element can be configured
in order to support drag & drop. One of the key points is that
developers do not need to worry about the security of moving
data between two apps, because iPadOS covers security in this
regard.

17   developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/drag_and_drop

72 iOS Development
 SwiftUI
Apple introduced SwiftUI18 on their annual WWDC (Worldwide
Developers Conference) in 2019. This hails a new approach to
developing user interfaces for all Apple platforms. As a conse-
quence, it is now possible to develop SwiftUI user interfaces
for watchOS and therefore for the smallest display Apple offers,
right up to tvOS for large TV displays.
Therefore, SwiftUI uses a declarative syntax. This means it
helps to describe what happens after inputs and UI respond to
these actions. This simplifies the code that is written, facili-
tates understanding and increases readability. Even animations
are much easier to integrate in SwiftUI.
Xcode 11 includes new intuitive design tools that allow
developers to utilize SwiftUI to develop new user interfaces.
Changes made in code can even be directly previewed there.
Similarly, changes within the preview directly manipulate the
Swift code. This allows programmers to adapt parts of the app
dynamically, since they are constantly being compiled and
executed. Compared to the current state, this represents an
enormous step forward. Previously, by comparison, the app
had to be transferred to the iPhone or the simulator after each
adjustment to view the changes. SwiftUI and Xcode 11 make
it possible for you to open several previews at the same time
to test various configurations, such as different text sizes,
languages or dark mode.

18   developer.apple.com/xcode/swiftui

73 iOS Development
 Catalyst
The booming mobile device market has led to a decrease in
popularity of Apple's macOS desktop operating system for
developers. At the same time, the technical foundation for the
development of apps on the individual mobile and desktop
platforms has become increasingly divergent. The decisive
factor for the success of iOS has been UIKit. This technology
represents the foundation for the interface experience we have
come to expect from Apple. On the other hand, macOS apps
are still based on the UIKit predecessor AppKit. This means
that iOS apps could only be ported to the desktop environment
with a great deal of effort. All of this has led to a decreased
popularity of macOS among developers.
During the WWDC in 2019, Apple announced their action
plan to address this: Project Catalyst now unites the mobile
and the desktop platforms19. Catalyst is supposed to make
it easy to port iPadOS apps to macOS20 by adapting the user
interface and the interpretation of the inputs. For example,
touch gestures are automatically translated into mouse
interactions.
As an investment in Apple's mobile platform, this means
that new markets and synergies are created with little extra
effort. Creating an iPad app, automatically means that a macOS
app can also be created. It also implies, that new target
groups can be addressed and different monetisation channels
can be opened up.

19   macworld.com/article/3402057/swiftui-and-catalyst-apple-executes-its-
invisible-transition-strategy
20   developer.apple.com/ipad-apps-for-mac

74 iOS Development
 watchOS
watchOS21 was presented together with the Apple Watch in
April 2015 and is an iOS derivative, especially tailored for this
device.
The user interaction patterns and the whole interface have
been adapted to the small screen, which does not allow things
like multi-finger interaction. This is the reason why Apple
has also equipped the watch with a digital crown and a side
button. The crown allows users to scroll and zoom within
applications. The side button serves as some kind of modified
home button known from the iPhone and iPad.
The heart of the interface is formed by the interactive dials.
Besides showing the time, they also display information or
interaction options desired by the user. These Complications
allow access to apps or display data.
Apple offers a variety of different dials. These range from
minimalist representations to analog clock interpretations.
The ecosystem allows users to install third-party apps.
However, until watchOS 5, those had been bundled together
with an iOS app for the iPhone. The reason for this, was that
parts of the logic were executed on the smartphone. The
iPhone also provided internet connectivity for the first genera-
tions of the watch. Since iOS 13, Apple allows stand-alone
Apple Watch apps. watchOS 6 introduced a separate App Store
for this purpose. This means that the Apple Watch can now be
considered a stand-alone, self-sufficient device.

21   developer.apple.com/watchos

75 iOS Development
 Watch apps can be created using the development infra-
structure provided by Apple. A special simulator exists in
Xcode for this purpose. In addition, WatchKit22 is provided as
a framework.
Amongst other things, it gives access to sensors, sending
notifications and many other things. The iOS UI framework
UIKit is available on the watch as well.
Apple continues to evolve its smartwatch platform with
annual updates. The increasing self-sufficiency of the Apple
Watch and its focus on health, have generated a large market.
Apple does not announce any sales numbers but it is the most
popular watch and Apple even surpasses Rolex in this market
segment today23.

22   developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit
23   businessinsider.de/apple-q2-2019-earnings-apple-watch-
airpods-sales-2019-4

76
 Distribution, App Store & Monetisation
The distribution of iOS apps is done exclusively via Apple's App
Store. Users are currently spending approximately $120 billion
on iOS Apps per year24 . However, the gold rush mode of the
early days is over, due to a massive competition: There are over
2 million different apps currently available for iOS devices25.
Uploading apps to the App Store requires a membership
in the Apple Developer Program26. Two different models exist
here. The Apple Developer Program, facilitates the distribution
of apps in the iOS App Store to the general audience. With the
Enterprise Program, Apple also offers the ability to distribute
apps to a dedicated user base only. This is especially important
for those companies who want to provide tools for internal
usage, only for their employees.
Apple insists on the strict control of the content and func-
tionality of any app submitted to the Store. They are reviewing
all app submissions, in order to reduce the risk of providing
malware to their users. For you as a developer it means that
you should carefully read the App Store Review Guidelines27 to
avoid rejection. And be prepared to wait a little until your app
is available to your users, because the review process might
take some time. A delay of at least 24 hours needs to be taken
in account. Apple provides a separate process for emergencies
and serious bugs.

24   appannie.com/en/about/press/releases/app-annie-releases-annual-state-of-
mobile-2019-report
25   lifewire.com/how-many-apps-in-app-store-2000252
26   developer.apple.com/de/support/compare-memberships
27   developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines

77 iOS Development
 With the help of TestFlight28, apps and updates can be
tested before they are released. Up to 10,000 testers can be
invited who can use the application independently from the
App Store. However, Apple still reviews these test versions
prior to distribution.
The direct monetization of iOS apps is essentially based on
three different models: one-time purchase, in-app purchase
and subscriptions. To learn more about these options (and
other strategies), make sure to read the monetization chapter
in this book.
In recent years, Apple has increasingly started to rely on
the use of subscriptions. Here, users can subscribe to the app
or services within the app.
Apple retains 30% of sales as a fee for all these monetiza-
tion models. This drops to 15% for subscriptions lasting longer
than 12 months.
In September 2019, Apple launched a new, Netflix-like
monetization model especially for games. Apple Arcade29 offers
a monthly subscription that gives exclusive access to selected
games.

28   developer.apple.com/testflight
29   apple.com/apple-arcade
 Learn More
The advantage of a mature platform like iOS, is its generous
documentation and body of source material. A number of
excellent websites exist on the Internet for learning iOS
development.

— Developer.Apple.com contains complete reference and

programming guides for developers to learn how to
develop iOS apps and class reference of all classes in their
public frameworks. The library website is organized by
Resource Types, Topics, and Frameworks plus the ability to
search. One important document to read before designing
your first app is the iOS Human Interface Guidelines30. It
contains helpful recommendations on how to design apps
to ensure a positive user experience.
— Swift.org, the Swift community's official home
— RayWenderlich.com has become an essential site for free
iOS tutorials written by his community of developers with
the goal being "to take the coolest and most challenging
topics and make them easy for everyone to learn - so we
can all make amazing apps." The site has expanded into
offering programming books and video tutorials (with a
paid membership). Subscribe to their weekly podcast for
the latest news relevant to developers and interviews with
leaders in the iOS developer community.
— iOSDevWeekly.com is a weekly round up of the best iOS
development links. Dave Verwer operates the site, and they
offer a weekly email newsletter published every Friday.

30   developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/
MobileHIG

79 iOS Development
 — Merowing.info is a blog from developer/trainer/speaker
Krzysztof Zablocki who offers tutorials and insights into
iOS development from his experience as a consultant. He
also is active in the Open Source Community, creating
tools and libraries for iOS developers.
— AshFurrow.com is another popular iOS blogger/developer
who proudly states, that the purpose of his blog is
"Exploring the Pain Points of iOS." He has authored
multiple iOS Development books, is an active speaker and
is involved in the Open Source Community.
— This Week in Swift is a weekly newsletter involving the
most interesting Swift-related news, developments, tutori-
als and general tidbits related to iOS development.

80 iOS Development
 Summary and Outlook
Since its initial release in 2007, iOS has changed and diversi-
fied in many ways. Originally established as a pure smartphone
operating system, iOS today runs on tablets, watches and
even TVs. Beyond that, the development shows that Apple
increasingly wants to establish iOS as a complete alternative
to desktop. Precisely, this is being reinforced by the idea of
iPadOS.
In addition, the focus on alternative interaction levels
is expanding. For example, investments are being made in
Siri and the integration of voice UIs in apps. Furthermore,
with ARKit, a focus on augmented reality applications can
be observed. This creates room for speculation about an iOS
derivative for AR glasses, new Apple devices and new markets
opening up. Last but not least, it is clear that Apple is increas-
ingly integrating machine learning directly on its devices.
CoreML allows developers to easily implement their own AI
solutions.
iOS is a vital, and active platform with a mature ecosystem.
Join the party.

81 iOS Development
Robert Virkus

Cross-Platform
Development
BY

With only Android and iOS as the main players, why should you
consider using a cross-platform development framework? In
this way even a small team can cater both platforms. And you
might even target other form-factors and media easily like PCs,
game consoles and websites.

Key Differences Between Platforms

If you want to deliver your app across different platforms you
have to overcome some obstacles. Some challenges are easier
to overcome than others:

— Programming Language: Kotlin & Java for Android, Swift

for iOS
— UI and UX: Style and interaction patterns differ on each
platform.
— Desktop/Launcher Integration: On iOS you can only
add a badge with a number to your app’s icon, while on
Android you can add a full-blown desktop widget that may
display arbitrary data and use any visuals.
— Lock Screen Integration: Again, there are various ways to
integrate on the lock screen.
— Multitasking: Android and iOS have different options for
running background services.
— Fragmentation: The Android ecosystem is very fragmented,
iOS is a lot more homogenous.
— Platform Services such as push, in-app-purchase and
in-app-advertisement differ on each platform.

83 Cross-Platform Development
 Benefits and Drawbacks of Cross-
Platform Frameworks
With the differences above, why should you consider using a
cross-platform framework?

— Reusing code reduces complexity and therefore potential

bug sources.
— Having mostly one code source also increases time to
market and cost-effectiveness of your project.
— You will enjoy feature parity between the platforms.
— Your team needs less platform-expertise, making it easier
to assemble.
— Using the same UI components leads to UI consistency
that in turn reduces the effort for your support.

However:

— Some features will require native integrations, in that case,

you have an increased complexity as you have to deal with
your framework, your code and the target OS at the same
time.
— Using the same UI may lead to a decreased UX that is not
optimal for the target OS.
— Depending on the chosen framework, your code may be
more sluggish than native code.
— When there are new OS versions with new features, you
may need to wait until your chosen framework has been
updated.

84 Cross-Platform Development
 Cross-Platform Strategies
This section outlines some of the strategies you can employ to
implement your apps on different platforms.

Direct Support
You can support several platforms by having a specialized team
for each and every target platform. While this can be resource-
intensive, it will most likely give you the best integration and
user experience on each system. An easy entry route is to start
with one platform and then progress to further platforms once
your application proves itself in the real world.
Component libraries can help you to speed up native
development, there are many commercial and open source
components available for all platforms.

Asset Sharing
When you maintain several teams for different platforms you
can still save a lot of effort when you share some application
constructs:

— Concept and assets: Mostly you will do this automatically:

share the ideas and concepts of the application, the UI
flow, the input and output and the design and design
assets of the app (but be aware of the need to support
platform-specific UI constructs).
— Data structures and algorithms: Go one step further by
sharing data structures and algorithms among platforms.
— Codesharing of the business model: Using cross-platform
compilers you can also share the business model between
the platforms. Alternatively, you can use an interpreter
or a virtual machine and one common language across a
variety of platforms.

85 Cross-Platform Development
 — Complete abstraction: Some cross-platform tools enable
you to completely abstract the business model, view and
control of your application for different platforms.

Player And Virtual Machines

Player concepts typically provide a common set of APIs across
different platforms. Famous examples include Xamarin.com and
Lua.org. This approach makes development very easy. You are
dependent, however, on the platform provider for new features
and the challenge here is when those features are available
on one platform only. Sometimes player concepts use a “least
common denominator” approach to the offered features, to
maintain commonality among implementations for various
platforms.

Cross-Language Compilation
Cross-language compilation enables coding in one language
that is then transformed into a different, platform-specific
language. In terms of performance, this is often the best
cross-platform solution, however, there might be performance
differences when compared to native apps. This can be the
case, for example, when certain programming constructs
cannot be translated from the source to the target language
optimally.
There are three common approaches to cross-language
compilation: direct source to source translation, indirectly
by translating the source code into an intermediate abstract
language and direct compilation into a platform’s binary
format. The indirect approach typically produces less readable
code. This is a potential issue when you would like to continue
the development on the target platform and use the translated
source code as a starting point.

86 Cross-Platform Development
 (Hybrid) Web Apps
Hybrid web development means to embed a web view within
a native app. The standard for hybrid apps is the open source
tool Apache Cordova1 (formerly known as PhoneGap). This
approach allows you to access native functionality from within
the web parts of your apps and you can also use native code
for performance or user experience critical aspects of your app.
Hybrid apps allow you to reuse the web development parts
across your chosen platforms. Read the web chapter to learn
more about mobile web development.

ANSI C
While HTML and web programming starts from a very high ab-
straction you can choose the opposite route using ANSI C. You
can run ANSI C code on all important platforms like Android,
iOS and Windows. The main problem with this approach is that
you cannot access platform-specific APIs or even UI controls
from within ANSI C. Using C is mostly relevant for complex
algorithms such as audio encoders. The corresponding libraries
can then be used in each app project for a platform.

Popular Frameworks
Here are some popular frameworks that are used to develop
cross-platform apps in no particular order.

Xamarin
Xamarin2 supports both mobile and desktop systems and par-
ticularly addresses Windows developer due to its C# and XAML
UI support. Traditionally, the UI was created using native

1   cordova.apache.org

2   xamarin.com

87 Cross-Platform Development
 components, but now generic cross-platform UI components
are also supported. Native libraries can be easily integrated.

Cordova
Cordova3 formerly known as PhoneGap provides an HTML/JS
approach that makes it very easy for web developers to create
mobile apps. The UI is rendered by the browser elements,
so you will have a full web experience. Native code can be
integrated using a plugin approach.

Flutter
Flutter4 is a relatively new framework that renders its own UI
completely independent of the OS native UI. Next to mobile
platforms, it also supports desktops and the web. Native code
can be integrated using a Flutter's channel concept.

React Native
With React Native5 you code in JS while the UI consists of
native elements, ensuring a full native experience. Native code
can be integrated using plugins.

Finding the Right Cross-Platform

Framework
Here are some questions that you should ask when evaluating
cross-platform tools. Not all of them might be relevant to you,
so weight the options appropriately. First have a detailed look
at your application idea, the content, your target audience and
target platforms. You should also take the competition on the

3   cordova.apache.org

4   flutter.dev

5   facebook.github.io/react-native

88 Cross-Platform Development
 various platforms, your marketing budget and the know-how of
your development team into account.

— How does your cross-platform toolchain work? What

programming language and what API can I use?
— Can I access platform-specific functionality? If so, how?
— Can I use native UI components? If so, how?
— Can I use a platform-specific build as the basis for my own
ongoing development? What does the translated/gener-
ated source code look like?
— Is there desktop integration available?
— Can I control multitasking? Are there background services?
— How does the solution work with push services?
— How can I use in-app purchasing and in-app advertise-
ment?
— How does the framework keep up with new OS releases?
— What's the performance of the solution?

Last but not least, for gaming using a cross-platform

solution is a no-brainer, as game creation is content-heavy and
games do not need to be integrated deeply into each platform.

89 Cross-Platform Development
Ruadhan O'Donoghue

Mobile Web
While the theme of this book is largely app-oriented, it
would not be complete without talking about the mobile
BY

web. Indeed the line between apps and web is often blurred
in an ecosystem where apps can be built entirely with web
technologies, can pull their data and content in via web API
requests, or can act as simple app shells for what is essentially
a browser (WebView). It can be useful to think of a web-native
continuum, with native at one end and web at the other, and
various hybrid models in between.
The mobile web and native apps are often pitted against
each other as competitors. In many ways they are; often either
approach would be suitable to solve a particular problem. It is
easy, however, to get lost in the arguments; there are emphatic
and obsessive proponents on both sides.
But while apps and web are competing platforms, it is also
true that they are complementary platforms, each with its
own set of strengths and weaknesses. We will not dwell on the
app versus web argument here. Rather we will view them as
complementary technologies which often overlap.
That said, with modern web features such as Device APIs,
push notifications, installable apps, 60 fps animations,
discoverability, the mobile web is a platform both capable and
formidable.

91 Mobile Web
 Mobile Web Usage
The world has already reached the tipping point where more
time is spent on mobile than desktop. And while users spend
far more time in apps than on the mobile web, it can be
misleading to think that is the whole story. The mobile web
has a far larger audience than native apps.

Average Monthly Audience: Top 1000 Mobile Apps vs.

Top 1000 Mobile Web Properties

+45% +82%
vs. 2014 vs. 2014
12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000
Apps

4,000 Mobile Web

2,000

Jun-2014 Jun-2015 Jun-2016

Data from the U.S., users aged 18+, source: comscore.com/Insights/

Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2016/The-2016-US-Mobile-App-Report

Most digital strategies will touch the mobile web in at least

some way, if not embrace it wholesale.

92 Mobile Web
 Devices, Browsers and Fragmentation
The web today is mostly experienced through a browser
running on a desktop computer or mobile device. This is where
things can get tricky for mobile developers: if you come from
a desktop web development background and thought that
developing and testing for all the various desktop browsers was
hard, then you had better sit down; things are considerably
more complex on mobile.
There are at least as many mobile browsers as there are
on desktop. But on mobile, in addition to the browser on
the device, we also have to consider the type of device and
its properties and capabilities. The types of properties and
capabilities that can impact web development include

— Screen size properties such as physical dimensions,

aspect ratio, and pixel density
— Input types such as keypads, touchscreens, styli,
microphones, and cameras
— Spatial sensors such as GPS, accelerometers, compasses,
and gyroscopes
— Network capabilities such as WiFi, 3G, LTE, and 5G

This results in a staggering number of device-capability

and browser combinations that your visitors might be using.
If you want to provide a good user experience then ideally you
want your web pages to work on all device-browser combina-
tions. This is the scale of fragmentation problems facing web
developers today.

93 Mobile Web
 What is a Web Browser Anyway?
The web browser is a central part of the web platform. It is a
complex piece of software with many roles. It orchestrates the
underlying web technologies, combining them into usable web
pages. It acts as a window and interface to the web for the
user, interpreting the user's actions and inputs, and rendering
its response in real-time.
On top of all of this, the major browsers come bundled with
a set of complex developer tools, that provide deep insights
into the inner workings, structure and performance of the web
pages that it renders. There are many developer tool features
that help specifically with mobile development. We will see
more about developer tools later in the Testing section.
When you build a web page, you are building something to
be consumed by browsers, and so you must be aware of their
capabilities, idiosyncrasies, and limits, especially on mobile.

Browsers and Rendering Engines

At the heart of every browser is a component that is respon-
sible for laying out and rendering the content of a page. This
is known as the rendering engine, or layout engine. Each of
today's web browsers is based on one of a small number of
rendering engines.
Knowing what rendering engine a browser is based on can
help guide development and testing, since any browsers that
share the same rendering engine will often behave similarly:
they will generally support the same features, and at the same
time fall foul of the same bugs.

94 Mobile Web
 — Gecko: an open source engine used in Mozilla's Firefox
browser
— WebKit: a widely used engine that powers Safari, as well
as all browsers in the iOS App Store, and formerly Google's
Chrome. It was built by Apple in 2001 and open-sourced
in 2005
— Blink: in 2013 Google forked WebKit—which it had been
using in Chrome—to create Blink. Blink now powers
Chrome, Opera, Microsoft's Edge browser, and all Chromium
based browsers
— Presto: (retired) formerly used in Opera (now powered by
Blink), and is still used in Opera Mini
— EdgeHTML: (retired) formerly used in Microsoft's Edge
browser (now powered by Blink)
— Trident: (retired) formerly used in Microsoft's now retired
Internet Explorer browser

95 Mobile Web
 What Browsers Should You Develop For?
One constant of the web is the ever-changing browser land-
scape. Browser popularity will vary from market to market and
location to location. You should have an idea of the browser
market share in your target market, so that you can prioritize
and optimize for these browsers. This said however, you should
also try to maximize browser compatibility across the widest
range of browsers where possible, since, except for in very
limited or constrained circumstances, you will not know in
advance what browser or device a user will use.

Worldwide mobile browser market share June 2018-June 2019

Chrome 57,14%

Safari 19,92%

UC Browser 8,71%

Samsung Internet 6,25%

Opera 3,84%

Android 1,58%

Other 2,57%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Source: gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/
worldwide/#monthly-201806-201906-bar

Reports such as DeviceAtlas' Mobile Web Intelligence Report1
provide periodic snapshots of the device and browser landscape,
highlighting interesting market share data such as the most
popular OSes, manufacturers, and screen-sizes, and can help
guide decisions relating to browsers and browser targeting.

1   deviceatlas.com/blog/the-most-popular-mobile-browsers

96 Mobile Web
 HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: the Building
Blocks of the Web
So far we have only covered devices and browsers. Now let us
look at the technologies that are used to render web pages for
us: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

HTML: Structuring Web Content

HTML is the markup language of the web. It is used to struc-
ture the content of a web page. Many variations have emerged
over the years. Early mobile markup languages include WML,
and XHTML Mobile Profile. The most recent iteration, HTML5,
has matured sufficiently to encompass semantic markup,
custom elements, and device APIs, and is well supported on
mobile web browsers.

CSS: Styling Web Content

CSS stands for Cascading Stylesheets and is used to style and
lay out web content. CSS rules apply various properties, such
as color, to elements by targeting those elements with a selec-
tor. Selectors allow you to pinpoint any element or group of
elements in a page, so that you have full control: CSS can be
used for small styling tasks such as setting the color of text, to
large layout tasks that affect the entire page layout.
CSS has gone through multiple specifications, and is split
into many modules, each with its own specification, and cover-
ing diverse aspects of CSS from selectors to 3D transformations
and animations. CSS has become advanced enough that it can
often deliver sufficiently interactive experiences without the
need for JavaScript. Generally, for performance, you should
choose CSS over JavaScript for implementing interactions and
animations where possible.

97 Mobile Web
 CSS preprocessors such as LESS and SASS are often used to
extend CSS with operators and functions and other features
that improve the development process and promote code reuse
and maintainability.
CSS3 is well supported across mobile browsers.

JavaScript: Client-side Scripting

JavaScript adds a programming layer to the web. It is used to
bring more complex interactions, animations, and functionality
to the web, and can be used to build web applications and
games.
Originally only a client-side scripting language, JavaScript
has grown and matured over the years as its underlying ECMA-
Script specification has evolved. It is now backed by a huge
and vibrant community and a wealth of development tools,
and has gained respectability as a programming language, and,
through Node.js became available as a server-side language
too.
Many thousands of JavaScript libraries have been published
for developers to use, as well as full front-end frameworks for
building entire web apps, such as Angular.js, React.js, and
Vue.js.
JavaScript libraries and frameworks can be a major source of
page bloat, causing poor performance and bad UX, particularly
on mobile. The mobile developer, therefore, should always be
wary of adding JavaScript libraries to a project without good
reason. We will see more about mobile web performance later.
 HTML5
HTML5 is the most recent major version of HTML, and being
well supported on mobile, brings many features that enhance
the mobile web user experience. But the term HTML5 refers
to more than just the HTML markup language; it also refers to
related web technology specifications that include CSS3 and
many useful JavaScript APIs.
Among the JavaScript APIs included in HTML5 are useful
browser features such as the Canvas element, Touch Events,
and Web Storage, to name a few. They also include device or
hardware APIs that are particularly useful in the context of the
mobile web. Device APIs give the browser access and control
of specific device hardware features, such as the camera, the
accelerometer, and GPS sensor.
HTML5 brings the browser closer to feature parity with
native apps—things that were once only possible via native
apps are now possible with the web. With location-based APIs
web apps can know where the user's device is; through sensor
APIs they can access camera images and compass bearings;
with storage and caching APIs they can work offline. Websites
can even send opt-in push notifications to users, even when
the website is not open in the browser. With HTML5, the web
experience got a whole lot richer.
Some of the more interesting HTML5 APIs from a mobile
perspective are described below.

— Geolocation API: The Geolocation API gives access to the

geolocation capabilities of a device, which can include
precise location data based on the sensors of the device.
Location can be based on the available sensors of the
device, and includes GPS, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell-based
triangulation methods. Latitude, longitude, altitude,
heading, and speed data are exposed by the API.
99 Mobile Web
 — Device Orientation API: Like the Geolocation API this API
returns information about a device's physical relationship
with the world. While the Geolocation API is concerned
with a location in space, the Device Orientation API is
concerned with orientation. The information is based on
orientation sensors such as compasses, gyroscopes, and
accelerometers. The data exposed includes orientation in
three axes, acceleration, and rotation rate information.
— Service Workers: Service workers allow webpages to
run scripts in the background. They can act as a proxy
server to web pages, intercepting requests and generat-
ing responses, and so they facilitate offline capabilities,
background syncing, and push notifications.
— Push API: Allows web pages to receive push messages.
— Notifications API: Allows a web application to display
native-like notifications. Together with the Push API and
service workers, web apps can send and receive asynchro-
nous push notifications to a device.
— Web Payments API: Keying in credit card payment
information has always been a laborious task on the web,
but particularly so on mobile where input is more difficult.
The Web Payments API aims to solve this problem, while at
the same time removing the need to share your payment
details with any third-party eCommerce site of unknown
trustworthiness.
— Touch Events API & Pointer Events API: These are two
APIs based around touch screen input, offering informa-
tion about touches, and swipes etc.
— WebRTC and media capture and recording APIs: Allow
web pages to interact with a device's media sensors such
as microphones and cameras to capture, stream, and
record audio and video.

100 Mobile Web

 Approaches to Modern Web Development
Modern web development practices must accommodate mobile
devices and address the fragmentation issues facing mobile
web developers. Several distinct approaches have emerged in
recent years.

Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design (RWD) is an approach to web design
that delivers resolution-independent web pages—that is,
flexible pages that will work well on most screen sizes, from
desktop browsers to small screen mobile devices, and every-
thing in between. It is based on three techniques:

1. A flexible grid: ensures the page layout scales with screen

resolution, rather than using fixed dimensions
2. Flexible images: images that will scale within a flexible
grid
3. CSS media queries: applies CSS rules to distinct ranges of
resolutions or device classes, based on breakpoints

RWD became popular because a single HTML page designed

this way could be expected to perform reasonably well on a
wide range of devices. It is basically a one-size-fits-all solu-
tion, which carries advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages

— Resolution independence can mean less time to implement

and maintain
— No need to maintain and serve separate versions for
different device classes
— Browser features can be detected client-side

101 Mobile Web

 Disadvantages

— Only achieves resolution independence, but not a content

adaptation, so content is not optimized for all devices
— More bytes than necessary can be sent to a device, which
can impact performance
— Can perform poorly, or not at all, on low-end devices since
the same content will be delivered to both desktop and
mobile device.

Progressive Enhancement
Progressive enhancement is a technique that has been around
since 20032 . The idea is that you start off with a minimal,
base page sent to every device, along with some JavaSript
enhancement logic. A low-end device might ignore or fail to
execute the enhancements, but will still deliver a functional
experience for the user. More capable smartphones, tablets and
desktop browsers will execute the JavaScript enhancements
progressively until the page is built up to an optimal level for
the device.
This approach stands in contrast to the idea of grace-
ful degradation, where rich functionality is built first, and
exceptions are added afterwards. This requires additional work
to ensure that a page is still functional in the absence of any
unsupported features.
In practice, you should consider progressive enhancement
as a technique that can be used to smooth over differences in
a range of mobile devices, rather than as an overall approach.

2   hesketh.com/publications/inclusive_web_design_for_the_future

102 Mobile Web

 Advantages

— In theory, there is no limit to the features that can be

progressively added
— Can cater for a full range of devices from low-end to
high-end and desktop

Disadvantages

— Using a single base for all devices can be restrictive

— The actual progressive enhancement JavaScript takes time
to execute, and can impact performance

Mobile-First Responsive Design

Mobile-first RWD follows the design principles of both RWD and
progressive enhancement techniques. In this approach, the
design begins with a mobile-optimized version and builds up
from there.

Advantages

— Increases reach over pure RWD since it is more likely to

work on lower-end devices
— Forces designers to focus on content and functionality,
making it easier to define content hierarchy, with the most
important content at the top

Disadvantages

— Suffers the same issues as RWD

— May require a complete redesign of existing site, if exist-
ing site does not follow this approach

103 Mobile Web

 Adaptive Web Design (Server-Side Adaptation)
Server-side adaptation3 uses a device detection solution on
the server to map a device's request headers to a database of
device capabilities. Once the device's capabilities are known, a
page can be built to match the device capabilities resulting in
highly optimized pages. Leading solutions include DeviceAtlas4
and ScientaMobile5.
Sometimes referred to as "browser-sniffing", the effective-
ness of this technique is evident in its adoption by most of the
major internet brands that take their web presence seriously,
including Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, and Ebay.

Advantages

— Knowing the capabilities of a device means that highly

optimized pages can be delivered for multiple device
classes
— Extremely reliable and accurate: good solutions report over
99.5% device detection accuracy
— Excellent performance since pages can be fine-tuned for
devices

3   There are various definitions of adaptive web design; here we mean that
there are some device optimizations taking place on the server.
4   deviceatlas.com

5   scientiamobile.com

104
 Disadvantages

— Involves developing and maintaining different page

templates for different device classes
— Database of User-Agent capabilities must be updated with
new devices
— Most solutions are commercial

RESS: A Hybrid Approach

One last approach to consider is RESS (REsponsive design with
Server Side components). RESS combines the adaptive and
responsive approaches to deliver a solution that combines the
best of both. Using server-side adaptation, an initial page
is optimized for a range of devices or device category. Then,
within each category, the content can be adapted further on
the client-side using responsive techniques. This approach
can be pushed further still, so that properties sourced from
the browser can be fed back to the server to further tune the
server adaptation.

Advantages

— Offer the most flexibility and the highest degree of

optimization of all solutions
— Benefits of high-performance server-side adaptation,
combined with the ability to tweak with properties
obtained on the client-side

Disadvantages

— Difficult to implement, requiring device database

— Full round-trip required to get the most benefit

105 Mobile Web

 Hybrid Apps
Another class of web application that is worth a mention is
hybrid apps. These are often, but not necessarily, built with
web technologies, HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Hybrid apps
are compiled and packaged as native apps and distributed in
native app stores. They are installed like native apps, but are
essentially web apps on the inside. Generally, they consist
of a full screen webview, or thin native app wrapper and a
webview. The webview does the heavy lifting of rendering the
web app, while the native library gives access to native APIs
and hardware. This is an attractive approach to many since it
is possible to leverage web development know-how for native
apps without having to learn native platform development.
Various hybrid app development frameworks exist to help the
developer, including Apache Cordova6 and PhoneGap7, and
React Native8. The most recent framework to enter into this
space in 2017 is Google's Flutter9. Describing itself as a "UI
toolkit for building beautiful, natively compiled applications
for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase", it has
become very popular with developers.
It is possible to have an app that is built with web
technologies, but that is compiled down to the native code
for the platform, for example with React Native. Unless this
app is using a webview it is not really a hybrid app, at least
in the traditional sense. React Native is essentially pushing
the boundaries of what is considered a hybrid app. With React
Native apps are compiled into native code for each platform,

6   cordova.apache.org

7   phonegap.com

8   reactnative.com

9   flutter.dev

106 Mobile Web

 iOS and Android, and widgets are rendered as native platform
widgets, while Cordova/PhoneGap apps use use webviews to
render web content within a native app shell.
See the chapter about Cross-platform apps for more
information around hybrid and cross-platform apps.

Advantages

— Cross-platform: a native app shell uses a webview to

render content from a web-based content backend
— Does not require intimate development knowledge of
multiple native platforms
— Easier to develop and maintain than distinct native apps
for each native platform
— Using a remote backend means the app can be updated
without having to resubmit to app stores

Disadvantages

— Performance is not as good as a native app for demanding

applications
— UX might not be as polished as a full native app, as
compromises are made to satisfy cross-platform constraints

107
 Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web App (PWA) is a term used to describe web
apps that make use of modern browser features to deliver rich
app-like experiences. The term was first coined by Alex Rus-
sell10 in 2015 to describe web apps that exhibit the following
criteria:

— Progressive: they work on all devices, and functionality is

enhanced progressively
— Responsive: layout is flexible and can adjust to device
form factor as appropriate
— Connectivity-independent: will function under poor
network conditions, and even offline
— App-like: feels like an app, with an app-shell, and mostly
without full page refreshes
— Fresh: pulls in new content whenever possible
— Secure: served over HTTPS
— Discoverable: identifiable as an app while also being
indexable by search engines on the web
— Re-engageable: stimulate re-engagement with features
like push notifications
— Installable: can be added to the home screen of a device

PWAs are possible because the web platform has grown

sufficiently mature to deliver such experiences. As mentioned
above, several key HTML5 APIs make PWAs possible which
support features previously only found in native apps.

10   Find Alex' blog at infrequently.org

108 Mobile Web

 With the addition of Safari in 2018, PWAs are now sup-
ported across all major desktop and mobile operating systems.
Windows 10 support adds 700 million active monthly users
to the 2.5 billion Android devices, and 1.3 billion iOS devices
supporting PWAs.
PWAs can now also be published in each of the main
platform app stores. It is more straightforward for the Google
Play Store and Microsoft's Windows Store than for iOS. For the
iOS App Store, the PWA needs to use a native wrapper such as
Cordova before it can be submitted.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Google's AMP project11 is a publishing format based on an
open source web components framework with an emphasis on
performance. AMP was originally conceived as a response to
Facebook's Instant Articles and Apple's News projects, and so
initially the emphasis was on news and blog style content.
However, since its launch in 2015, it has evolved to support
a much wider range of content, with interactive features such
as carousels, image galleries, interactive menus, and a pro-
gramming model that supports complex eCommerce features.
Initially, AMP was built as a response to the poor perfor-
mance of mobile pages and was designed to have <1sec page
downloads. Its name reflected this focus on mobile, being
and acronym for Accelerated Mobile Pages. As its focus has
widened, the AMP team has dropped the acronym, so that the
project is simply called AMP, and Accelerated Mobile Pages are
no longer used.

11   ampproject.org

109 Mobile Web

 What is AMP exactly?
There are three parts that make up AMP:

1. AMP-HTML: A flavor of HTML5, which both restricts the

tags you can use, as well as adding so new ones
2. AMP-JS: A JavaScript library that functions as the AMP
runtime, which orchestrates the optimized loading and
rendering of AMP pages
3. AMP-CACHE: A special cache for AMP pages that enables
AMP pages to be rendered instantly in some cases

Getting started with AMP is not too difficult since AMP

pages are basically HTML. Every AMP page starts off with some
standard boilerplate code that includes the AMP-JS runtime.
When the AMP runtime parses the AMP-HTML page and comes
across any AMP components, it will inject generated markup
into the DOM to replace the AMP-HTML markup; this is what
gets rendered in the browser.

Canonical AMP Pages

All valid AMP pages must include a canonical link tag that
points to the non-AMP version of the page, if it exists. If there
is no non-AMP equivalent, then the canonical link must point
to itself. This is a canonical AMP page—a standalone AMP
page that serves as both the mobile and the desktop web page.
Since AMP supports responsive design and media queries, it
can scale responsively to support large or small viewports as
needed.

110 Mobile Web

 Combining AMP and PWAs
AMP and PWAs have complementary strengths and different
weaknesses. It is therefore natural to consider combinations of
the two. Several different patterns have been identified that
combine the speed of AMP with the richness of PWAs:

AMP as PWA
In this pattern, the AMP page is the PWA. It uses the AMP
library, so that a valid AMP page can be served from the
AMP Cache, resulting in lightning-fast pages. When links are
followed however, the user is brought to the original server,
where a service worker can now be used.

AMP bootstraps PWA

In this model, the AMP page uses a special component,
<amp-install-serviceworker>, to install a service worker
in the background on the user's device. The service worker can
then bootstrap the PWA by downloading and caching initial
parts of the PWA, so that when the user follows a link to the
full PWA, it is already downloaded and ready to display.

AMP data embedded in PWA

In this pattern, AMP pages are used as the content backend,
within a PWA shell.

111 Mobile Web

 The Physical Web
The Physical Web12, is an open source project that aims to
enable quick and seamless interactions with physical objects
and locations, via Bluetooth beacons.
Apple has its own, proprietary Bluetooth beacon technology
called iBeacon. iBeacon differs from the Physical Web in that
iBeacons trigger apps, while Physical Web beacons trigger web
URLs. The biggest advantage of the Physical Web over iBeacons
is that no app is needed, while an app must be installed prior
to interacting with an iBeacon. This significantly lowers the
barrier to use of the Physical Web, and increases its reach,
without any prior setup, to billions of Bluetooth enabled
devices.
Getting started with the Physical Web is remarkably easy.
Just get a beacon, set it up to point to a URL, that's it! Users
with compatible Bluetooth enabled devices will then receive
notifications where they are nearby. This is a simple idea the
enables a wide variety of applications, like smart vending
machines and targetted marketing in physical spaces.
Google also has a more complex beacon platform13 with
remote cloud management of beacons, which can offer scal-
ability and other benefits for large beacon deployments.

12   google.github.io/physical-web
13   mobiforge.com/design-development/googles-beacon-platform-and-the-
physical-web

112 Mobile Web

 Web Performance and Why it Matters
Most developers intuitively know that web performance is
important; nobody likes to wait for a page to load. But there is
plenty of empirical data to prove that performance is crucial,
especially on mobile:

— Walmart experiments found that for each 1 second faster

page load time there was a 2% increase in conversions14
— Amazon research found that a 100ms latency increase
resulted in 1% fewer sales15
— A Google study reported that 53% of visitors will leave be-
fore a page has loaded if it takes longer than 3 seconds16

Depending on which report you read, if your site is slow,

you will lose over half your visitors; they just will not wait for
it to load, and you will not have a chance to show them what
you have to offer. You have a tough audience to please, and
the only way to succeed is to deliver a good user experience;
and to do this, you will need to deliver a fast site.
To illustrate this, here are some statistics on page slow-
downs on bounce rates:

14   webperformancetoday.com/2014/04/09/web-page-speed-affect-conversions-
infographic
15   blog.gigaspaces.com/amazon-found-every-100ms-of-latency-cost-them-1-in-
sales
16   doubleclickbygoogle.com/articles/mobile-speed-matters

113 Mobile Web

 Impact of page slowdowns on bounce rates
(by device type)

Source: blogs.akamai.com/2017/04/new-findings-the-state-
of-online-retail-performance-spring-2017.html

Performance Goals
The idea of a performance budget has been around for a few
years; during planning, a "budget" is set on different aspects
of how a page should perform, and you try to stick to this
budget during development. The specific dimensions of a
performance budget might include restrictions on page weight,
number of HTTP requests, page load time, time to initial
interactivity and so on. If you cannot meet the budget, then
you need to consider the assets or features that are blowing
the budget. Do you really need that fancy image carousel of
JavaScript library for instance?

114 Mobile Web

 RAIL
Google defines an approach and set of goals for web perfor-
mance called RAIL17: Response, Animation, Idle, Load. The
goals it aims for are:

— Response: 100ms—give immediate feedback to user input

— Animation: 10ms—when scrolling or animating produce
frames in under 10ms to achieve 60fps
— Idle: 50ms—non-critical operations should not take longer
than 50ms so that application feels fast
— Load: 1s—deliver interactive content in under 1000ms to
keep users engaged

It is not always possible to achieve all these goals together,

especially on low-end devices, so it is sometimes necessary to
prioritize these goals, focusing on Load and Response first for
example.

17   developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/rail

115
 Analytics
Analytics is vital to understanding your visitors and traffic. It
can be particularly useful on mobile to help you understand
what devices your users are using. For many, however, analytics
starts and stops with installing a Google Analytics script. But
Google Analytics is not the only show in town.
Analytics tools can collect their data on the client or on
the server. It is worth noting that relying solely on JavaScript
based analytics can be problematic, especially on mobile. If a
device fails to run the analytics script—for example, if it is an
older device—then you will have no visibility of this device
at all, and it can lead you to focus on the wrong devices.
Additionally, many ad blockers also block client-side analytics
such as Google Analytics. If you are more serious about your
analytics, a more accurate picture of your data can be gained
by employing a combination of both client and server-side
analytics.
Popular tools include Google Analytics18, KISSMetrics19, and
Matomo20. Some tools, such as wao.io21 provide both server
and client side analytics.

18   analytics.google.com
19   kissmetrics.com
20   matomo.org
21   wao.io

116 Mobile Web

 A/B Testing
A/B Testing is a very useful technique that can be used in
web development to evaluate the performance of alternative
interface design, messaging and layout variants so that you
can make informed decisions about the UX you deliver. Most of
the main analytics tools support A/B testing, including Google
Optimize, Google Analytics (Experiments), and Matomo.

Real User Monitoring (RUM)

RUM involves continuous monitoring of user interaction with
a web application in real-time. This allows the website owner
to quickly pinpoint, prioritize and remedy issues with avail-
ability, functionality, responsiveness, and so on. This, in turn,
gives valuable insights into user behavior and satisfaction and
enables you to fine-tune and improve the overall user experi-
ence. RUM can take place client-side or server-side and plug-in
tools such as Sevenval's wao.io can correlate front-end and
back-end metrics without having to make any code changes to
the application.

117
 Monetization
Ads
Ads have traditionally been one of the most common ways to
monetize a website, and no less so on the mobile web. There
are plenty of ad networks to choose from.

Ad blockers
If you choose an ad-based monetization model, note that
there has been a growing backlash against ads—particularly
on mobile—since Apple added support for ad-blockers into
Mobile Safari in 2015. Ads have a bad reputation for adding
unnecessary page bloat and degrading web performance.
Mobile and desktop browsers are increasingly shipping with
built-in ad blockers and enhanced privacy protection. Even
Google, a company whose main revenue stream is based
on ads, has included an ad-blocker in its Chrome browser.
Therefore, if you are relying on ad revenue, be sure to know
the risks and potential downsides.

When choosing an ad network, pick a reliable one that will

not harm the performance of your site. A relative newcomer to
the field is AMP for Ads (A4A)22 . These are ads that are based
on AMP technology, but will work fine for desktop too. A4A has
strict rules about what is permitted and performance-degrading
ads will be removed from a page, so you can be confident that
ads do not cause UX or performance issues.

22   See ampproject.org/learn/who-uses-amp/amp-ads and github.com/

ampproject/amphtml/blob/master/extensions/amp-a4a/amp-a4a-format.md

118 Mobile Web

 Ecommerce
There are many ways to build a web eCommerce solution, rang-
ing from off-the-shelf solutions to custom developments. Many
new and traditional payment service providers, such as PayPal
and Stripe, have good mobile support and are relatively simple
to implement. Additionally, a new breed of NFC-enabled mobile
wallets, such as Android Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay, can
increasingly be used on the web.

Payment Request API

One final technology to watch is the Payment Request API.
This is a recent HTML5 specification that aims to provide
frictionless payments on the web, in two ways

1. Removing the need for cumbersome input of payment

details
2. Removing the requirement to share your credit card details
with third-party sites of unknown trustworthiness

Several browsers already support the Payment Request API,

including Chrome for Android, Edge, and Samsung Internet, and
it is available in developer (nightly) builds of Firefox.
Please see the Monetization chapter for more detail on the
types of monetization models that can be used.

119 Mobile Web

 General UX and Performance Guidelines
We do not have the space here to go into much practical detail
here23, but a general set of guidelines for mobile web develop-
ment includes the following.

UX

— Optimize for mobile

— Do not require pinch-to-zoom
— Make product images expandable
— Ensure tap targets and links large enough for "fat" fingers
— Keep calls to action front and center
— Keep menus short
— Intuitive navigation with a prominent link to the homep-
age
— Avoid interrupting pop-ups and large interstitials
— Include a site search, with filters to narrow results where
possible
— Include click-to-call where possible
— Only ask for special browser permission when needed,
not up-front. E.g. Ask for permission to send push
notifications when a user has already indicated a desire to
subscribe, or say for updates on an order, and geolocation
only when needed for mapping or address.
— Let users browse as guests
— Let users purchase as guests
— Autofill form inputs where possible

23   Check this site for some graphical examples: developers.google.com/web/

fundamentals/getting-started/principles

120 Mobile Web

 Performance

— Keep page weight small, avoid unnecessary media such as

images and videos
— Compress all images
— Avoid redirects
— Keep the number of external resources low, to reduce HTTP
requests
— Implement caching
— Lazy load images and content as needed
— Minify text resources
— Avoid JavaScript and CSS frameworks unless necessary
— Avoid unnecessary embeds and includes
— Use ads responsibly, and only use lightweight ads
— Define a performance budget, and try to stick to it

Testing for the Mobile Web

Testing on the web is crucial. And on the mobile web, while
simulators, and even desktop browsers are useful, the most
reliable testing is that performed on real devices. Earlier we
talked about device fragmentation. This, combined with the
variety of browsers available on each platform makes for a
headache when it comes to testing your web pages. It is next
to impossible to exhaustively test on all browsers and devices.
None but the biggest and best funded projects will be able to
even come close. So, when it comes to testing the mobile web
you need to prioritize.
If your budget can afford it, it is recommended to acquire
several devices on each of the main mobile platforms, Android,
iOS, and Windows. Devices should be a mix of high and low-

121 Mobile Web

 end, and with the ability to switch between mobile networks if
possible.
Broadly speaking, testing effort is divided between
functional and UI testing on the one hand, and performance
testing on the other. Functional and UI testing is concerned
with testing business logic, user interface, UI components and
usability. Sometimes issues will only show up on some devices
on some platforms, and this makes testing on mobile difficult.
Performance testing is more concerned with how well the
site works: is it fast, does it feel fast, does it work under poor
network conditions?
Manual testing will likely be the first step in any web
testing. While there are great efficiency gains to be achieved
through automated testing, automated testing is not always
practical, perhaps due to the small size of a project, or time or
budget limitations.
Thankfully, there are plenty of tools to help with all aspects
of mobile web testing.

Browser Developer Tools

Even for mobile web first pass testing is often carried out on
a desktop browser with its built-in developer tools. Just some
of the features of a browser's developer tools include DOM
inspection, network inspection, performance profiling

— DOM inspection: allows examination of the HTML ele-

ments that make up a page
— Network throttling: for simulating slow and poor network
conditions, such as Edge, 2G, 3G and so on
— CPU throttling: to simulate high-end or low-end smart-
phones
— Waterfall chart and timelines: provide visualizations of
how a page loads and renders over time

122 Mobile Web

 — JavaScript debugging: allows the developer to examine,
add breakpoints, view events, and step through JavaScript
code
— CPU and Memory profiling: records how the CPU perfor-
mance and RAM footprint over time

Other features particularly useful for mobile web develop-

ment and testing are

— Responsive design mode: simulates viewports at a variety

of configurable sizes, so that you can see how the UI
behaves under differently sized viewports
— Screen mirroring: a connected device's browser is mirrored
to the developer tools and can be interacted with via the
desktop browser

Remote Debugging
All of the major mobile platforms support remote debugging
of mobile devices. Remote debugging allows you to attach a
mobile device to a desktop machine and apply the developer
tools of that machine's browser to test and profile the web
pages on the mobile device.
Remote debugging is an extremely useful tool, since it
allows you to test on real devices, and on real networks. Of
course, you still need devices to test with, and that can get
expensive. At the very least, you should be looking at having a
low-end and high-end device on each of the main mobile OSes:
Android, iOS, and Windows. Even then, there will be major gaps
in your testing coverage; this is where device labs can help.

123 Mobile Web

 Performance and UX Testing Tools

Selenium WebDriver
Selenium WebDriver24 is the leader in automated web testing.
Automated testing is very useful for quickly finding issues
with user interfaces, and can be used for regression testing to
quickly find breaking interface changes.
Selenium additionally supports mobile testing25on Android
and iOS, and both simulator and real device testing are
supported.

Webpage Test
WebPagetest26 is an open source and free-to-use performance
testing tool which offers remote testing on real desktop and
mobile browsers at different locations around the world. It
provides waterfall performance charts, as well as measurement
of key performance metrics such as time to first byte, speed
index, and a number of DOM elements.

mobiReady
MobiReady27 is a free tool for developers, designers, and
marketers that tests web pages and sites for mobile-readiness
based on mobile web best practices and standards. It returns
a detailed analysis for a page, and offers recommendations on
how to address any detected issues. It also includes:

24   seleniumhq.org/projects/webdriver
25   github.com/SeleniumHQ/selenium/wiki/WebDriver-For-Mobile-Browsers
26   webpagetest.org
27   mobiready.com

124 Mobile Web

 — device visualizations on low, mid, and high-end devices,
showing how the page will look on a variety of screen
sizes
— breakdown of page weight for each device class
— a benchmark report of how your page scores against the
Alexa top 1000 sites

MobiReady also exposes an API that can be used for

automated testing of entire sites.

Lighthouse
Lighthouse28 audits a web app for PWA features, including:

— can it load offline or under poor network conditions?

— is it fast?
— is it served from a secure URL?
— does it implement accessibility best practices?

Lighthouse is available as an online service, a Chrome

extension, a command line tool, and is integrated with Chrome
developer tools. The command line version is useful for
automated testing.

PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights29 is a tool from Google that measures page
performance for mobile and desktop visitors. It checks for com-
mon performance best practices, and ranks pages out of 100.
When issues are detected, it offers advice on how to fix them.

28   developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse/
29   developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights

125 Mobile Web

 Device Labs
The idea of a Device Lab has been around for many years. A
device lab is simply a collection of devices that can be used for
development and testing. Device labs fall into two categories:
physical and remote.
Remote labs offer the most convenience: you install a client
on your computer and it allows you to access the real device
remotely over the web. On the other hand, with a physical
lab, you can hook a device directly up to your laptop and use
the browser's remote debugging tools. This can be helpful for
solving issues that affect specific devices.

AWS Device Farm

Amazon's AWS Device Farm30 is an advanced device testing lab
that features automated testing against a large collection of
real devices in the AWS cloud, as well as direct remote access
that allows you to interact with swipes and gestures in real-
time from your web browser. AWS Device Farm contains a wide
variety of new and old iOS and Android devices.
AWS Device Farm supports pay-as-you-go and flat-rate
charging. On the PAYG model, the first 1000 minutes are free,
so it can be a good way to try the service before committing
to it.

BrowserStack
BrowserStack31 offers remote testing on a variety of desktop
and mobile browsers, and different operating systems. The
mobile devices have been chosen for "maximum market cover-

30   aws.amazon.com/device-farm
31   browserstack.com

126 Mobile Web

 age" and includes a vast array of real iOS and Android devices.
Supports automated testing via Selenium cloud testing.
Browserstack is free for open source projects, and offers a free
trial for commercial projects.

Samsung's Remote Test Lab

Samsung's Remote Test lab32 offers free remote testing on
Samsung devices. You reserve and connect to real devices
through your web browser. The device list includes old and new
phones, tablets, and watches—not surprisingly all Samsung
devices—and spread across its Galaxy, Z (Tizen), and Gear
brands.

SIGOS App Experience

SIGOS App Experience33, formerly known as Keynote Mobile
Testing, formerly known as DeviceAnywhere (it is hard to keep
up!) was one of the first Virtual Device Labs. Despite its latest
name, SIGOS App Experience can be used to test on the web
as well, on its more than 2000 devices. SIGOS supports both
manual and automated testing. The service is accessed via a
desktop browser. Offers a 7 day free trial.

Perfecto Mobile
Perfecto Mobile34 offers paid-for remote testing on real
devices. Supports manual and automated testing on multiple
devices. A free trial is also available.

32   developer.samsung.com/rtlLanding.do
33   appexperience.sigos.com
34   perfectomobile.com

127 Mobile Web

 Open Device Lab
The Open Device Lab35 is a community approach to device
labs. Participating organizations offer a physical space where
developers can go and use for free. There are currently 154
Open Device Labs across 35 countries offering free access to
4255 devices.

Resources

— Resource site for mobile web design and development:

mobiforge.com
— Browser feature support and compatibility: caniuse.com
— Responsive website design with RESS: smashingmagazine.
com/2013/10/responsive-website-design-with-ress
— Your first Progressive Web App: developers.google.com/
web/fundamentals/getting-started/codelabs/your-first-
pwapp
— Offline Web Applications: udacity.com/course/offline-web-
applications--ud899
— The AMP project: ampproject.orgs
— Progressive Web AMPs: smashingmagazine.com/2016/12/
progressive-web-amps
— The Physical Web project: google.github.io/physical-web
— A good perspective on software quality and testing using
web browsers: mobiletestingblog.com/2017/05/01/recent-
web-browser-quality-related-innovations
— High Performance Mobile Web - Best Practices for Optimiz-
ing Mobile Web Apps, by Max Firtman (O'Reilly Media,
2016)36

35   opendevicelab.com
36   available via shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920035060.do

128 Mobile Web

Oscar Clark

Mobile Gaming
BY

The Mobile Gaming Economy

Mobile remains one of the most exciting platform for game de-
velopers today, at least when it comes to revenues: Since 2014
it is the largest sector of the video games market estimated to
represent 45% of total global revenues in 20191.
At the same time, games are the dominating category in
the app stores when it comes to revenue: Games accounted for
75% of mobile app revenue in Q2 20192 .
In terms of content and brands, the rise of games like
Fortnight and PUBG as well as classic PC games like Old School
Runescape and Roblox have started to challenge games like
Clash of Clans and Pokemon Go! At the same time titles like
Homescapes and Matchington Manor have started to challenge
King's dominance of the casual market. There has also been
a rise in the number of second (and third) generation teams
coming into the market with great success such as Futureplay
and Next Games. Despite this, the challenges of becoming
successful in mobile games continue to increase as user
acquisition becomes more costly.
Making games work on multiple platforms has become easier
to do. Looking at the top 1000 free mobile games in 2017 we
found 41% were made by natively or using in-house tools;
34% used Unity; 18% used Cocos2D; 2.6% used Corona, 2.2%
used Unreal; 1.2% used Marmalade and 0.7% use other tools
such as GameMaker, V-Play, etc. Each engine offers different

1   newzoo.com/key-numbers newzoo.com/key-numbers
2   appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/q2-2019-mobile-games-market-index

130 Mobile Gaming

 advantages and perspectives to enable developers of different
skill types to quickly realize their ideas and prepare them for
release.
The time when a random indie-developer can strike it rich
with crazy numbers of users is essentially over. Instead, the
mobile games market has become a sophisticated space with
many different facets and challenges and most games will
still fail. Before you start creating your game you need to
pay attention to understanding the nature of the market and
audience. An essential part of this is that it has become an
enormously competitive market, with vast numbers of small
teams producing huge volumes of content and spending mil-
lions on development and advertising to retain their positions.

Making The Right Game

Creating delightful experiences for your target audience re-
quires just as much creativity as ever, perhaps more. Different
developers have different approaches. For some it starts with
an emotion (how do you want the player to feel); for others it
is about taking a game they love and realizing it in their own
unique style; there are also those who start with a mechanic
or an art style and the gameplay evolves from there. Making
games based on existing titles sounds easy, but in practice
rarely succeeds unless you bring something special that has
not been done before. Search for sideways scrolling platform
games using pixel art and you will find out just how saturated
that market is. Doing something brand new comes with its own
risk too as players need something of the familiar to help them
understand and relate to your innovations. Scott Rogers in his
book “Level Up” described this as the “Triangle of Weirdness”3.

3   mrbossdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/triangle-of-weirdness.html

131 Mobile Gaming

 He claimed that games consist of a world, activities, and
characters. We can change any of these for new ideas, but we
cannot change all three without risking losing the audience.
For me, the kind of fun we are looking for in games is
something which happens when the player is able to suspend
their disbelief and engage in an experience which is free of
real-world consequence. We become totally absorbed in the
mechanics and narrative of the experience. Curiously, challenge
and frustration are as much the motivations to play as they
are potential causes to leave the experience. If we achieve a
balance between these states of mind we attain a joyful state
that all game designers know about, ‘Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow’4 .
We have to pay attention to what makes a game fun
specifically on a mobile device, is different from what we do
on other platforms. Generally, mobile games tend to be simple
and accessible with enough depth and a sense of purpose and
progression to retain player attention. But it is not that easy.
The phone is our most personal device and that affects the
way we play. There is also already so much substitute; games
have to stand out and emotionally connect in order for players
and app stores to select them. Part of the game design process
is to create enough anticipation to encourage the player to
download (even if free) and communicate the aspiration that
spending money will make the game even better.
The type of game you make matters and for those unfamiliar
with the principles, some are developed from emergent
mechanics, with building blocks which combine to create
surprising or strategic outcomes, like Chess or Clash of Clans.
Then there are those games built using a series of progressive
decision points each resolved with their own steps chained

4   scienceandvalues.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/csikszentmihalyis-flow-
pleasure-and-creativity

132 Mobile Gaming

 together to make a story such as Episodes - Choose Your Story
or the classic Monkey Island. We can even build games which
incorporate player creativity such as Roblox or Minecraft,
or simple abstract puzzles like Merge Dragons or Origame.
Whichever path we take, balance is at the heart of our thinking
as a developer. We have to decide how much the game will be
affected by skill and how much by luck, the extent to which
the game follows a fixed narrative or is player led and of
course the complexity of the internal systems, whether that
is about character development or a resource economy. With
Free-To-Play we also have to consider the impact of money
spent on the game experience.
What ever the kind of game is vital that the developer
focuses on what matters to the player. The most important
questions we should ask is why the player should care. We
need them to not just install, but to make our game their
distraction of choice. Mobile play may at times start out as a
distraction, but in the end, we often spend more time playing
on our phones than our consoles. With some much competi-
tion, we have to ask why would they play your game? We have
to be able to answer that question honestly.

Engaging the Mobile Player

When we develop mobile games we are creating an experience
to entertain players on a specific kind of device. Tablets and
phones fulfill different needs and require an attention to detail
on the specific and different mode of use they fulfill. The
phone is generally about "the next minute", it is something
we get out when we expect something to happen or need
something to occupy ourselves - and increasingly played in
Portrait as players are super reluctant to turn their device on
its side to play in landscape. Those players that still use their
tablet devices will tend to play for a longer period of rest or

133 Mobile Gaming

 relaxation. What does that mean for the game we want to
make?
Part of the appeal of any game is tied into its distinctive
vision, visual style, compelling gameplay narrative and how the
experience is designed to affect the emotions of the players.
This has to be appropriate to the nature of how the game is
consumed and in mobile, we have to understand the restric-
tions inherent to these devices. The limited screen size, touch
screen controls, accelerometers, battery life, the ability to be
interrupted, the ease players have to get out and put away the
device, the limited speaker quality, the high-quality headphone
output, etc all affect the way players interact with the device.
Mobile phones are (mostly) connected to the internet and are
the most pervasive of devices as we always carry them.
To show you what I mean, think about the way we imple-
ment controls. Touch screens allow a huge range of movement
on a 2D plane, but after a short while our skin will get hot and
lose capacitance which means the controls will become less re-
liable. If we simply try to duplicate a twin stick control system
(like too many games have) we will soon find problems with
the playing experience. That being said with the rise of first
person shooters now on mobile, it seems that many players are
finding their own way through the limitations. However, there
are still plenty of opportunities to design game mechanics with
controls specifically to make the touch process feel good or
which recognize the limits of the methods available to us and
make that part of the experience.
Simplicity remains an important factor for any design and
is supremely difficult to achieve because even here we have to
balance accessibility with the ability to keep people playing
over time. This thinking has spawned its own sub-genre over
the last couple of years as HyperCasual games have thrived re-
ducing gameplay to a single continuously repayable mechanic.

134 Mobile Gaming

 It is useful to think about the game mechanic as separate
from the context - the part of the game which gives the player
a reason to repeat the mechanic. Mechanics are the bare bones
of any game. The core loops of actions with starting condi-
tions, challenge, resolutions, and reward. These are the actual
things players do in the game. The context is the reason to do
that again. This can be a narrative, level structure or even sim-
ply a way of gating access to content by player performance.
But it has to deliver a sense of purpose and progression. More
than that the context needs to call for the player's attention
after their session has ended, sitting in the back of our mind
as 'unfinished business' enticing us to return later for another
session.
Games like CSR and Candy Crush introduced this method
of game design to the mobile market. Finding ways to chain
together a series of grinding mechanics to sustain playability
over thousands of sessions whilst always giving a sense
that the goals are achievable is magical. It builds long term
engagement and keeps players involved with your game ever
longer, provided the experience is sufficiently meaningful.
Keeping players playing longer has a direct impact on their
willingness to spend money in the game. In a 2014 survey by
Unity5, the reported spend by paying players who spend less
than an hour in game averages at $0.66, but for those who
spend over 10 hours, this rises to $15.15.

5   gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-10-14-mobile-spending-driven-by-35-44-
year-olds

135 Mobile Gaming

 Hypercasual game introduced a more 'disposable' form of
gameplay offering captivating repeatable experiences within
throwaway games, allows players to restart quickly, watch lots
of ads, and move on the the next title. However, sustainable
revenues for a single title still seems to rely on managing the
player life-cycle.

Designing the Player's Journey

The realization that long term engagement matters has a
profound impact on the way we look at game design. The
idea of a game as a mechanic or story is transformed to the
realization that it is not only our hero character who is going
on a journey but our player as well. This journey consists of
several stages:

1. Discovery
Players have a particular set of needs and aspirations when
they first encounter your game and there is really very little
beyond the icon and the first sentence of your app store listing
to motivate players to download and play the game the first
time. Despite that setting the right expectations is essential. If
the game charges upfront, let the player know why they should
still buy it, and what they will miss out on if they do not. If
the game is free we still have to create expectations, but we
also have to show the player why the advertising is worth the
hassle or if there are in-app purchases, why those players will
feel good about buying them. This is a delicate art.

2. Learning
Once they have taken the choice to install your game we have
to make it as easy as possible to engage. Make the icon and
name of the game instantly recognizable and ideally a tease, a
reason to kick off the app. At this stage we do not want them

136 Mobile Gaming

 to make choices about what characters to play or what levels
they want – they do not know yet. Do not make them sign up
to Facebook or set-up an account before playing – show them
what the game is all about. Then knock their socks off! I often
talk about “The Bond Opening”, comparing this first ever play
of the game to the opening 5 minutes of every Bond movie.
It blows us away and at the same time set up everything we
need to know about the story, super-secret agents and the
world the story takes place in. But it does more than that, it
ensures we never want to leave the seat. It is this dual role of
showing not telling that sets up the expectations for the rest
of the movie which applies to games so well. As this is a game,
we do not want to show or tell, we need to "Do!". Players need
to learn about games by doing and feeling good about their
achievements quickly.

3. Engaging
If we succeed and set up the right expectations to keep
them playing we really start the process of building long
term engagement. At this point the player understands the
challenge and progression and is already returning to continue
to play for subsequent sessions. At this stage they should
also understand the value of investing further time or money
into the game. It is much easier to sell IAP and leverage the
use of Opt-In Ads to players who already get the benefits of
the game. Sustaining this over the longer term however is
challenging. We need longer term 'achievable' goals as well as
events and social engagement if we are to keep players, and
we have to do all this without over-complicating the game.

3.1 Potential To SuperEngage

Players are not all created equally when it comes to their
desire to spend money in your game. Some players become

137 Mobile Gaming

 'Super-fans' who actively desire more and more items to
enhance their playing experience. The game becomes their
'hobby' and something they may be willing to invest beyond
the price of a cup of coffee. This generally happens only after
they fully engaged and where the developer is able to focus
on delivering value for that player. It is important not to
confuse these players with people who are addicted. Addiction
is where individuals have a compulsion which overwhelms
their otherwise rational behavior. In practice the majority of
true fans are rational people who have made your game their
principle hobby. Addictive behavior is always detrimental to
the individual and we should do everything we can to help
anyone with these kinds of issues.

3.2. Re-engagement
Players who have become engaged will still have a lifecycle;
but it may become possible to re-engage them when you add a
new update, new content or even events inside the game.

4. Churning
The final lifestage we have to acknowledge is “Churning”. It is
inevitable that in the end players will stop playing our game.
We want to delay that as long as possible, but to fail to plan
for that is going to cause us more problems.

138
 Analytics and Game Flow
Making a game is a little like designing an experiment;
especially in this data rich, connected era of lean development
and minimum viable products. We make a hypothesis and test
it as simply as possible. We want to know as fast as possible
if we are on to something or not, ideally before spending a lot
of money on unnecessary development. That means we need
analytics to help us understand what is going on at every life
stage.
First, we do not have to capture everything. There are
some kinds of data which are static, reference information.
For example, the specific position in a specific map. As long
as the version of the map used at that time is known then
X,Y,Z coordinates alone can be used to create a heat map later.
We can also infer a lot of data from other events as long as
there is some connecting information. For example, we do
not need to capture the level that the player is using for that
game in every event or even a list of all the players in that
session. We can capture that information with a specific ‘Start
Session’ events and use the associated session ID to allow us
to identify everything that happened in that specific game
session. Most commercial analytic platforms will automatically
capture common data sets like date/time, X,Y,Z etc into their
event collection process.
We also have to understand that the data we collect will
always be incomplete. For example if the battery dies or the
player switches to a phone call – we will probably not get the
last upload.
We have a duty to treat player data very carefully, we need
to make sure that players remain anonymous. We do not want
or need to spy on our players but we do need to understand
how the game plays across all players without falling foul of

139 Mobile Gaming

 data protection (especially related to children). In case of any
doubt make sure you get qualified legal advice.

What Events Should We Capture?

When considering which events to track, think of them in
terms of the timeline in which the player might encounter
them. There will of course be a first-time player experience,
but it can also be useful to map out more commonly experi-
ence 'Engaged player' session flow. We are not necessarily
mapping every button press directly. Instead you should look
for moments where there are meaningful choices. There is an
approach used by the food industry called HACCP6.
Some typical events worth tracking might include the
following:

— GameMenuLaunch
AnonPlayerID; TimeIconLaunched

— SessionLaunch
TimeSessionLaunched; AnonPlayerID(s); SessionID;
LevelIDSelected; OptionSelected

— SessionStart
TimeSessionStarted; AnonPlayerID; SessionID;

— ObjectiveSet
TimeObjectiveSet; AnonPlayerID; SessionID; ObjectiveID;

6   develop-online.net/opinions/navigating-the-hazards-of-game-data/0187815:
In essence the point is that we are looking for the ‘Hazards’ in the flow of
the player experience such as whether they churn (i.e. leave the game) but
also trigger points for more positive action such as paying for an IAP or
watching a video ad.

140 Mobile Gaming

 — ObjectiveMet
TimeObjectiveMet; AnonPlayerID; SessionID; ObjectiveID;
Score; Reward; XYZLocation

— TargetHit
TimeTargetHit; AttackerID(AnonPlayerID?); SessionID;
TargetID(AnonPlayerID?); Damage, XYZLocation

— PlayerDeath
TimePlayerDeath; AnonPlayerID; SessionID; XYZLocation

— LevelComplete
AnonPlayerID; SessionID; ObjectiveID; Score; Reward;
XYZLocation

From creating events in this way we can infer a huge

amount of information. For example, if we want to know the
percentage of players who complete a level we can count
the number of ‘GameMenuLaunch’ events with the number
of ‘LevelComplete’. But we can also get smarter with our
analysis. We can look at how many people completed a specific
ObjectiveID in a specific ‘LevelIDSelected’ and compare that to
the number of ‘LevelComplete’ in the subsequent level to find
out if skipping objectives in earlier levels have a particular
impact on performance later.
Once we have the data we need to be able to use it and
continually review its accuracy and usefulness. Commercial
platforms will often come with comprehensive reporting tools
from basic dashboards with KPIs like D2/D7 Retention, DAU
(Daily Active Users), ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) and
even ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User). There
are two essential tools every developer should look to use.
First there are 'Funnels': we set up events in order of how

141 Mobile Gaming

 a player passes through the game we can see where in the
pipeline you have the most problems. The second are heat
maps which put that data into your level in a way which lets
you understand exactly whats going on inside the gameplay
session.

Free vs. Paid (and Subscription)

The arguments between free and paid games have become
almost tribal amongst game developers asking whether
business models have tarnished the nature of game design,
even asking questions about the morality of these money
focused designs.
Looking in economics terms, it is clear what happens when
supply goes up, prices fall. With an effectively infinite supply,
the price falls to zero. This is exactly what has happened and
why Free2Play is so dominant. But wait, what about the 7% of
revenue for iOS on premium games? Successful premium games
are the ones which have been able to attract an audience by
offering something they perceive to be of greater value than
the rest of the games available. Games like Monument Valley or
The Room have shown that this is still possible, and they are
noticed because of their premium pricing. This has not been
at the scale of the revenues of the top performing Free2Play
games, despite considerable profiling by app stores.
The easiest way to understand Free2Play is to realize that
these games have simply taken the retail side inside the game.
That means that the people who know the game and its players
best (i.e. the developers) can identify items that players will
love that compliment and enhance the experience and sell
them directly. The movement towards free has not proved an
easy path for many game providers and attempts to 'clone'
the business models of games like Clash of Clans or Candy
Crush have rarely seen even a comparable level of success.

142 Mobile Gaming

 This is despite the formula appearing on the surface to be so
simple and can quickly become 'not much fun' causing a lot of
players to churn. If your player feels that the game is merely
an exercise in getting me to open my wallet, just how engaged
will I be as a player?
Advertising is playing an every increasing role in games
and it is fascinating that unlike other media, ads in games
do not seem to cannibalize the audience. Similar to the way
we are changing how we look at in-app purchases, we are
seeing a movement looking to find way for ads to add value to
the overall playing experience, rather than just blocking the
players progress. The use of banner ads in a game, which can
be clicked accidentally and take up valuable screen space, is
largely being replaced by interstitials or opt-in video. We are
also starting to see the introduction of brand based ads which,
perhaps surprisingly, seem to add a level of credibility to the
whole experience; apparently seeing an ad from Coke or Audi
makes players gene more engaged.
With the arrival of streaming and subscription services a
range of new opportunities for developers of certain types
of games. At the time of writing Apple Arcade is focused
on exclusive 'paid' style games being added to a library for
subscribers to enjoy as an all-you-can eat model - very much
the same model as a Netflix. This is likely to be an extremely
interesting business model for many developers who are quick
to the release or who are focused on very high quality single-
play through experience titles but it will not suit everyone.
Similarly Stadia and a number of retro-game streaming sites
are being announced using a similar model; but there are
different requirements in terms of maintaining value for the
player over time. The risk of this model for a developer is
similar to that of music artists on Spotify; the more games
supported the more the revenue is shared out and the more it

143 Mobile Gaming

 gets focused on who is currently promoted. "All-You-Can-Eat"
subscription models as much friction as "Paid upfront" games
even if you have a free trial period; and although they can
deliver on-going revenue they lock the games growth to the
audience - you cannot offer them more things that increase
revenue per user only retention. "Battlepass" style methods as
seen in Fortnite have shown more player friendly approaches
where a clear value offer is made and players can see what
they are missing out on. But importantly you can still up-sell
new things to those players especially through events and
updates. Battle-pass is often opt-in rather than opt-out at the
moment but will increasingly include subscription options. Over
the next few years we will see smarter use of subscription mod-
els to increase engagement and to complement other forms of
revenue including Ads and IAP on top of the subscription - but
only where players get extraordinary value. And not all games
will benefit from the model.

Seven Rules of Monetisation Design for Games

Rule 1: Utility
Everything starts with utility, an economics term in this case
used to express the 'expectation of value' for the player. In
Free2Play players are usually not buying the 'gems' or what
ever currency you might be using because they are so shiny.
Buyers are driven by the expectation of what gameplay these
items will unlock. The same principle applies even if you are
charging for access to the game. It is not the physical delivery
or the download size that players value but the anticipation of
the game.

144 Mobile Gaming

 While in premium games we earn money before the users
are actually experiencing it (apart from potential additional
DownLoadable Content (DLC)), for free2play games the
lifecycle of the player after the initial download plays a critical
part in monetization. With this in mind it is often helpful to
break your game into three sections:

— Mechanic: The core element of play - usually a loop usu-

ally with some kind of challenge; resolution and reward
— Context: A mechanic used to drive a sense of purpose and
progression including narrative, unlock tree, boss modes,
etc.
— Metagame: The elements that are not about the pixels
including collaboration, clan systems, mode of use of the
devices, etc.

Each of these stages may include an opportunity for the use

of an in-game advert or in-app-purchase (IAP).
The levers we use to add value will usually be different in
these different stages of the experience. Consumables which
work as a part of the mechanic, might be inappropriate for
the context or metagame. Splitting the experience down into
sections allows us to understand where the value really is and
keeps the focus on the benefits for the players. We can also
use this mindset to rethink how we use ads especially opt-in
video ads. They can now become a method to extend players
behavior, e.g. watch an ad to get a free power-up you have
not tried before. Once the player tries it hopefully they will be
more inclined to spend a little money on a bundle of 10. Each
purchase decision has a different impact depending on where
in the game it occurs as well as the players lifecycle. The use
of analytics and even machine learning can transform our
success as long as we set-up meaningful tests.

145 Mobile Gaming

 To be more specific about what monetization elements
we want to use in our game design it is worth looking at it
through the lens of our game design toolkit.

Start by looking at the types of goods in games:

— Sustenance: What are the elements we require to continue

playing?
— Shortcuts: What factors increase our chance of success or
reduce the impact of failure?
— Socialisation: How can players express themselves and
their progress in the game?
— Strategy: Can we introduce new playing options (without
breaking the game)?

Those goods come in different forms as well:

— Consumable: A one-time use item.

— Capacity: Something which limits growth/play
— Permanent: A permanent upgrade or unlock item
— Generators: An increase in the supply of a consumable

When we combine the type and form this creates a powerful

way to assess your game's monetization model.

GOOD/TYPE Consumable Capacity Generator Aspiration

Sustenance Fuel Fuel Tank Gas Station Better Car
Shortcut Strength More Alchemist Improved
Potion Strength Recipe
Social Heart Gift Supporters Wanderers New Outfit
Strategy Door Key New Tool Booster Pack Red Katana

146 Mobile Gaming

 Let me illustrate this with a concrete example: We have a
driving game where we use fuel as an energy mechanic; but
we may decide that you cannot buy fuel (we do not want it to
feel like a tax) but we do allow players to watch an opt-in ad
to refuel once per 24 minutes. Players can also upgrade the
size of their fuel tank which means they get more plays before
running out. Then we can have a gas station which means they
can replace their fuel faster than before. Finally we have the
better car which we desire because it adds advantages; but
it also has consequences e.g. using more fuel making this a
playful choice - not just an upgrade.

Rule 2: Anticipation
An essential element of monetization design is how we com-
municate the Utility we are creating to the player. There are
generally four forces preventing a player making a purchase:
Uncertainty of outcome, Social issues, Opportunity costs and
External needs.
A hard lesson from this is that we cannot make people pay;
and although it might be possible to manipulate people in
the short term that is not sustainable, counterproductive and
damages trust for everyone. Instead, we need to create the
conditions where people can give themselves permission to
play. This means we need to create the following four factors:
Expectation of delight, Social capital, Call to action and
Abnegation of other priorities.

Rule 3: Scarcity
Just like in the real-life economy, scarcity is also a vital aspect
of the economy of your game. However, when creating scarcity,
do not forget about rule1: Utility. Any use of scarcity has to
be authentic and focus on the enjoyment of the game. Adding
opt-in video ads or IAP must be an extension of our overall

147 Mobile Gaming

 design and we must consider how spending affects the balance
of the game to avoid creating a 'Pay To Win' model (better
described as a broken game).
Vital to scarcity is to look at the opportunities in play and
through pay to earn those scarce resources and currency and
to make sure that you have designed appropriate 'resource
sinks' which ensure are not directly about 'winning'. We need
soft variables of success to deliver the maximum Utility to the
player.
Look at the game Rock-Paper-Scissors. Imagine we have
two upgrades 'lizard' and 'spock'. Because these new shapes
can both win and lose against the others the actual chance of
random success is unchanged. There is no technical advantage.
However, there is a psychological advantage as well as increas-
ing complexity limiting peoples ability to second guess their
opponent.

148
 Rule 4: Timing
Players needs are not static. This is especially important in
free2play games but also affects players willingness to make
DLC purchases in premium games. As developers we have
to think about the player lifecycle and how that impacts
players willingness and interest in making purchases. It is
also important that the game feels alive through community
engagement, events and regular predictable updates.

INTEREST
ANTICIPATION NEEDED
TO PURCHASE

TRUE
ENGAGEMENT

MAXIMIZING
UTILITY

BUYER
REMORSE

TIME
initial interest

— DISCOVERY: Will the player install and play

— LEARNING: Will the player learn the game and make it
part of his/her routine
— ENGAGING: The player is committed to the game and
potentially willing to spend
— POTENTIAL SUPER-ENGAGE: Is this a player willing to
invest more in this game than average
— REENGAGEMENT: Player is at risk of churning; can we
bring him/her back
— CHURN: Player has moved on

149 Mobile Gaming

 If we understand the status of the player we can be in a
better position to understand what they value and how we can
make offers which extend their lifecycle and their life-time
value.

Rule 5: Repetition
Repetitive actions can become intrinsically rewarding and
this can also help build positive habits as well as building
trust with your players that they can obtain the Utility they
anticipate from your game. Highly repeatable game mechanics
are essential to monetization success, especially on mobile
where we can play repeatedly throughout the day.
This is reflected in the rapid increase in the willingness
of player to spend more the longer they have engaged with a
game.
In 2014 Unity Ads did a survey with 3000 online partici-
pants which showed a clear correlation between longer play
time and increase revenue. This was not just linear either.

HOURS PLAYED AVERAGE SPEND

10+h $15.15
5-10h $4.90
1-4h $2.55
<1h $0.66
ALL $4.58

However, it is also important to avoid player fatigue. This

means giving players natural breaks where they can switch
between 'Frustration' to 'Relief'; from 'Intensity' to 'Relaxation'
and feel that they can break away from the game with a
reason to return later. Otherwise they may burn out. This can
play an important part in the placement and use of different
150 Mobile Gaming
 ad formats. Blocking ads like full screen interstitials can be
frustrating so work best on screens where the player can rest.
On the other hand opt-in ads are less frustrating and by their
nature offer the player 'Utility' in return for engaging but this
creates another design problem. We have to think about what
benefit makes the most sense for the player to watch that
ad - it is almost an extension of the thinking we need to do
for IAP.
The way we pay (or exchange time) for gameplay can have
different impacts on player fatigue and there is a spectrum
from the least impact i.e. In-Game-World Brand Ads (paid by
views), the least impactful, to Rewarded Video, In-Game Cur-
rency, Interstitials, Paid IAPs and finally, the initial purchase
of a Subscription.
One of the keys to sustaining interest over long periods of
play lies in the use of predictable uncertainty. Take 22 Cans
game, The Trail. In this game, items we may need for crafting
appear along the trail at apparently random intervals, we can
only carry so much in our bag and each time we take the walk
we have to decide if we will pick up those items we find. If we
do we risk not having enough space for a specific item we may
need to progress. It is predictable we will get those items; but
uncertain when so the player is entertained by the time they
spend looking whether they appear or not. The act of looking
does not become boring even though it is repetitive because it
retains a sense of unfulfilled anticipation.
Hypercasual games appear to break the rules on frustration,
however, this is because there already is a low threshold of
engagement; showing ads arguably becomes a relief point from
the intense repeating gameplay.

151 Mobile Gaming

 Rule 6: Evidence
We have talked about the importance of data. Here is a set of
practical steps for implementing analytics.

1. Define the objective Ask why you want this data and set
clear objectives on what you expect the data to tell you
2. Identify what you can measure Identify what data points
will help us answer the questions laid out in our objectives
3. Identify player decision points Identify the trigger
actions in the game which indicate player decisions
4. Define common events What do not we have to specifi-
cally collect and which data point allow us to compare
events across the game e.g. AnonPlayerID; SessionID/etc
5. Identify reference data I.e. What do not we have to
specifically collect because these data points do not
change during a player session (i.e. we need not repeat-
edly capture them)
6. Select your analytics platform Do you make you own or
use an external provider such as Unity Analytics
7. Segment your data Create custom cohorts so you can
compare different parts of your audience or different
builds of your game, etc.
8. Create funnels, heat maps, define KPIs as required to
track your games performance
9. Continue to iterate and test your reporting process as
well as your game

Rule 7: Scale
The most troublesome rule; and perhaps the one rule to rule
them all. Scale matters. We need an enormous volume of play-
ers watching a significant number of ads per day in order to
generate measurable revenues just on ads. Typically 30%-50%

152 Mobile Gaming

 of players choosing to watch an opt-in ad. IAP are much rarer,
but their value is more tangible. Typical games see 2-3% of
players spending on IAP of the whole base which downloaded
the game. However, this statistic really misses the point. The
percentage of people who spend the most money will be those
who remain playing your game longest. At 30 days we expect
to see less than 10% of the original downloads. If the average
spend on any item in the games is as little as $1 this also
depends on scale.
Scale is not just about the number of players. Puzzles and
Dragons and Clash Royale do not have the same size of audi-
ence as Candy Crush but they do see enormous revenues.
The key to scale is getting more players, doing more things,
more often for longer.
This is an industry led by acquisition, retention and moneti-
zation; but we can be smarter if we apply utility, anticipation,
scarcity, timing, repetition, evidence and scale.

Getting Discovered
If you have followed these guidelines then you will have
already put your game design into the best form that suits
your audience and that itself will (hopefully) give you a fight-
ing chance. However, that alone is not enough. We have to use
every possible communication route we can and that usually
requires investment. It is still possible to succeed without
spending money on advertising, but you have to be the winner
of a global lottery ticket. This applies on mobile games as on
any other kind of mobile app as well. Hints how to market your
software can be found in the monetization and in the ASO
chapter. Additionally, here are strategies which you might want
to think about especially for games.

153 Mobile Gaming

 Press
Getting noticed by the press can help, particularly if you
participate in games awards such as Pocket Gamer’s Big Indie
Pitch7 or the Indie Awards at Casual Connect8. If you can get
the attention of YouTubers that may also help. However, the
benefit of these activities is rarely measured in downloads.
Instead they give you more credibility especially with the App
Stores.

Advertising
Spending money on advertising can help, but it is important to
realize that you are competing with a lot of people and some
big players who are seeking large audiences. It is important
to remember what you are trying to achieve when creating
an advert. There are two motivations, building awareness
and direct action (i.e. downloading the game). In games we
are able to put adverts in other games and apps on the same
device we want the players to experience the game. There is
nothing getting in the way between the advert and the app
store. One click and you can buy/download the game. That is
an amazing thing, no other media has that kind of frictionless
experience.
Another peculiarity to be aware of is that the larger
the reach (range of players) you are looking for, the more
expensive each of the installs. This is because buying space
on an advertising network is based on a bidding process and
the results will be calculated on the basis of Cost Per Install,
Cost Per Mille (i.e. per thousand) or a blend of the two
known as eCPM (effective CPM) as well as ad networks like
Chartboost.com or AppFlood.com which offer cross promotion.

7   pocketgamer.biz/events

8   indieprize.org

154 Mobile Gaming

 Video based advertising is growing and allows the player to
instantly understand the nature of the game being shown. This
is often combined, such as with Unity ads9, Vungle.com and
AdColony.com with incentives inside the game – such as free
currency or power-ups. This kind of in-game reward is different
from external off-platform offers that can be restricted on
Apple's platform.

In Game Events
Regular events and outreach to the community allow us to
sustain and to grow our audience. Building on genuine social
experiences, such as the recording of gameplay videos and
sharing of community data (high scores etc) players can help
reach out to their friends and other potential players via
Facebook, Twitter, Everyplay and YouTube.

Influencer Marketing
In recent years Influencer marketing has become increasingly
professionalized and working with YouTube personalities con-
tinues to have a significant impact on the take up of games,
including mobile. Increasingly, even moderately successful in-
fluencers will have agents who not only protect their interests
but also help developers match up to the best people for their
game brand. It remains vital, even in the game design process
to consider how your player will look good to their audience
whilst playing your game. Not ever player is a YouTuber but
thinking about the visual impact of the experience in this way
will make it easier to not only entertain your players but also
to build up awareness for your game brand. Any engagement
with a Youtuber needs to be done carefully as poor behavior

9   unityads.unity3d.com

155 Mobile Gaming

 on their part not only damages their own reputation but can
affect your own - even if only in the short term.

eSports
In 2018 sports captured the attention of nearly 400 million
viewers worldwide — and cable and OTT platforms took note,
with media rights revenues topping $180 million.
Total esports revenues reached $869 million in 2018, and is
forecast to more than triple by 2022, reaching $2.96 billion,
according to an October 2018 report by Goldman Sachs.
The level of talent and professionalism in the eSports
market is now significant and game developers are starting
to consider how this will impact game design. However it is
still the case that there are very few mobile games which can
legitimately claim to have gained a strong enough following.

In Summary
In the end despite all the differences in the details, mobile
is like any other platform. We have to acquire, retain and
monetize our audience. That only happens if we entertain play-
ers in the way that works for their devices. Devices which are
perhaps the most social and most pervasive devices in human
history. Mobile gaming is thriving despite the hurdles and the
lessons learned will affect every aspect of game development.

156 Mobile Gaming

Dean Churchill

Security & Privacy

The mobile app galaxy has grown way beyond the constella-
BY

tions of iOS, Android and a few other smartphone platforms.

Applications are being developed and deployed on an ever-
increasing panoply of devices: game consoles, TV platforms,
virtual/augmented reality, drones, wearables, screen mirroring
devices, in-car infotainment screens. These apps are connect-
ing to cloud services, and managing and interacting with IoT
devices. The application space runs from the most innocuous
flashlight app to critical apps for monitoring the location,
safety and well-being of people with chronic health condi-
tions. Beyond business, finance and social networking, mobile
apps are controlling home security and surveillance systems,
operating drones and running industrial tools. As the value
chain of mobile apps is increasing, so are the unrelenting ef-
forts of hackers to compromise these software systems to steal
money, throw off elections, spy on adversaries, stalk, commit
fraud, and take down or take over networks. At the same time,
regulators around the world are writing new laws regarding the
privacy of data that have celestial reach. It is a double-chase
drama: you risk being pursued by the bad guys and the good
guys at the same time. Criminals want to steal or ransom your
data, while regulators will fine you if you fail to secure and
protect your customers’ data.
So now more than ever, you need to focus on designing
secure end-to-end solutions utilizing your mobile app as an
end point, and providing privacy protections for the data
the app uses. This requires thinking of the mobile app in the
context of cloud and backend services, and knowing where and
how your data is stored.

158 Security & Privacy

 This very brief guide to security and privacy discusses a
couple approaches to threat modeling, key issues in privacy
regulations, and an approach to security testing. While the
task of securing an app may seem daunting, the majority of
attacks on applications, be they web, desktop or mobile apps,
can be averted by simple secure-coding techniques and basic
security testing.

Threat Modeling
The starting point for secure IT designs is to create a threat
model. A threat model begins with listing all the assets of
concern to your product. Assets include all the software
components, hardware, data schemas and data stores, APIs,
microservices, interfaces, and communication channels needed
to make your product work. Then create a model of threats for
each of these assets. There are multiple threat models available
that help with the analysis.
The OWASP Mobile Top 101 list identified the dominant
threats to mobile platforms: improper platform usage, insecure
data storage, insecure communications, insecure authentica-
tion, insufficient cryptography, insecure authorization, client
code quality, code tampering, reverse engineering and
extraneous functionality. OWASP provides extensive supplemen-
tary materials on the nature of the threats, and how to code
securely against them, and test the applications.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)2 is focused on threats
related to cloud services, and provides training and tools for
assessing threats to cloud computing. CSA offers a free Cloud

1   owasp.org/index.php/Mobile_Top_10_2016-Top_10

2   cloudsecurityalliance.org

159 Security & Privacy

 Controls Matrix that aids in assessing the risks of a cloud
provider.
The STRIDE security model3 focuses attention on software
design, to protect against specific threats of Spoofing, Tamper-
ing, Repudiation, Information disclosure, Denial of service,
and Escalation of privilege. This model applies equally well to
server-side software as well as mobile clients.
Security controls are those pieces of software written and
practices followed that reduce the risks to all the assets. For
example, each of the threats enumerated in the STRIDE model
can be countered by one or more design elements of your
application.

Spoofing
Spoofing attacks have two basic types. The identity of a user
might be spoofed by a hacker, pretending to be someone he is
not. This is where strong authentication comes into play, to be
sure that users of your app are who they actually claim to be.
Users may also be victims of spoofed services. The classic
phishing attack is where you receive a spoofed message (SMS,
email, voice call) asking you to log into your bank account at
the given URL. Often the message indicates a sense of urgency.
But the URL is not for your expected bank, but a link to a
web site that looks just like the bank. The hackers are hoping
someone will enter their username and password there, then
they can use those credentials to log into the real bank and
transfer money out.
While you cannot stop hackers from sending spoofed mes-
sages to your customers, you can have a policy of not contact-
ing your customers to ask them to log in. Tell your customers
that you will never call them asking for their password, or send

3   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STRIDE_(security)

160 Security & Privacy

 unsolicited mail with URLs to your web domain. You can ask
them, instead, to download your mobile app from a public app
store, and log into your service via the app. That process is
harder to spoof, as long as there is no malicious app in the app
store that looks like yours. To that end, you need to keep an
eye on the app stores and make sure your company's name and
intellectual property are not being used by any apps you have
not authorized.

Tampering
Tampering attacks may be directed against software, data,
databases, files, and communications networks. Tampering of
software packages is prevented by digitally signing packages
(like iOS IPA and Android APK files). But once installed on
mobile devices, hackers with rooted/jailbroken phones can
manipulate the software and data at will. They can replace
libraries with hacked libraries, change the contents of memory
at run time, patch the binary, and otherwise subvert the
application for their own benefit.
Hence your design must not trust the user’s device.
Countermeasures include: do not store secrets (passwords, API
keys, sensitive data) in your IPA or APK files, as hackers have
full access to all the information therein. Inspect the Android
Manifest file in APKs, and the Info.plist file in IPA files to
be sure no secrets are there. Generally any kind of sensitive
computation, like user identification, authentication and
authorization, or a proprietary algorithm, should be performed
server-side to keep those functions out of view of hackers.
Sensitive data should not be stored on the mobile device if
possible, otherwise use an encrypted storage mechanism, like
the keychain available for iOS and Android. Tampering of data
in storage can be detected using secure cryptographic hashes
and digital signatures.

161 Security & Privacy

 Many mobile apps are using a database that runs on the
device, set up by the application. Not only can hackers view
the contents of these databases, but they can also modify the
data and the schema to suit their purposes. So do not store
sensitive data in the database on the device. The mobile client
needs to validate that fields and rows of data retrieved from
any database (client or server-side) meet the expected type,
size, quantity, and range of values.
Tampering of networks, exploited through man-in-the-mid-
dle attacks, can be prevented by the use of HTTPS, certificate
pinning, end-to-end encryption and use of VPNs.
Do not use self-signed certificates in your applications,
except perhaps in a development environment.

Repudiation
Repudiation is countered by secure logging of user identifica-
tion and users’ actions, which in turn requires solid user
identification, authentication and authorization functions. Use
of 2-factor authentication is increasingly common, and this
helps to control access to applications.
Many applications and services use the mobile device as
a second factor for authentication. The service sends an SMS
message to the phone containing, for example, a one-time
6-digit token, and the user enters that token in the application
to confirm the user’s identity. But in the mobile app space, if
your phone has been stolen, and a hacker knows your password
to get into a mobile app, having an SMS message sent to the
stolen phone provides no additional protection at all. And of
course, social engineering hackers are focusing on that second
factor as well.

162 Security & Privacy

 Information Disclosure
Information disclosure related to data is countered by
encryption in transit and in storage. Be certain to use current,
industry-standard encryption standards. All current mobile
devices support encryption with AES, and with keys sizes
of 128 and 256 bits. But then the encryption keys need to
be protected carefully, as a leaked key will allow hackers to
decrypt the data.
iOS has a key store for protecting sensitive data. Android
has the Keychain API. These key stores will store data
encrypted on the device, making it difficult for hackers, even
with root access to the device, to steal that information.
The software itself is easily disclosed from a mobile app.
Android apps, in particular, written in Kotlin or Java, are
readily reverse-engineered to reveal their underlying source
code. Code obfuscation tools can be used to make the code
more difficult to decipher.

Denial of Service
Denial of Service attacks are usually seen on the server-side.
Botnets are a continuing problem, as they attack servers,
and deny access by legitimate mobile apps. One strategy for
reducing the risk of DOS attacks is to use a commercial cloud
service. Cloud services all have DOS protection built into their
infrastructure, so that you can focus more on the business
functionality of your applications.

Escalation of Privilege
Escalation of Privilege may happen in the model context where
network traffic may be hacked, and privilege level of a user
may be elevated, to access data the user should not see. This
is more of an API hack than a mobile app hack per se. But the
risk is still there. You counter the risk of Escalation of Privilege

163 Security & Privacy

 by having well-defined roles that are enforced by access
controls: Minimize privileges – the fewer roles and privileges
the less “attack surface” the application has.
Some mobile apps are nothing more than an icon that
launches a web site. If your solution uses web services and
web sites, then the OWASP Web App Top 104 is a standard list
of keys issues to be concerned about.

Security Testing
Once you have built your application, and completed all the
functional testing you can5, it is time to perform a security
test. In the mobile app arena, you can hand off the binary file
(IPA or APK) to a separate security test team, or do the testing
yourself.
Here is a checklist of security tests you can run your app
against. This is by no means comprehensive, but gives you an
idea of the scope of issues to examine once you build an app
and are ready to test it for security:

1. Identification – does your app identify the user of the

app appropriately? Some apps, like a flashlight app, are
designed for use by anonymous users; others, like banking
apps, need to identify each user uniquely.
2. Authentication – if the user needs to be identified, do
you have a secure way to authenticate, to prove the user
is who he claims to be? Make sure that hackers cannot
bypass the authentication process. Authentication needs
to take place on the server-side – in the cloud, in a
datacenter, anywhere but on the mobile device itself, as

4   owasp.org/index.php/Category:OWASP_Top_Ten_Project

5   See "Testing" chapter in this guide

164 Security & Privacy

 the mobile device cannot be trusted. Consider the use of
2-factor authentication. We are well past the era where
systems can be secured reliably with just a password.
Anyone who is logging into an app while in public is at
risk of a shoulder-surf attack - where someone makes
a video of you entering the password in the app. And
phishing attacks are still ramping up - emails, SMS, other
messages telling you to click on this link and log into your
bank account before it gets closed - or some other ploy
that appeals to emotion, urgency, or threats to get you
to log into a fake service with your valid password and
id. Second-factor authentication makes it more difficult
for a hacker to get into your accounts with just a stolen
password. But if that second factor is just an SMS to your
stolen phone, there is no added protection.
3. Authorization – once the user is appropriately identified
and authenticated, does he have the authorization to use
whatever service you are providing? If it is a paid service,
you need to test that hackers cannot find a way to use
your service for free. Authorization functions also need to
be run on the server-side.
4. Accountability – if users are thus identified, authenti-
cated, and authorized, does the app log import transac-
tions, so that no repudiation attacks can occur? You want
enough log information, without compromising the users'
privacy, so that if a government auditor comes soliciting
information on who used your app, when and for what
purpose, you can tell them. And if the user comes and
demands "forget me" you can account for all the data
collected pertinent to that user and securely delete that
data.

165 Security & Privacy

 5. App code and web security – does the app resist injec-
tion attacks of all types? Protect against injection attacks
by sanitizing input from untrusted domains (consult your
threat model here). Validate all input for proper size, type,
range of values, and quantity of data expected. Run secure
static code analyzers to find subtle security issues in your
code, and remediate them. Two leading vendors for secure
static source code scanning are Checkmarx6 and Microfocus
Fortify7. Are the sessions secure, so that APIs cannot be
exploited without proper authentication? You may need to
use web a pen test tool, such as HCL Appscan8 or Fortify
WebInspect open source software9 to make certain your
backend services are secure. Use code obfuscation tools,
such as ProGuard10 to make an analysis of your application
more difficult.
6. Packaging security – check to make certain that you did
not include in the app package any sensitive information,
such a test environment information, passwords, developer
documentation. If using third party libraries, check that
you are using the most recent, patched, and reliable
versions of those packages.

6   checkmarx.com

7   microfocus.com/en-us/products/static-code-analysis-sast

8   hcltechsw.com/wps/portal/products/appscan

9   microfocus.com/en-us/products/webinspect-dynamic-analysis-dast

10   guardsquare.com/en/products/proguard

166 Security & Privacy

7. Data security – if you store any data locally on the data,
realize that it can be viewed or changed by someone
with a rooted or jailbroken phone. Even if encrypted,
the encryption key, if stored on the device, will enable a
hacker to steal that information. So check that you have
not stored any sensitive information in databases or files
on the device.
8. Transport security – when running the app, use Wire-
shark11 or a web proxy tool, like Paros12 or Charles Proxy13,
to capture traffic going to and from the app, to be sure
that all sensitive information is transmitted encrypted,
and only to the expected servers. Even non-sensitive
information needs to be encrypted to assure the integrity
of the data, lest a hacker injects malicious content into
the network traffic. Do not support any TLS protocol older
than TLS 1.2 if you can avoid it. The TLS 1.3 protocol14
was approved as a standard by IETF, August 2018, which
improves on the security and performance of TLS 1.2.
The Qualsys SSL Server Test15 is a free online service that
will perform security testing of the TLS certificate for any
public domain name on the Internet. It will assure that

11   wireshark.org
12   sourceforge.net/projects/paros
13   charlesproxy.com
14   ietf.org/blog/tls13
15   ssllabs.com/ssltest
 the TLS certificate is not expired, has a trusted certificate
chain, will flag and identify known security exploits, show
which cipher suites are secure and which are weak, and
compare the domain name against the common name on
the certificate. Use this to test all the HTTPS domains
that your app uses, especially ones related to 3rd-party
software packages -- like services for ads, metrics, social
media, maps, etc. On iOS apps, use the App Transport
Security settings to force the use of HTTPS if possible.
9. Protocol security – make certain that login and logout
protocols work correctly and cannot be bypassed. Logout
functions need to send transactions to the server to close
any secure sessions – do not just revert to the login page
of the app. Check that password reset functions cannot be
spoofed easily. Set a password policy that requires complex
passwords.
10. Privacy – make certain you know what data is being
collected about your users. Minimize that data to reduce
risk. Do you provide the user with a privacy notice? Did
you build in “forget me” capabilities to meet GDPR privacy
requirements?
 Meeting Privacy Requirements
Most of the above are focused on locking down your applica-
tion, so that information does not leak, via passive surveil-
lance or active intrusion. But current privacy regulations,
like GDPR, requires the ability “to be forgotten”, to securely
destroy a user's data in the system, secure the right of a
user to access his own data, and to be notified promptly of a
breach. And this must all be “watertight”. Most products are
designed to collect information, and usually do not have a
secure way to remove data from the system, short of relying
on a database admin and support ticket to try and remove
someone’s data. The penalties for non-compliance can be
staggering, the reach is global - anywhere the data of an EU
citizen is being processed GDPR applies. Consent has to be
explained in clear and plain language, and must be as easy to
withdraw consent as to give it. So mobile apps not only need
to be technically excellent from a security perspective, but
they also need to implement effective data management tools
– server and/or mobile side – to comply with GDPR the sun
within a solar system of privacy laws and regulations.
The State of California has its own privacy rules, the
California Consumer Privacy Act16, that takes effect on January
1, 2020. Other U.S. states are considering their own privacy
laws. Make sure you stay on top of them.

16   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Consumer_Privacy_Act

169 Security & Privacy

 Learn More
Here are some useful resources and references which may help
you:

— Apple provides a general guide to software security17. It

also includes several links to more detailed topics for their
platform.
— Commercial training courses are available for iOS and
Android. Lancelot Institute18 provides secure coding
courses covering iOS and Android.
— A free SSL tester is provided by Qualsys Labs19.
— Extensive free application security guidance and testing
tools are provided by OWASP20, including the OWASP
Mobile Security Project21.

17   developer.apple.com/library/mac/navigation/#section=Topics&topic=Security
18   lancelotinstitute.com
19   ssllabs.com/ssltest
20   owasp.org
21   owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Mobile_Security_Project

170 Security & Privacy

 The Bottom Line
The galaxy of mobile apps is becoming ever more intertwined
with the expanding universe of cloud services, IoT devices, and
exotic new platforms. More than ever these apps are exposed
to those who would like to use the apps maliciously, steal data
from them, hold the data for ransom, or attack connected ser-
vices and devices. The appropriate level of application security
is something that needs to be considered on an end-to-end
basis. In the end, your app and its backend infrastructure
and endpoints will be in-the-wild on its own and will need to
defend itself against hackers and other malicious threats.
Invest the time to learn about the security features and
capabilities of the mobile platforms you want to target. Use
techniques such as threat modeling to identify potential
threats relevant to your application. Perform code reviews and
strip out non-essential logging and debugging methods. Run
a secure code analysis tool against your mobile code to find
vulnerabilities. Consider how a hacker would analyze your code,
then use similar techniques, in a safe and secure environ-
ment, against your application to discover vulnerabilities and
mitigate these vulnerabilities before releasing your application.
Pick trustworthy services and partners. Often we use and
rely on third-parties to serve our users and stakeholders. Their
approaches to privacy matter as do their practices. Using
companies who hold themselves to high standards and who are
clear about what they do - and do not do - can help us protect
our users and stakeholders.
And take the time to consider the privacy implications for
any data you collect about or on behalf of the user, particu-
larly if storing or synchronizing that data into the cloud.

171 Security & Privacy

Cathy Rundle

Accessibility
BY

Why Accessibility is Important

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) over 15%
of the world's population has some form of disability1 and
rates of disability are increasing due to population aging and
increases in chronic health conditions, among other causes.
This means that around 1 billion potential users could have
difficulties using your app if your app is not accessible.
There has been a huge increase in smartphone and tablet
use in the general population, this is no different for those
with disabilities. The WebAIM Screen Reader Survey2 shows
that there has been an astounding increase in smartphone use
by blind people who use screen readers. Older people might not
have used a computer at work; however, they are finding that
they can get to grips with touch screen devices more quickly
than a traditional keyboard and mouse. As our population ages,
the levels of disability increase and this means more and more
people will have difficulty accessing services in traditional
ways. Providing an alternative accessible digital solution will
ensure disabled people can continue to be independent.
For example, if they are unable to get out of the house to
do their shopping or banking, then providing accessible online
services means they can access these services independently.
It is important to recognize how important independent access
to services is for people with disabilities. Apple has put some
videos together with disabled people showing how they use

1   who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs352/en

2   webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey6/

173 Accessibility
 technology in their everyday life3. This demonstrates just how
important accessibility is to enabling independence.
There are lots of other reasons to make your apps acces-
sible:

— Implementing accessibility can often improve overall

usability: For example, if you ensure that every button
and form element has an appropriate label, that is helpful
to everyone, not just those with disabilities as the user
will know how to interact with it. Making sure that the
wording is clear and unambiguous is helpful for people
with cognitive impairments and also for everyone else.
— It just makes good business sense: For example, people
with disabilities have spending power and if they find an
accessible app that works for them they will not only use
it, they will also tell others. You may discover a significant
new market when you develop apps that suit these users.
— Access to goods and services for all is the law in many
countries: For example in the UK the Equality Act 2010
requires there to be access to goods and services for
everyone and this does include services which are provided
via electronic means such as websites and apps. Public
bodies also have an anticipatory duty to ensure their
services are accessible, so they cannot consider accessibil-
ity as an afterthought.
— Where accessible solutions are mandated by legislation,
your app may be the only option for that business to
realistically use: For example, your app may be able to tap
into government-funded market sectors such as education
where legislation, such as Section 508 of the Rehabilita-
tion Act in the US, may mandate an accessible solution.

3   apple.com/accessibility/stories

174 Accessibility
 — The organization that the app is being developed for may
have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) statement or
program: For example, web and app accessibility provides
social inclusion for people with disabilities which is a
primary aspect of corporate social responsibility.
— Mobile platforms from Apple, Google and Microsoft
leverage their accessibility APIs for UI automation testing:
Making your app accessible can make automated testing
easier.

What Accessibility Features?

Many of your potential users may have a disability that can
make it more difficult for them to use a mobile phone and
related apps. Disabilities include various levels of sight or
hearing impairment, cognitive disabilities or learning difficul-
ties, physical disabilities, dexterity issues, and so on.
Many of these users rely on third-party software to assist
them in using their devices. This software is sometimes called
Assistive Technology and includes different utilities depending
on the type of disability. Traditionally, these types of software
or utilities have had to be 'added on' to a mainstream device,
often at a high cost, in order to make the device accessible
or easier to use for someone with a disability. However, many
smartphones and tablets now provide robust Assistive Technol-
ogy options built into the operating system that enable some
users with disabilities to use the devices without needing to
pay for extra Assistive Technology. What is offered depends on
the platform and the version of the OS. However - to work -
these features need your app to be designed well and support
these features.

175 Accessibility
 — Partially sighted users - Someone who is partially
sighted, benefits from being able to change the font
size, font style, colors and use of bold and color contrast
too. iOS, Android and Windows offer various options to
change these in the settings. As well as the universal
'pinch to zoom' feature, iOS, Android and Windows offer a
magnification or zoom feature, which enlarges a section of
the screen and keeps this magnification level when moving
throughout the phone or tablet. This has unique gestures
associated with it and often each OS has its own unique
gestures. iOS also has a built-in app that utilizes the
camera on the phone to aid with spot reading on items
such as clothing labels and restaurant menus.
— Blind users - Someone who is blind has to have informa-
tion on the screen and navigation around the screen
announced to them in synthetic speech. This is often
called a 'screen reader'. iOS was the first OS to offer a
screen reader built-in and it is called 'VoiceOver'. Android
offers 'Talkback' which is fast catching up in popularity
with the blind community as it is constantly improving.
Windows first delivered the Narrator screen reader in
Windows Phone 8.1 and it is even more improved now in
Windows 10 Creators Update. Blind users may also make
use of a Braille display, which is an item of hardware
that provides feedback from the screen one text line at
a time in the form of a line of Braille characters. Each
Braille character consists of six or eight movable pins in
a rectangular array. Most OS versions now support braille
displays via Bluetooth.
— Users with hearing loss - Someone with a hearing impair-
ment will often make use of a smartphone that is hearing
aid compatible and offers features as iOS does such as
'LED Flash for Alerts' or 'Phone Noise Cancellation'. There

176 Accessibility
 are also options in settings for iOS, Android and Windows
to switch on subtitles and captioning. Making use of
vibration for alerts is also helpful and haptic feedback has
improved in recent versions of iOS in particular. A number
of phones also provide support for hearing aids and
teletype (TTY) devices4 .
— Users with physical disabilities - If a user has a motor
impairment, they may well be using a third-party hardware
product to access the phone, such as a switch as some
devices do support this. Alternatively, they could be
making use of voice recognition to access the device. Siri
in iOS enables the user to access certain settings and
functions and switch them on and off.
— Users with a learning disability - If a user has a cogni-
tive impairment or learning difficulty, then depending on
what the disability is, they may make use of the features
in the settings that a partially sighted user does. Espe-
cially something like color options. Other users may make
more use of voice recognition.

The overall experience for people with disabilities is af-

fected by how well an app works with assistive technology. As
these features are built into the OS and can be switched on in
the settings, it is important that as a developer you recognize
that they may be used with your app and ensure you test for
this.
As screen readers and screen magnification programs in the
OS make use of their own gestures, gestures in the app may be
affected when screen readers or magnification are enabled. For

4   A TTY device allows people who have hearing loss or who are speech
impaired to type messages to anyone else who has a TTY, using a telephone
line.

177 Accessibility
example, a screen reader user can navigate a screen using left
and right swipes or exploring the screen by moving their finger
across the screen of the device in a consistent movement
(explore by touch). As they undertake a swipe or encounter
something underneath their finger, the item is announced. So
an item is selected by touching once (which moves the focus
to the icon) and opened by tapping twice. When using screen
magnification, depending on the OS, the user may need to
use a three-finger gesture. Including testing early on with
accessibility features ensures that these gestures are supported
by the app and that any redesign can happen before it impacts
on users.
One of the best ways to learn more about these features is
to switch them on and try them for yourself in different apps.
 App Design Guidelines
The accessibility APIs look for text in specific attributes of
standard UI elements. Screen readers used by blind people,
such as VoiceOver and TalkBack, transform the text into
synthetic speech which the user listens to. The screen reader
software may also determine the type of control and related
attributes to help provide the user with more contextual infor-
mation, particularly if no text is available. It is important that
the user understands what the label of the control is, what the
control is and how to interact with it. In some instances, there
may also be a tooltip to give extra information.
Just as web developers make use of standards and guide-
lines such as WCAG 2.0 to make accessible websites, it is
important that as app developers, you do the same. At present,
there is no de facto industry standard for app accessibility,
although there are standards out there that can help.
The international standard, ISO 9241-171 ('The Ergonom-
ics of Human-system Interaction: Guidance on Software
Accessibility')5 is a helpful standard as it is platform agnostic.
This covers elements of accessibility and usability for a wide
range of software.
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)6 have
created a pan-disability app standard and testing process
based on their experience in this area of accessibility. Their
guidelines for native apps also reflects on principles from ISO
9241-171. They provide consultancy and training for organiza-
tions and agencies in this area and have an accreditation
badge that can be awarded to apps that, following an audit

5   iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.
htm?csnumber=39080
6   rnib-business.org.uk

179 Accessibility
 process and user testing, are accessible. This accreditation is
called 'RNIB Tried and Tested'7.
The BBC has developed a set of BBC Mobile Accessibility
Guidelines8 that they use internally for their mobile content.
Their guidance covers mobile websites, hybrid and native
apps. They state that "they are intended as a standard for BBC
employees and suppliers to follow however they can also be
referenced by anyone involved in mobile development".
Here are some of the principles that are helpful to be aware
of when developing an app. If you stick to them, you will also
give your app the best chance of interoperating with assistive
technology that the user may be running in conjunction with
your software:

APIs and UI Guidance

— Find out what accessibility features and APIs your

platform has and follow the best practice in leveraging
those APIs if they exist.
— Use standard rather than custom UI elements where
possible. This will ensure that if your platform has an
accessibility infrastructure or acquires one in the future,
your app is likely to be rendered accessibly to your users.
— Use the Accessibility API for your platform, if there is one.
This will enable you to make custom UI elements more
accessible and will mean less work on your part across
your whole app.

7   Formore information please contact RNIB Business at businesslink@rnib.

org.uk
8   bbc.co.uk/guidelines/futuremedia/accessibility/mobile_access.shtml

180 Accessibility
 — Follow the standard UI guidelines on your platform. This
enhances consistency and may mean a more accessible
design by default.
— The user should be able to apply their preference settings
that the OS provides, such as accessibility settings.

Navigation

— Navigation should be logical and consistent. For example,

if a back button is provided on each screen it should be
located in the same place on every screen and consistently
labeled.
— Support programmatic navigation of your UI. This will
not only enable your apps to be used with an external
keyboard but will enhance the accessibility of your app
on platforms such as Android where navigation may be
performed by a trackball or virtual d-pad.

User elements

— All user elements should be discoverable and operable

via assistive technology, unless it is clear they are not
required. Care must be taken when deciding that an object
is not required and, for example, if the user touches a
decorative image on the screen the focus must be taken
to a sensible location either before or after the image and
the user should not hear an error sound. Alternatively, an
image within the text can be given alt text which will be
spoken if the user touches the image.

181 Accessibility
 — Where a user element has a status associated with it, that
status should also be available to be read by assistive
technology. For example if a toggle button is ‘on’ this
should be announced by the screen reader. If the status
changes, that should also be announced.
— Ensure touch screen targets are a reasonable size to ensure
everyone can easily select them.

Labeling

— All elements, including form elements, buttons, icons and

so on, should be labeled visually and programmatically
with a short and descriptive name. The label should also
be adjacent to the element it relates to.
— Each screen should have a unique descriptive name that
relates to its content and aids navigation.

182 Accessibility
 Colors and Fonts

— Ensure there is a good contrast between background and

foreground colors. In particular, consider buttons which
include text. Does the contrast between the text and the
background color meet the ratio requirements in WCAG 2.1
or ISO 9241-171?
— Avoid using color as the only means of differentiating
an action. A color-blind user will not be able to identify
errors if they are asked to correct the fields which are
highlighted in red for example.
— Consider the weight of the font, as well as color and size
as a thin font, can be difficult to read
— Ensure that your app picks up the user settings relating to
the font in each operating system. There could be times
when this affects usability such as in a table when the
layout may be lost, the font size for this specific area
could be set to a maximum or preferably the layout adjusts
appropriately for larger text sizes.

183 Accessibility
 Notifications

— Error messages, notifications and alerts should be consis-

tent, identifiable and clear. They should be announced by
the screen reader and be clearly visible, ensuring they do
not disappear from the screen after a short time period.
— Ensure that error messages, notifications and alerts are
not provided by color/haptic/audible output alone. For
example, someone with hearing loss will not recognize
audible notifications.

Testing

— Do not forget to test your app on the target device with

the assistive technology built-in to the OS with more than
just the latest OS version. When testing on an Android
device please remember that unless the user has a pure
Android device, like a Google Pixel, they are unlikely to
get access to all of the latest OS upgrades. This is because
for OS upgrades you are at the mercy of your phone
manufacturer, so the Android OS versions in the wild can
be quite diverse. Because some handset manufacturers
skin the OS, this can sometimes interfere with the way the
accessibility features should work. Therefore, it is always
recommended that testing for Android Accessibility is
undertaken on a Google device. That way you can be sure
there is nothing interfering with the way the accessibility
features should work and you are working to a common
denominator.
— Ensure your user testing includes people with disabilities
too!

184 Accessibility
 Apple, Google and Microsoft, have increased the importance
of their respective Accessibility support by using the Ac-
cessibility interface to underpin their GUI test automation
frameworks. This provides another incentive for developers to
consider designing their apps to be more accessible.
Looking at the different mobile platforms more closely, it
becomes obvious that they differ largely regarding their APIs,
but they are starting to implement a lot of the same acces-
sibility features.

Custom Controls and Elements

If you are using custom UI elements in your app, then, those
platforms that have an Accessibility API enable you to make
your custom controls accessible. You do this by exposing the
control to assistive technology running on the device so that
it can interrogate the properties of the control and render it
accessibly.
You can get more information about Accessibility on An-
droid from various resources on YouTube including the Google
I/O presentations from 20179, 201610, 201511 and 201312 .
The Apple developer program has helpful resources too.
Take a look at their accessibility video presentations from the
WWDC conferences available in the iOS Developer Center13 by
searching for 'accessibility'.

9   youtube.com/watch?v=h5rRNXzy1xo

10   youtube.com/watch?v=2qjgxH384Nc
11   youtube.com/watch?v=euEsfNR5Zw4
12   youtube.com/watch?v=ld7kZRpMGb8
13   developer.apple.com/wwdc/videos

185 Accessibility
 Android App Accessibility
Accessibility was first a realistic proposition with Android
4.1 (Jellybean) and it is much improved since then. Since
Android 7 (Nougat), there has been more prominent featuring
of accessibility settings to let users independently configure
their device. 'Display size' was added as an option and it gives
the user an alternative view of the standard screen, making
the icons and text larger as a native setting without any
magnification or font adjustment. This is also available as a
live preview.
Android 8 (Oreo) further enhanced accessibility by adding
the possibility to control accessibility volume independently
from media volume. It also introduced a shortcut, the accessi-
bility menu, which can be added to the navigation bar allowing
users to turn some accessibility features on and off from any
screen. This brings up an accessibility menu on screen and
users can customize the settings. Since Android 10, the acces-
sibility volume provides quick access to volume and brightness
controls as well and it allows users to enlarge the buttons.
After having been removed in Android 7, Google brought
back the dark mode option (bright text on a dark background)
with Android 9 (Pie). It allows the user to change colors or
contrast using 'high contrast text' or 'color inversion' options.
Since Android 10 the Dark Mode is available through the acces-
sibility menu. This is equivalent to what Apple has undertaken
with color filters in display accommodations. 'BrailleBack'
works with Talkback for a combined speech and braille experi-
ence enabling the user to add a braille display via Bluetooth.
There is also the addition of a 'Click after cursor stops moving'
option, which helps people with dexterity issues or with low
vision. Also popular is the addition of a large mouse cursor.

186 Accessibility
 Accessibility features in the latest Android version include
(but are not limited to) things such as:

Speech output:

— Talkback - Speech output for blind users. It includes

TalkBack, Speak Select and Switch Access. Speak select
can be set to read a selection or read the screen. This is
useful for people who have some sight and find reading
text difficult.
— Enhanced search in TalkBack - Provides a search to Talk-
Back users allowing them to find text and move directly to
that location on the page.

Display settings:

— Font Size - For partially sighted users and some users

with learning difficulties.
— Magnification gesture - Zoom style magnification for
partially sighted users.
— Display Size - For partially sighted users and some users
with learning difficulties.
— High Contrast Text - For partially sighted users and some
users with learning difficulties. This is an experimental
setting.
— Color inversion - For partially sighted users and some
users with learning disabilities who prefer an inverted
color palette. This is still an experimental setting.
— Color correction - This can change the balance of how the
color is presented on the screen and aids those with color
blindness.
— Remove animations - Removes the transition effects.

187 Accessibility
 Touch or switch settings:

— Click after cursor stops moving or Dwell timing - For

those with dexterity issues or who are partially sighted
when using a mouse connected to the phone, this setting
allows users to set the mouse to automatically select when
it stops moving.
— Switch access - For those with physical disabilities who
prefer to access apps using a hardware device.
— Touch and hold delay - For users with motor control is-
sues, this allows users to change the length of time before
a touch becomes touch and hold.
— Text editing for switch users - Allows users to edit more
quickly when using a switch device.

Audio or captions:

— Captions - Providing captions or subtitles for those with

hearing loss.
— Mono audio - For those with hearing loss using head-
phones.
— Live transcribe - Provides captions in real time for
presentations, video content etc.

Other useful settings:

— Volume key shortcut - Allows users to set a feature to be

turned on and off by pressing both volume buttons at the
same time.
— Haptic settings - Allows users to adjust the intensity of
the haptic feedback or disable it.
— Voice assist - Overlays numbers to elements on screen
allowing them to be selected using voice e.g. tap 7.

188 Accessibility
 — Accessibility timeouts - Allows users to increase the
timeouts in an app.

Google provides a good entry point to the topic in their

developer portal14 . You will also find more examples in the
related training area in a section entitled Implementing Acces-
sibility15. For specifics on how to use the Android accessibility
API along with details of best practice in Android accessibility,
please see Google’s document entitled Making Applications
Accessible16. Testing the Accessibility is also covered online17.
Some more helpful resources can be found in the Support
Library18 which also includes ways to improve the accessibil-
ity of custom views. Finally, an interesting talk on Android
accessibility from the I/O 2019 conference can be found on
YouTube19.

14   developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/accessibility
15   developer.android.com/training/accessibility/index.html
16   developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/accessibility/apps.html
17   developer.android.com/tools/testing/testing_accessibility.html
18   developer.android.com/tools/support-library/index.html
19   youtube.com/watch?v=Y_8ZlUP2C5o

189
 iOS App Accessibility
Apple was the first company to embed accessibility features
directly into the OS. Because of this, the support for accessi-
bility in iOS is a little better than in Android, although Android
is fast catching up. There are certainly comparable features
now but it is a legacy issue as Apple was the first to move
into this area. A lot of blind and partially sighted users also
find the gestures in iOS easier to use and the experience more
consistent.
With iOS 12 some of the accessibility features have moved
from accessibility settings into display settings. You can now
also use Siri to turn functions and features on and off on the
device. This demonstrates that people are now recognizing that
some of these settings are relevant for everyone. Accessibility
is going mainstream as people just want to make the display
more personal to them and have a device that is easy to use.
This means it is even more important that developers consider
accessibility settings when creating apps as the number of
people using these features has increased.
There have been some hardware changes with the iPhones X
and X+ as the home button has been removed. Haptic feedback
is now natively deployed across the OS. If you use a 'picker
wheel', it now delivers a discernible click when it is moving
through options. This is a mainstream usability feature but
certainly enables some disabled users to use the picker wheels
more easily. Apple has also put more granularity into the
haptic feedback that they provide, to allow the user to adjust
the settings.
Some of the accessibility features in iOS include, but are
not limited to:

190 Accessibility
 Speech output:

— VoiceOver - A screen reader. It reads out the objects and

text on screen, enabling your app to be used by people
who are blind. The speech options also include speech
select which can be set to read a selection or read the
screen. This is useful for people who have some sight and
find reading text difficult.

Speech input:

— Siri - This enables users to make phone calls and oper-

ate various other features of their phone by using voice
commands. This can be helpful for a broad range of
people including those with motor control issues, learning
difficulties and vision loss.

Display settings:

— Zoom - This magnifies the entire content of the screen

or a "zoom region" that can be used to magnify smaller
areas.
— Invert Colors - This option inverts the colors on the
display, which helps many people who need the contrast
of black and white but find a white background emits too
much light. This can be classic where all the colors are
inverted or smart where icons and pictures retain their
colors.
— Color Filters - This helps color-blind users differentiate
colors and also aids those who have difficulty reading text
on the display.
— Reduce White Point - This reduces the intensity of bright
colors.

191 Accessibility
— Larger Text and large accessibility sizes - This can help a
broad range of people from those who use glasses, through
to partially sighted people and those with learning dif-
ficulties. Large accessibility sizes allow users to touch and
hold on tabs or buttons and they will be shown in a large
pop up in the middle of the screen.
— Bold text - This can help a broad range of people from
those who use glasses, through to partially sighted people
and those with learning difficulties.
— Buttons shapes - Removes the line (or shading on older
OS) from button text.
— Reduce transparency - Reduces the transparency of
backgrounds which makes the text easier to read for
people with low vision.

Touch or switch settings:

— Reduce motion - Reduces the motion on user interface

including the parallax effect of icons
— Reachability - Allows the user to bring the top part of the
screen towards the bottom to make it easier to reach when
using the phone with one hand.
— Switch control - For those with physical disabilities
who wish to access the app using a third-party hardware
device.
— AssistiveTouch - For users who have difficulty touching
the screen or might need to create custom gestures.
— Touch Accommodations - These options give the user
 the ability to change the settings, on how the screen will
respond to touch gestures.

Audio or captions settings:

— Hearing devices - Includes the connections for hearing

aids for people with hearing loss.
— LED flash for alerts - To enable people to choose what
works best for them for notifications, particularly helpful
for those with hearing loss.
— Mono Audio - Helpful for those with hearing loss.
— Phone Noise Cancellation - Reduces the ambient noise on
phone calls when you are holding the receiver to your ear.
Helpful for all, but also used by people with hearing loss.
— Subtitles and Captioning - For people with hearing
loss, the background to the subtitles and the size of the
text can be adjusted. Apple has also added a setting for
hearing aid compatibility.

Other useful settings:

— Shake to undo - Users can shake the phone to undo for

example, when typing.
— Audio Descriptions - For people with sight loss.
 — Guided Access - This is helpful in education, or just where
someone wants to limit what is accessible on the screen
to a user.
— Accessibility shortcut - Set up to switch features on and
off.

If you are working on iOS, make sure check out Apple's De-
veloper area20 and to follow Apple's accessibility guidelines21.
These guidelines detail the API and provide an excellent source
of hints and tips for maximizing the user experience with your
apps.
Apple also provides some helpful guidance on testing the
accessibility on your app with Voiceover22 . Another useful link
provides more information on how to make sure that the app
reacts correctly to display settings23.

New accessibility features in iOS

Apple are introducing new features to improve accessibility.

These include:

— Voice control - Provides support to control the interface

through voice as shown in the link below.

20   developer.apple.com/accessibility/ios
21   developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/
iPhoneAccessibility/Introduction/Introduction.html
22   developer.apple.com/library/ios/technotes/TestingAccessibilityOfiOSApps/
TestAccessibilityonYourDevicewithVoiceOver/
TestAccessibilityonYourDevicewithVoiceOver.html

23   developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uiaccessibility

194 Accessibility
 — Disable autoplay - This setting allows users to disable
autoplay for videos extending the previous option (which
applied only to certain apps) system-wide for all Apple
apps and allows developers to extend this feature to third
party apps.
— Cross-fade screen transitions: - When Reduce Motion is
turned on, users will be able to change the way screen
transitions are shown.
— Differentiate without color: - Replaces color indications
with shapes or symbols that do not rely on color. It helps
people with color blindness or monochrome vision.

iOS 13 added a new feature called Voice Control24 enabling

users to control their device through voice. This can convert
commands such as swipe left to change the page. In addition,
elements on the screen are numbered and the user can say
"show numbers" and then, for example, the number related to
the button they want to activate.

24   support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph3c511340/ios

195
 Windows App Accessibility
This section is included as Windows tablets contain some
in-built accessibility features and it is useful to know about
these when developing for this platform. A brief overview of
the accessibility features is given below.

Speech output:

— Narrator - This is the screen reader for those users who

are blind or have little vision.

Speech input:

— Cortana - This is the 'personal assistant', a main feature

for all users, but will be helpful for those with disabilities
too as it is speech activated.

Display settings:

— Screen Magnifier - This feature is for partially sighted

people who wish to magnify the text on the screen and
change the zoom level. It has its own gestures.
— High Contrast Theme - This theme changes text to black
and white and provides a solid background behind words
that would otherwise be on top of pictures. This is helpful
for partially sighted users and some users with learning
disabilities.
— Text Scaling - The size of text can be enlarged to aid
those with learning difficulties or users who are partially
sighted.

196 Accessibility
 Touch or switch settings:

— Activate keys on touch keyboard when I lift my finger

off the keyboard - This is to assist those with dexterity
issues.

Audio or caption settings:

— Closed Captions - It is possible to change the font size,

color, background and window transparency of captions.
This is helpful for people with hearing loss that may also
have some vision loss.

You can find out about accessibility for Windows apps

with some Microsoft video resources25 and platform-specific
documentation.
Microsoft has published Guidelines for Designing Accessible
Apps26 and a dedicated paper about Accessibility for Windows
10 / UWP apps27.

Mobile Web App Accessibility

As mentioned earlier in the chapter, much has been written
about web accessibility, but less has been written on acces-
sibility relating to apps. This is also true for mobile website
accessibility or web app accessibility. It is an area which has
growing interest and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
have created a Mobile Accessibility Task Force28 concerned

25   developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/accessible-apps
26   msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh700407.aspx
27   docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/uwp/usability/index
28   w3.org/WAI/GL/mobile-a11y-tf

197 Accessibility
 with the required work in this area. In WCAG 2.1 there are
additional principles aiming to address mobile access.
On the main W3C Mobile Accessibility page29 you can find
lots of helpful resources related to mobile accessibility.
It is suggested by the W3C that anything that uses HTML
and is web-based should still follow the Web Content Accessi-
bility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 while also referring to Mobile Web
Best Practices (MWBP). So if you are a web content developer,
then these guidelines are a good place to start. You will also
find Relationship between Mobile Web Best Practices (MWBP)
and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)30 a helpful
resource.
If your app is intended to mimic a native app look and feel,
then you should follow the guidelines mentioned above in this
chapter.
As support of HTML 5 is increasingly adopted on the various
mobile platforms, consider reading Mobile Web Application
Best Practices31 as this is likely to form the foundation of any
mobile web application accessibility standard that emerges in
the future. One of the other key areas of guidance is Accessible
Rich Internet Applications 1.0 (WAI-ARIA)32, as it has been
designed to ensure that more dynamic HTML functionality is
accessible to screen readers.
An interesting area of work happening at the W3C is in
the Independent User Interface (IndieUI) Working Group33.
The group states "Independent User Interface (IndieUI) is a
way for user actions to be communicated to web applications

29   w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/mobile
30   w3.org/TR/mwbp-wcag
31   w3.org/TR/mwabp
32   w3.org/TR/wai-aria
33   w3.org/TR/indie-ui-context

198 Accessibility
 and will make it easier for web applications to work in a wide
range of contexts — different devices, different assistive
technologies (AT), different user needs". This work is going to
be very important for accessibility and device independence. It
is worth looking at the documentation that they currently have
available.

Developing Accessible Games

Accessible games for disabled users were always very basic,
if there were any available at all. Now some developers are
beginning to think about engaging with a wider audience
when developing games and finding ways to prevent unneces-
sarily excluding players.
Much of the guidance and standards already shared will be
very valuable when creating games as this information is still
relevant to gaming development. Do not forget to ensure that
any accessibility features are clearly obvious to users in the
game description so when they make the choice to purchase,
they know that the app may be of interest to them.
There are a couple of sites that have some accessibility
guidelines for game developers, e.g. gameaccessibilityguide-
lines.com and includification.com.
If you would like to look at some accessible games that
have already been developed, then game-accessibility.com is a
good resource.

199 Accessibility
Marc van't Veer & Julian Harty

Testing
We would like our apps to be well tested so we have con-
fidence they will work and be positively received by their
audience. Your needs and approach to testing range from lone
developers testing an app themselves to mature, structured
teams where there is a team of dedicated software testers who
BY

undertake much of the testing. This chapter aims to help you

find effective ways to test your mobile apps that meet your
constraints (what you are able to do given the resources and
tools you have available) and context (including how your
organization works, the needs of the app, and how the app will
be used).
Other people can help you with the testing, particularly
when you actively solicit their involvement and feedback.
Similarly, you can help yourself be more effective though being
competent with relevant software tools, testing techniques,
and working effectively with data, including logs and analytics
tools.
The rest of this chapter will go deeper into how profes-
sional app testing is structured and aims to help you use the
available time for testing in a smart way.

201 Testing
 Key Areas of Testing
When implementing testing into your projects, here are some
key areas we recommend you include.

Organisational Awareness
A development team is usually embedded in an organization.
This organization should be setup in a way that encourages
sharing mobile testing knowledge across all the teams. If
possible, the development team should be located together.
The organisation's release heartbeat should fit the mobile app
team's schedule (every day, week, sprint) and a mobile test
policy should be in place that defines the testing framework
and have a test strategy on different layers (multiple environ-
ments, scope, architecture, end-users).

Test Environment
Test environments are where we will perform the testing. They
include many facets. ISTQB defines test environment as: "An
environment containing hardware, instrumentation, simulators,
software tools, and other support elements needed to conduct
a test."1.
Your goal should be to have at least one environment that
provides production-like data variations, settings, conditions
and infrastructure which is comfortable to use for testers.
Often a testing environment includes special software tools
and utilities, e.g. to read and filter log files, to control network
behavior, to represent systems the app depends on including
third-party authentication, to create test accounts etc. Often
you will find solutions available already, but sometimes you
might end up creating your own tools, for instance to mock the

1   istqb.org/downloads/send/20-istqb-glossary/186-glossary-all-terms.html

202 Testing
 behavior of an application server, to be able to inject errors,
and so on.
Testers love to have multiple test environments from
development all the way into production; this is called a
"DTAP" phased approach: "Development, testing, acceptance
and production environments"2 . Each environment reflects a
stage in the life cycle of any app and allows testing in each of
these stages.

Test Device Policy

What a browser is for a website, is the hardware for a mobile
app.
Platforms, networks, device settings, device models, move-
ment, sensors and even firmware, are all specific and differ
from each other. Any could cause problems for your applica-
tions3. This means we need a variety of devices to test on.
From a user's perspective a mobile app is the combination
of software, hardware and environment. They want and expect
an app to work, regardless of all these details. Furthermore,
the boundaries of what needs to work extends even further,
as many apps now interact with external devices and sensors
(a subset of these may be useful for testing your app). As ex-
ample, Disney have designed seamless experiences using smart
wristbands4 which integrate into a larger ecosystem. Devices
can also be used to pay for travel5 and shopping; cameras
are used by banking software to identify and authorize cash
withdrawals, and so on. Any problems, incompatibilities and

2   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development,_testing,_acceptance_and_production

3   An example of device specific problems with Android on Samsung is

anasambri.com/android/special-place-for-samsung-in-android-hell.html
4   wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband

5   vodafone.nl/shop/mobiel/abonnement/extra-opties/smartlife/wallet/reizen

203 Testing
 so on, can adversely affect the UX and may have significant
impact, for instance, if users are denied access to transport,
money, and more.
A basic strategy for testing mobile apps is to assume that
every combination is unique and different from another and
may behave slightly differently, however, it would be impracti-
cal to test each combination. A more fruitful approach is to
invest time in learning what the impact of the differences are,
and testing a subset of the combinations that maximize the
insights and confidence we have in the behavior of the app
across as many of the combinations as practical. Key skills
include:

— Device analysis: Which devices are the ones that are used
among your target audience? What are the main differ-
ences? When and how are these differences relevant to the
app? Which differences can be ignored?
— Extrapolation: What does a test on one device say to the
thousands of devices out there in the wild?

204 Testing
 The set of test devices to use needs to be reviewed on an
ongoing basis, as the app and the ecosystem evolve. Also, you
may identify new devices, that your app currently does not
support, during your reviews. The following figure illustrates
these concepts.

Existing user group

The optimal mix to support

Possible
Device
Database

Installed Target
Device Device
Database Database

Upcoming user group

The biggest grower compared New user group
to the previous period Externals The most interesting
The biggest group that is outside device or platform
the target and not using the app

Complement your testing by using usage data gathered

from production. Google provides developers with Google Play
Console and Android Vitals which provide a wide variety of
interesting and relevant data of an app's userbase and how
well the app is liked and performs. Developers can also incor-
porate various analytics libraries in their app. These range from
single purpose libraries for crash reporting or heatmapping to
composite libraries that generally include mobile analytics.

205 Testing
 Virtual devices
Virtual devices run as software, inside another computer, they
are often free and immediately available to install and use.
Some platforms, including Android, allow you to create custom
devices, for instance, with a new screen resolution which
you can use for testing your apps before suitable hardware is
available. Virtual devices can provide rough-and-ready testing
of your applications. Key differences include: performance,
security, and how we interact with them compared to physical
devices. These differences may affect the validity of some test
results. Beside the Android platform virtual devices, you can
use GenyMotion.com, who provide faster and more capable
Android emulators, for instance to control the values of various
sensors.

Physical devices
The performance characteristics of various phone models vary
tremendously from virtual devices on your computer. So: buy,
rent, beg or borrow phones to test on. A good start is to
pick a mix of popular, new, and models that include specific
characteristics or features such as: touch screen; physical
keyboard; screen resolution; networking chipset, et cetera.
Unless your target group only uses a certain type of phones,
try your software on at least one low-end or old device as you
want users with these devices to be happy too.
Here are several aspects to test explicitly on physical
devices, as the devices have a significant impact on these
aspects:

206 Testing
 — Navigating the UI: For instance, can people use your
application with one hand? Effects of different lighting
conditions: the experience of the user interface can differ
in real sunlight when you are out and about. It is a mobile
device – many users will be on the move. Rotate the
screen and make sure the app is equally attractive and
functional.
— Location: if you use location information within your
app: move – both quickly and slowly. Go to locations with
patchy network and GPS coverage to see how your app
behaves.
— Multimedia: support for audio, video playback and record-
ing facilities can differ dramatically between devices and
their respective emulators.
— Internet connectivity: establishing an internet connec-
tion can take an incredible amount of time. Connection
delay and bandwidth depend on the network, its current
strength and the number of simultaneous connections.
Test the effects of intermittent connectivity and how the
app responds.

Remote devices
If you do not have physical devices at hand or if you need
to test your application on other networks, especially abroad
and for other locales, then one of the ‘remote device services’
might help you. They can help extend the breadth and depth
of your testing at little or no cost. Device farms are becoming
commonplace and are clearly strategic where Google6 and
Amazon7 in particular now provide them.

6   firebase.google.com/products/test-lab

7   aws.amazon.com/device-farm

207 Testing
 You can also use commercial services of companies such
as SauceLabs.com, Testdroid.com, PerfectoMobile.com or
Sigos.com for similar testing across a range of devices and
platforms. Some manufacturers brand and promote these
services. However you often have to pay for them after a short
trial period. Some of the commercial services provide API’s to
enable you to create automated tests. You can even create a
private repository of remote devices, e.g. by hosting them in
remote offices and locations.

Beta Testing
Another possibility, to increase the pool of devices, is to in-
volve end users in the testing; for instance using beta testing.
In this way the mobile app is on the devices and in the hands
of end-users in their own environment. These devices are not
controlled in any way. Extra tooling is needed to distribute
the app and to capture the feedback from end-users. Check
Ray Wenderlich's blog for more info on IOS beta testing8 and
Android's Developer portal9 if you are targeting Android.

Mobile Testing Skills

Beside the basic skills like installing apps with Xcode and
Android Studio it makes your life as a tester a lot easier if you
know how to use the command line, analyse logfiles, create
custom test data and to mirror apps10.
Testers of mobile apps should understand the context of
usage of the app, the types of users of the app;, know how to
obtain device logs, know how to use analytics, be able to test
API's directly, follow market developments of the OS, brands,

8   raywenderlich.com/5352-testflight-tutorial-ios-beta-testing

9   developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/launch/test-tracks

10   See airsquirrels.com/reflector and vysor.io

208 Testing
 and versions; and be able translate requirements from different
perspectives into tests. Additionally, a tester should be familiar
with the Agile/Scrum testing approach, risk analysis, test
strategies and be able to use all sorts of tools during testing
manually and automatically.
For professional QA training and certifications, you might
want to evaluate the offering of the ISTQB (International
Software Testing Qualifications Board)11.
Beside these functional skills, testers should be able to
deliver feedback effectively. Today's world of software develop-
ment is characterized by agility: Apps are developed and
released in small iterations (sprints) that reflect the constant
improvement based on end-user feedback and other stakehold-
ers' input. The tester is one of these stakeholders and needs to
deliver his/her input in a way that is constructive and enables
developers to implement improvements within a sprint cycle.
In this setup, a tester is rather a coach on quality than the
gatekeeper of quality.
To prevent feedback being received as negative criticism
there are a number of guidelines to follow12 . As a suggestion,
try to make your team appreciate bug reports instead of
perceiving them as criticism of their work.
A good way to constantly improve is pair testing. Pair test-
ing is a technique in which two team members work together
at one computer to test the software application. Pair testing
can also be done together with a developer or designer13.

11   See istqb.org for some general testing qualification paths and check their
mobile specific offering at istqb.org/certification-path-root/mobile-
application-testing

12   See teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-ways-to-provide-effective-feedback-for-
learning
13   See stickyminds.com/article/many-advantages-pair-testing to learn more
about pair testing
209 Testing
 Apply Testing Techniques
To make sure your testing covers all relevant areas of your of-
fering, a couple of mnemonics might help in memorising those:

— I SLICED UP FUN14: Input (Test the application changing

its orientation (horizontal/vertical) and trying out all
the inputs including keyboard, gestures etc.), Store (Use
appstore guidelines as a source for testing ideas), Loca-
tion (Test on the move and check for localization issues),
Interaction/Interruption (See how your app interacts with
other programs, particularly built-in native apps), Commu-
nication (Observe your apps behavior when receiving calls,
e-mails, etc.), Ergonomics (Search for problem areas in in-
teraction, e.g. small fonts), Data (Test handling of special
characters, different languages, external media feeds, large
files of different formats, notifications), Usability (Look
for any user actions that are awkward, confusing, or slow),
Platform (Test on different OS versions), Function (Verify
that all features are implemented and that they work the
way they are supposed to), User Scenarios (Create testing
scenarios for concrete types of users), Network (Test under
different and changing network conditions)

14   kohl.ca/articles/ISLICEDUPFUN.pdf

210
 — COP FLUNG GUN15 summarizes similar aspects under
Communication, Orientation, Platform, Function, Location,
User Scenarios, Network, Gestures, Guidelines, Updates,
Notifications.

Karen Johnson provides helpful material on using heuristics

and mnemonics for testing software at karennicolejohnson.
com/wp-conteuploads/2012/11/KNJohnson-2012-heuristics-
mnemonics.pdf.

Tours
Tours are an experience-based test technique. It help us focus
on what and how while we are testing a mobile app.
Tours help you focusing on your testing, Cem Kaner
describes a tour as "a directed search through the program.
Find all the capabilities. Find all the claims about the product.
Find all the variables. Find all the intended benefits. Find all
the ways to get from A to B. Find all the X. Or maybe not ALL,
but find a bunch."16. With the combination of different tours
in different perspectives (see the I SLICED UP FUN heuristics)
coverage and test depth can be chosen.
Examples of Tours17 include:

— Configuration tour: Attempt to find all the ways you can

change settings in the product in a way that the applica-
tion retains those settings.
— Feature tour: Move through the application and get famil-
iar with all the controls and features you come across.

15   moolya.com/blogs/2014/05/34/COP-FLUNG-GUN-MODEL
16   kaner.com/?p=96; also see developsense.com/blog/2009/04/of-testing-
tours-and-dashboards/
17   from michaeldkelly.com/blog/2005/9/20/touring-heuristic.html

211 Testing
 — Structure tour: Find everything you can about what
comprises the physical product (code, interfaces, hardware,
files, etc.).
— Variability tour: Look for things you can change in the
application - and then you try to change them.

Mobile Analytics
Mobile Analytics can help testers to identify differences in
various aspects, e.g. performance and power consumption of a
service's infrastructure when the app is being used by many us-
ers on a vast variety of devices. Some compelling examples of
differences in behavior and on ways issues were addressed in a
paper published by computer scientists from the University of
Wisconsin18.
Analytics is about finding trends in big numbers. This means
to transforming raw data into meaningful patterns and act
accordingly. To discover patterns in the collected data, there
are (in general terms) four steps: 1. creation, 2. recording,
3. processing, 4. asking questions. More info about finding
patterns can be found in another article of mine published as
a PDF entitled "The magic of the mobile numbers: Testing with
the power of analytics"19.

18   “Capturing Mobile Experience in the Wild: A Tale of Two Apps”, available as a

download at static.googleusercontent.com/media/research.google.com/en//
pubs/archive/41590.pdf

19   polteq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/The-magic-of-the-mobile-
numbers-Marc-van-t-Veer-2017.pdf

212 Testing
 HP Enterprise also offers a book on the confluence between
mobile analytics and testing for mobile apps20.
See the chapter about Mobile Analytics to learn more about
how analytics can help you assure your app's quality.

Users & Personas

Although the developers and testers might find an app easy
to use, your end users might not have the same experience.
The chapter "From Idea To Prototype" already explains how
to design your app in a way that it delivers best possible
user experience that fits your target groups' expectations and
abilities. However, this process should - of course - never be
considered as finished. To be able to continuously reflect on
usability and get aware of possible issues, you should consider
working with personas. Personas are fictional people that
represent a certain type of end user. Putting yourself into their
shoes helps understanding their needs and adjusting your
software accordingly.
Learn more about the concept of personas at personas.dk
and consider creating test cases especially tailored for these
personas.

Involve End-Users in your Testing

Early and constant user feedback is an important mirror when
developing any software - during any phase in development,
including QA. It does not need a large budget or a huge
number of users21. Significant value is gained with early
involvement, diverse users, regular sessions and multiple
smaller tests. Testers can guide and facilitate the end-user

20   themobileanalyticsplaybook.com
21   nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users

213 Testing
 testing. For instance, by preparing the tests, processing log
files, and analyzing results.
Whenever you include external people to test your app, they
need ways to access and use the app. Web apps can be hosted
online, perhaps protected using passwords, hard-to-guess URLs
and other techniques. Installable apps need at least one way
to be installed. For instance using a corporate app store or
specialist deployment services like AppCenter (formerly known
as HockeyApp)22 . When the app is closer to being production-
ready, users can test the more mature version of the mobile
app in alpha & beta tests phases. See the platform chapters to
get some hints on your options in that regard.

Crowd Testing
There are various services available that facilitate pre-
production testing by external people, often so called micro-
jobbers: Crowdtesting service providers include Applause.com,
PassBrains.com, and TestBirds.de. Lookback.io provides a
different more personal flavor. All of them usually offer you
the option to define certain test cases or areas of your app as
well as narrowing down the type of users you are interested in
getting feedback from. Crowdtesting can also help to cover a
wider range of real devices. But you should keep in mind that
crowd-testers are often paid per bug. So do not trust their
observations blindly. Always be able to validate them on local
physical devices.

22   appcenter.ms

214 Testing
 API Testing
An Application Programming Interface (API) is very often a key
element of mobile offerings. They are abstracting a system's
underlying implementation and only expose objects or actions
a developer needs. As an example, a server API provides data
to a mobile app in a format both have agreed upon. If the
API does not deliver that data in the defined format or in a
performative manner, the app will be perceived as buggy or
slowly. Testing the API separately from the mobile app has
many advances, like faster and easier business logic testing,
ease of automation, earlier detection of defects and their root
cause, creation of test data for app testing, easier reproduction
of bugs and having a monitoring tool for production issues
(regression).
To start (headless) testing the API directly can feel like
opening up the box of Pandora with terms like JSON, REST,
Mocks/Stubs, Proxy, HTTPS error states and debug logging. But
also, a world of useful special tools opens up: Popular tools
like Postman23, Swagger24 and Charles Proxy25 will make your
life as a tester a lot easier.
By helping providing stable APIs you will be helping
delivering a more robust app experience.
To learn more about this topic, check ApiEvangelist.com26,
ProgrammableWeb.com and Guru99.com/api-testing.

23   getpostman.com
24   swagger.io
25   charlesproxy.com
26   especially apievangelist.com/2018/01/12/api-life-cycle-basics-testing

215 Testing
 Manage your Testing Time
Testing as you have discovered can take many hours. Far
more than your time allows. Particularly if you are close to a
deadline such as a release date. There are various ways you can
manage time spent in testing, in parallel testing can be made
more interesting, rewarding, and more productive.

— Reduce setup time: Find ways to deploy apps quickly

and efficiently. Implement mechanisms to provide the ap-
propriate test data and configuration on both the mobile
device and the relevant servers. Aim to have devices and
systems 'ready to test'.
— Reduce time needed for reporting & bug analysis: Data,
screenshots, and even video, can help make bugs easier
and faster to investigate. Data can include logs, system
configurations, network traffic, and runtime information.
Commercial tools can record actions and screenshots to
reduce the time and effort needed to report and reproduce
problems.
— Risk analysis: You can use the risk analysis to decide
how and when to allocate testing effort. Risks are hard to
determine accurately by the tester or developer alone; a
joint effort from all the stakeholders of the mobile app can
help to improve the risk analysis. Sometimes the mobile
app tester is the facilitator in getting the product risk
analysis in place.

216 Testing
 — Scaling testing: Increase the throughput of testing by
scaling it. For instance using test automation, cloud-based
test systems and more humans involved in the testing
can help increase the volume, and potentially the quality,
of the testing. Using static analysis tools to review code
and other artifacts can also help the team to find and fix
problems before the app is released.
— Test automation: Automate what you can automate but
keep it simple. Start during design by assigning what
should be automated on unit and API level. Prepare
the mobile app with accessibility labels and select user
scenario's that every user touches. Then start thinking
about UI automation.

217 Testing
 Defect Analysis
As stated above, the main purpose of testing is creating
feedback, mostly based on the defects (aka bugs) found. A
defect is a deviation from the expected behavior in the eyes of
the user27. To be sure that a certain behaviour is unexpected,
of course, a clear understanding of the expected behaviour is
needed. This is one of the reasons where effective documenta-
tion can be particularly useful.
Any bug is a chance to learn and improve. To fix a bug
completely you need to know its root cause(s) otherwise you
may just fix a symptom or an isolated instance of a broader
issue. Mobile defects often originate often from combinations
of multiple factors such as OS versions, outdoor conditions,
other apps, timing issues, end user interaction, unexpected
data input, limited memory, server outages etc.
The process of finding the cause is called defect analysis.

Taxonomy
Once you start researching, you will see that there are complex
studies available on how to detect the root cause of a bug.
Many people have graduated on this topic. In Ajay Kumar Jha's
work on defect analysis28, he created a repository, a taxonomy
of possible risks. If these risks becomes reality, then there is a
defect in the mobile app. His idea behind the taxonomy defect
analysis method is to "define feature categories and collect
lists of possible bugs in each category".
A good place to build a taxonomy, is the app store reviews.

27   Find a short explanation about other defect definitions at getzephyr.com/

insights/what-is-a-software-defect
28   "A Risk Catalog for Mobile Applications": testingeducation.org/articles/
AjayJha_Thesis.pdf

218 Testing
 Both Google's Playstore and the iOS App Store lets you export
all reviews29 which you can then use as a basis for your defect
analysis.
A defect taxonomy may help you to create better tests, see
Cem Kaner's30 and Michael Stahl's online articles31 to learn
more.

S-FMEA
A second approach for analyzing defects is S-FMEA (Software
Failure Mode and Effect Analysis32). The S-FMEA method
is looking for structural problems in a system design. First
you define possible failure modes, then you examine its
consequences on different system levels as part of the effects
analysis. S-FMEA can support the decision-making process
during the architectural planning of a system. This means that
there are alternatives choices and each choice can lead to
different failure modes of the application and have different
effects. Understanding this relationship and making the right
decisions can lead to a more robust design and mobile app.

29   check support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/
answer/138230#export_ratings_and_reviews and help.apple.com/app-
store-connect/#/devd15088dd0 elp.apple.com/app-store-connect/#/
devd15088dd0 to learn how

30 semanticscholar.org/paper/Bug-Taxonomies%3A-Use-Them-to-Generate-
Better-Tests-1-Vijayaraghavan-Kaner
31   stickyminds.com/article/using-bug-taxonomy-design-better-software-tests
32   See "An Introduction to Software Failure Modes Effects Analysis (SFMEA)":
slideshare.net/AnnMarieNeufelder/an-introduction-to-software-failure-
modes-effects-analysis-sfmea

219 Testing
 Learn More
Testing mobile apps is becoming mainstream with various good
sources of information. Useful online sources include:

— katrinatester.blogspot.de/2015/08/mobile-testing-pathway.
html - A comprehensive and well-presented set of possible
steps for testing mobile software.
— github.com/julianharty/testing-heuristics - An online open
source project to learn more about testing heuristics for
mobile apps.
— enjoytesting.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/mobile_test-
ing_ready_reckoner.pdf - Contains short, clear testing ideas
with examples, mainly for Android devices
— developers.google.com/google-test-automation-conference
- The annual Google Test Automation Conference (GTAC)
often includes several presentations on testing mobile
apps. These are recorded and available free of charge.
Worth watching.
— genymotion.com/blog/android-testing-showdown - A useful
guide on selecting the best devices to test on.
— appqualityalliance.org/resources - The official App Quality
Alliance AQuA website including their useful app testing
guidelines.

220 Testing
 A good place to start learning testing mobile apps is
reading books like:

— Tap Into Mobile Application Testing by Jonathan Kohl:

Leanpub.com/testmobileapps.
— Hands-on Mobile App Testing by Daniel Knott. A sample
chapter is available at HandsOnMobileAppTesting.com.
— Testing Computer Software by Cem Kaner
— Steve Krug has written several immensely popular books
that cover low-cost DIY usability testing. Various chapters
are available online at Sensible.com. His work is well worth
reading and much applies to testing mobile apps.

Also make sure to read the Security chapter in this guide:

It contains valuable guidelines how to test your app and its
components regarding vulnerabilities. And of course, do not
miss the platform-specific articles (especially the mobile web
chapter) to gain deeper insights into mobile testing.

221
Linda Harnisch

Monetization
For developers, mobile has democratized access to billions of
BY

users. According to Sensortower1, in 2018 more than 71 billion

USD were transacted in major app stores of Apple and Google
with in-app purchases, subscriptions, and premium apps; up
from 58 billion USD in 2017. Just take a look at the most
profitable (non-gaming) mobile apps2 across the App Store and
Google Play Store such as Tinder, Netflix or YouTube to notice
that users do not mind paying for apps. There is an incredible
opportunity for app developers to reach consumers; and of
course there is a huge competition with over 5 million apps3
in the leading app stores (Apple’s App Store and Google Play).
Over 94 percent of apps on the main app stores are free4 and
compete for users’ attention. Thus, developers need to make
sure that their app and their advertising budget help their app
stand out from the crowd.

1   sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-and-downloads-2018

2   sensortower.com/blog/top-grossing-apps-worldwide-may-2019

3   statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-
stores
4   statista.com/statistics/266211/distribution-of-free-and-paid-android-apps

223
 Monetization Models
Assuming you are not developing your app as a hobby, you
probably want to turn it into a source of revenue. This is
where app monetization models come into play. This should be
incorporated into your business plan well before the launch of
your app.
This chapter will explore dominant app economy monetiza-
tion models that are somehow dependent on the main app
stores:

— In-app purchases: Add payment options into your app.

— Subscription Models: Gain recurring revenue by gating
access to content and features.
— Pay per download: Sell your app per download.

Additionally, we will also discuss other monetization

options that are less dependent on platforms:

— “Freemium” with in-app purchases: The app is free to

download but includes premium features that users have
to pay to access.
— Mobile advertising: Earn money from advertising.
— Sponsorships: Receive money for each user signing up to
your sponsor.
— Data Monetization: Mine your mobile app user data.
— Indirect sales: Physical goods among others.

When you come to planning your own development,

determining the monetization business model should be one
of the key elements of your early design as it might affect the
functional and technical behavior of the app.

224 Monetization
 Considerations For Your Monetization
Strategy
Ensuring your mobile app is economically viable requires
defining a monetization strategy from day one. Choose an app
monetization strategy that will allow you to profit off your
development efforts and costs.

App Vertical
Some verticals lend themselves to certain forms of monetiza-
tion. What problem does your app solve and which service does
it provide? If you are offering a content centered service such
as a music or video streaming service (think Spotify or Netflix),
a subscription model will be profitable. Freemium models,
on the other hand, are lucrative for apps that want a mix of
revenue such as ads or in-app purchases (think gaming apps).

Platform
One of the factors that impact your revenue is the platform
you are developing for. Whether you are developing for iOS
or Android (or both) impacts your monetization capabilities
due to market penetration and platform popularity. Looking
at the two major app stores, Apple is generally the platform
that is seeing maximum revenue growth. Basically twice as
much as what Google Play Store is making in terms of in-app
purchases, subscriptions and premium apps. According to data
by Sensortower, the stores saw a combined 19.5 billion USD in
consumer spend in the first quarter of 2019; users of Apple’s
App Store spent 12.4 billion USD and Android users 7.1 billion
USD in the Play Store5.

5   sensortower.com/blog/app-revenue-and-downloads-q1-2019

225 Monetization
 Competitors
Research what competitors in the same app vertical are doing.
How do they monetize; and is their chosen approach working
for them? Maybe you will find a gap or a niche that you can
fill.

Main Revenue Stream

As mentioned in the introduction, you need to evaluate
whether your app is your main product and revenue stream.
Or, whether it is just another channel or vehicle of your actual
product. Is your mobile app an extension to your existing PC
web shop or physical store? Offer the app for free and earn
revenue from your products and services in the real world (and
save the 30 percent revenue share from Apple & Google).

User Acquisition
Of course, app monetization is not possible if you do not have
a significant volume of app installs. You need to have a large
amount of MAUs (monthly active users) to earn sustainable
revenue. This definitely holds true for the in-app advertising
model. This is where user acquisition (UA) strategies step in.
With this edition, we added a dedicated chapter about user
acquisition to our guide. Make sure to read it carefully.

User Experience
Your monetization strategy should complement your app’s user
experience and fit organically within the app. If you put ads
into your app, make sure that this is seamlessly done. You will
want to choose a marketing partner/network that supports
interactive ads as well as analytics and targeting.

226 Monetization
 Value Proposition & Pricing
In the ASO chapter of this guide you will learn how to create
an app store listing that communicates the value of your app.
It will help you convert app searchers into paying users if you
clearly communicate your value proposition.
If you are choosing the pay per download model you should
offer an attractive price tag. According to Statista, the average
price in 2019 for an app on the App Store is 1.01 USD6.

Monetization - Platform Dependant

In-App-Purchases (IAP)
In-app purchases (IAP) are a way to charge for specific actions
or items within your application, whether physical or virtual in
nature. You can offer the basic features of your mobile app for
free, but charge for premium content and premium features.
For example, virtual currency or additional levels, videos,
premium information or removing ads. This monetization
approach is used by some of the top grossing apps7 in gaming,
e-commerce or dating apps such as Tinder, Evernote, Candy
Crush or Clash Royale.

According to AppsFlyer8, the average mobile app user

spends 0.50 USD per month on IAP per app. The average
monthly in-app spend for gaming apps is 0.32 USD; for
shopping apps it is 2.68 USD. But with only 5 percent of users
actually spending money on IAP, that does not sound like a
promising way to earn money with your app. The challenge lies

6   statista.com/statistics/267346/average-apple-app-store-price-app

7   statista.com/statistics/271674/top-apps-in-google-play-by-revenue

8   "New Report on Global In-App Spending Habits Finds That Asian Consumers
Spend 40% More In Apps Than the Rest of the World": bit.ly/29OJNvi

227 Monetization
 in acquiring an active enough user base where that amount of
money turns into a sustainable revenue for your app.
Most app stores offer an in-app purchase option, or you
can implement your own payment mechanism. It should also
be obvious that you will need to design and develop your
application to incorporate the in-app payment method. If your
application is implemented across various platforms, you may
need to implement a different mechanism for each platform (in
addition to each app store, potentially).
As with pay per download, we would recommend that you
start with the in-app purchasing mechanism offered by an
app store, particularly as some of these can leverage operator
billing services (such as Google Play) or utilize pre-existing
credit card information (such as Apple or Amazon), or with
in-app payment offered directly by operators. From a user’s
perspective, this is the easiest and most convenient way to
pay, so developers can expect the highest user acceptance and
conversion rates.

228 Monetization
 Subscription Models
Monetizing apps through subscription is gaining momentum.
In-app subscriptions are a subset of Freemium/IAP, essentially
letting users download an app for free initially. Users can then
access a limited amount of content before being prompted
to pay for premium content or features. Subscriptions are
lucrative for apps that are content-driven such as newspaper-,
dating-, music streaming and utility apps. Spotify’s9 freemium
success story is often quoted as the best example10 of an
app for turning freemium into a billion-dollar business with
subscriptions.
Subscriptions take IAP to the next level. Instead of paying
only once for an upgrade, users make regular payments bring-
ing in steady revenue. By continuing their subscription, users
are encouraged to interact with the app. This boost in user
retention rates is quite profitable to cover long-term develop-
ment costs. On the other hand, it means you want to keep user
churn low. You can read more on preventing users to churn in
the "User Retention" chapter.
The pricing structure of subscription models has become
more complex and varied. In fact, they mirror the pricing
model of a SaaS (Software as a Service)11 by now. App develop-
ers charge users either a monthly or yearly fee for the app and
offer multiple subscription options, as well as an option that
combines all the services in a premium package.
In-app purchases and subscriptions for your mobile app
are both managed by Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). In
order to set up subscriptions in the app you should implement

9   spotify.com

10   "Spotify’s leadership is doubling down on an unprofitable strategy", bit.

ly/2YicZDy
11   "5 App Monetization Trends To Watch In 2018": bit.ly/2LGMGB9

229 Monetization
 Apple’s In-App Purchase API12 or the Google Play Billing API
for Android13. Apple is especially pushing for subscriptions
by offering incentives for developers. For the first year of any
user's subscription, Apple will get 30 percent of the App Store
purchase. Google is taking a 30 percent cut of developer’s
revenue as well. In 2016, Apple changed its policy to take only
15 percent of the marketplace fee once customers subscribe
for more than a year. Yet, some brands such as Netflix14, Epic
Games and lately Tinder15 have decided to bypass the stores,
instead directing their users to the web or other platforms in
order to avoid fees - with mixed results16.
In September 2019 both major mobile platform providers
launched their very own subscription services: Apple Arcade
offers exclusive access to games while Google's Play Pass also
includes apps.

Pay Per Download (PPD)

Pay per download used to be the dominant monetization
strategy for a long time. The approach is simple: Sell your
mobile application upfront charging per download. Payment
can be handled by an app store or mobile operator.
Using PPD can typically be implemented with no special
design or coding requirements for your app. For starters,
we would recommend using the app store billing options as

12   developer.apple.com/app-store/subscriptions
13   developer.android.com/google/play/billing/billing_overview
14   "Netflix stops paying the ‘Apple tax’ on its $853M in annual iOS revenue",
tcrn.ch/2F2eVFW
15   "Tinder is now bypassing the Play Store on Android to avoid Google’s 30
percent cut", bit.ly/2OkFSuK
16   mobiledevmemo.com/spotify-vs-apple

230 Monetization
 it involves minimal setup costs and minor administrative
overhead.
As the mobile economy and monetization strategies have
matured over the years, today only 3 percent of non-gaming
app revenues are generated through paid app downloads17.
Aggregated data by Statista shows that global mobile app
revenues through PPD have experienced a slowdown for a
number of years by now18. Pay per download generated about
29 million US Dollars in 2017; compared to IAP accounting for
about 37 million USD19.
The benefit of the paid-app approach is that developers
earn revenue upfront. User retention or lifetime value do
not carry such a big weight. Yet, as pointed out above, the
majority of apps these days are available for free. Users find
it a standard practice to not pay for an app product that they
have not even tried out yet. The tendency for PPD can hardly
be called strong or profitable for app publishers nowadays.

Monetization - Platform Independent

Freemium
The majority of apps monetize via freemium with the ability
to unlock premium features with in-app-purchases (IAP) or
through other channels. Think of Skype, Spotify or LinkedIn.
Apple introduced in-app purchases in 2009 and since then this
model has become a tried-and-proven mobile app monetization
strategy.

17   statista.com/statistics/273120/share-of-worldwide-mobile-app-revenues-by-
channel
18   statista.com/statistics/273122/global-paid-for-mobile-app-revenues-forecast
19   braze.com/blog/in-app-purchase-stats

231 Monetization
 Why has freemium become so dominant? Unlike pay per
download (PPD), the freemium model appeals to users’ desire
to test an app before buying it. It allows you to hook a good
deal of first-time users before charging them while trust is
built. You have to engage users enough before turning them
into buyers who are willing to spend for a more increased
experience. Therefore, gaining revenue from freemium depends
very much on user engagement.

In-App Advertising
Generating revenue by displaying advertisements in your
mobile app has become a viable method for driving conver-
sions. Once you have decided to advertise with ads you have
to choose an ad network20 to monetize your app and add its
SDK to your app. Each network offers slightly different ap-
proaches specializing in individual ad formats, pricing models,
geographic regions and advertiser types.
Most often the ad networks’ revenue for your app does not
scale at the same rate as your users base does. There will be is-
sues with monetizing all the different geographies or different
ad types. You will soon realize that though you are generating
revenue from your user base, you are introducing problems
around CPM (we will explain this payment model) and keeping
the competition with different ad sources you are working
with. Thus, instead of working with one ad network SDK, you
have to start working with several SDKs as your users continue
to scale. That is a lot of SDKs to manage and may even slow
down your app and affect performance. The complexity within
your app will be huge.
Ad mediation platforms such as AdApptr.com or MoPub.com
can can help you optimize ad revenue and solve some of the

20   See Ryte Wiki definition of Ad Network: en.ryte.com/wiki/Ad_Network

232 Monetization
 problems of scaling your ad monetization. As you are working
with a mediation platform you have one single mediation SDK
that gives multiple different ad networks access to your inven-
tory and then gets them all to compete. Now you only have
one simple integration making sure that the highest bidder
wins by comparing what CPM all the various ad networks are
offering. Working with mediation is the way to go, to get the
most out of your inventory, optimize your CPM and increase
your ad revenue.
The app advertising industry keeps evolving and so do ad
formats that app developers can choose from:

— Banner ads (static or animated): Typically text or images

that can be placed at the top/bottom of the screen. These
are probably the most familiar ads for users but can be
obnoxious.
— Interstitial ads: A full screen ad, which typically has a
"skip screen" button at the bottom. Commonly used during
transitions in the app. They come in a variety of formats,
as text, image or app install ads.
— Expandable ads: Rich media ad combining banner and
interstitial ads. Users can choose if they want to view the
ad.
— Native ads: Ads that match the look and feel of your app
and its content. Hence, the least intrusive ad format that
offers users relevant content.
— Video ads: Ad format that can be highly engaging and
shows key app features. Costly to produce and place,
hence you should get the video ad right.
— Rewarded ads: An ad that rewards users for watching the
ad.

233 Monetization
 — Playable ads: Offers users a taste of gameplay inside the
app. Usually, there is a CTA21 at the end prompting users
to download.
— Offer Wall: Offerwalls are placed inside an app listing
multiple offers that provide users with incentives in
exchange for completion of specific actions.

If you are opting for ads, consider the placement in the

app. Users are accustomed to ads in their mobile apps but you
should nevertheless put emphasis on user experience. Avoid
intrusive or irrelevant ads that can damage user retention.
If in-app advertising is your chosen strategy, decide what
the objective of your ad campaign is. Usually advertisers
decide between branding and performance marketing cam-
paigns. The big difference being that: performance marketing
campaigns aim for an actual action or results, e.g. installing
an app; versus, growing public knowledge of your app through
brand marketing. Both approaches call for different pricing
models. Today, the most used mobile advertising pricing
models are:
CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
The price an advertiser pays to an app publisher to serve
1.000 impressions of an ad. CPM is beneficial for app publish-
ers and developers since they generate revenue every time an
ad is shown. On the flipside, this presents a drawback for ad-
vertisers: they are charged regardless of whether anyone clicks
their ad. As an advertiser, you want to ask yourself whether
you are willing to pay just for impressions, not specific user
action goals. If you are running brand awareness campaigns,
CPM is the way to go. If you think about it, this is probably
the fairest way of doing advertising. Many aspects that will

21   Call to action

234 Monetization
 decide whether a user clicks or even downloads the advertised
app are well outside of the control of the developer/owner of
the ad inventory.
CPC (cost per click)
The price an advertiser pays each time a user actually clicks
on an ad. CPC is a pricing model utilized in user acquisition
(UA) campaigns. The advantage is that advertisers pay nothing
for ads that do not generate clicks. However, as an advertiser
you get charged for errant clicks that do not result in a lead
or customer action. The drawback for app publishers presents
itself in potentially serving ad impressions for free.
CPA (cost per action)
With this pricing model, the advertiser pays for clicks on
their ads that lead to an action by a user (purchase, sign up,
app download, subscription). This is beneficial for advertiser’s
UA campaigns since they only pay for specific outcomes. The
drawback and risk for app publisher and developer: Serving ad
impressions and generating clicks without actually generating
a conversion (meaning they do not get any money).
CPI (cost per install)
The price an advertiser pays whenever the consumer installs
the advertised application. Hence, this pricing model is
especially used in UA campaigns. Advertisers find this model
favorable since they only pay for users that install the app
after seeing an ad promoting it. CPI emphasizes app down-
loads and installs so the advertisers get what they pay for.
Yet, there are other creative ways of monetizing your app
through mobile advertising. Don’t constrain yourself and
explore other popular approaches to boost your revenue.

235 Monetization
 Ad-Free Sponsorships
The sponsorship approach involves collaborating with brands
who grant users rewards upon completing in-app actions. The
sponsorship is integrated into the app which means no ads
are displayed. When rewards are redeemed, app developers will
get part of the revenue. Take Apponsor.com for instance. The
user gets your app for free and is prompted to sign-up for a
newsletter of your sponsor. In return, the sponsor will pay the
developer an amount for each newsletter registration. It kind
of works like an affiliate app program.

Data Monetization
As an app developer, you have access to an incredible amount
of user data. This is a goldmine for digital and offline busi-
nesses alike. It reveals insights about consumers that these
businesses can use to analyze their audience or product
improvement.Yet, you need a great amount of daily active
users (DAU) to employ data monetization at all. So-called
data collectors will only get non-personal information such as
device type or device version. We especially recommend these
articles to learn more about data monetization, how to gather
it correctly while also being trustworthy to your app users:

— "Reasons Why Data Monetization Should Be In Your 2019

App Monetization Strategy" (The Tool): bit.ly/2ObKuDt
— "App Monetization: Data vs. Ads" (Hackernoon): bit.
ly/2JULRka

Indirect Sales
Another option is to use your application to drive sales else-
where. Use your app as a marketing tool to sell goods in the
real world. Typical examples are car apps, magazine apps and

236 Monetization
 large brands such as McDonald’s and Starbucks. Also, coupon
applications like Groupon often use this business model.

Final Thoughts: What Can You Earn?

Certain types of apps have made their developers millionaires
(or even billionaires); many others are not generating enough
revenue to break even with development costs. So one of the
most common developer questions is how much money they
can make with a mobile app and which monetization model
works best. Many apps mix a variety of monetization strategies
to create one that suits them best and goes in line with their
product. Success usually comes with a degree of experimenta-
tion and a lot of perseverance.
Without a doubt, there is big money in apps. In 2020,
statistics forecast apps to make a total global revenue figure of
over 188 billion USD22; up from 88 billion USD in 2016. Gaming
apps dominate the list of top-grossing apps. Developers such
as King Digital Entertainment (Candy Crush Saga) generate
over 93 million USD23 in revenue through IAP from their
worldwide Android game downloads alone. There are certainly
other app verticals with impressive earnings. App publisher IAC
reached over 260 billion USD24 across Apple’s App Store and
Google Play Store in 2019 with dating app Tinder's subscription
model25.
So, how much can developers earn? The answer to this

22   statista.com/statistics/269025/worldwide-mobile-app-revenue-forecast
23   statista.com/statistics/692559/leading-mobile-games-publishers-google-
play-world-revenue
24   "Tinder becomes the top-grossing, non-game app in Q1 2019, ending
Netflix’s reign", tcrn.ch/2KqWcZb
25   sensortower.com/ios/us/tinder-inc/app/tinder/547702041

237 Monetization
question depends on a lot of different factors such as size of
development studio, location, coding experience and mobile
platform choice (iOS or Android). According to the developer
salary guide by Business of Apps, an average annual salary of
a mobile app developer in the US is 107,000 USD, 47,000 USD
in Germany and significantly lower in India with 4,100 USD26.
Keep in mind that the local economy plays a significant part in
the earnings though.
Last but not least, app developers want to consider moneti-
zation beyond mobile devices for future endeavours. There is
an emerging market for additional smart devices and platforms.
Think smart TVs, smartwatches and video game consoles to
watch in future growth and monetization opportunities.

26   bit.ly/2Sy2R3X
 Learn More

— "The Ultimate Guide To Mobile In-App Purchases Optimiza-

tion": instabug.com/blog/mobile-in-app-purchases
— Business of Apps published a guide on top mobile ad
networks 2018: businessofapps.com/guide/top-mobile-ad-
networks
— Many articles are out there tackling the question of how
much you can earn with apps. Such as this Medium article,
"How Much Money Can You Earn With an App?": medium.
com/@fueled/how-much-money-can-you-earn-with-an-app-
981667aed26e
— A guide for publishers who want to monetize an Android
app with AdMob and aren't/are using Firebase: developers.
google.com/admob/android/quick-start
— If you are interested in monetization case studies, media-
tion platform MoPub offers some educational resources at
mopub.com/edu-center

239 Monetization
Laura Spikermann

App Store Optimization

(ASO)
BY

Once your app development is completed and you have created

something incredible, it is time to present it to the public.
After spending all this time developing your app, you want
it to be found, recognized and used by as many people as
possible. The market success of an app is often measured by
the number of downloads or installs, which makes this KPI (key
perfomance indicator) an important growth metric. To generate
a significant number of downloads, your app needs to be vis-
ible to potential users. But just publishing it to the app stores
will not do the trick here. The number of apps in the stores
is constantly and rapidly increasing, which means your app is
competing with more and more apps to be found by potential
users. According to statista, Android users can choose between
2.4 million apps in the Google Play Store nowadays1. iOS users
have slightly fewer apps to pick from, but with 1.9 million, it
is still an overwhelming number. Thus, mobile app marketers
and developers need to make sure that their apps stand out
from the crowd. This is where App Store Optimization (ASO)
comes into play.
While reading this chapter, you will find some tips and
tricks on how to position your app in the best way possible,
and therefore ensure organic growth.

1   statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-
stores/

241 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 What is ASO?
App Store Optimization describes the process of maximizing
organic app downloads or installs coming from high-quality
users, by increasing visibility and conversion rate in the app
stores. Searching through the app stores is the most popular
way for users to discover new apps. According to Apple, 65% of
iOS apps are discovered directly through search on the Apple
App Store2 . On the Google Play Store, the share is almost as
high with 53% of downloads, according to AppRadar3. This
underlines the importance of high visibility.
To make it simple, ASO helps you to attract more users
by increasing the visibility of your app in the app stores and
subsequently increasing the likelihood of converting users from
seeing your app into downloading it.

Goals: Visibility and User Conversion

Users visiting the app stores usually decide on an app very
quickly. When entering either the Google Play or Apple App
Store, users have the option to find an app by searching with
specific keywords or search terms, or browsing through the
feature cards, categories, and lists of recommended or similar
apps. The apps on top of the search results page are the ones
most likely to be downloaded. Great ASO strategies will help
you secure such a position for your app, and therefore become
more visible to a large amount of potential new users.
But there is more to ASO than increasing the visibility.
Many users who find an app still do not download it. It could
be because the app ranks for irrelevant keywords that do not

2   searchads.apple.com/

3   appradar.com/academy/what-is-app-store-optimization

242 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 match the user's download intents. Or, it could be because
the store listing of your app is not attractive or persuasive
enough. This leads to the second mission of ASO, conversion
rate optimization. This is especially important when investing
in paid media activities to promote your app.
Thus, every user who wants to use your app needs to down-
load it from one of the app stores first, so they need to visit
your app store page. To ensure a high conversion rate, your
app store page should be visually pleasing as well as textually
compelling and provide the user with relevant information
about the values and features of your app.

Platform Differences
When talking about ASO, it is important to have an overview of
the different elements which can be optimized, and understand
the differences between the Google Play Store and the Apple
App Store in which your apps are published.

243
 Google Play Store
Let us start off with Android and the metadata presented in
the Google Play Store. There are seven main on-page elements
to consider when optimizing the appearance of your app in the
Google Play Store:

1. Icon
2. App Title
3. Category
4. Promo Video and Feature Graphic
5. Screenshots
6. Short Description
7. Long Description

244 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 All of these elements except the promo video are mandatory
and have to be provided when releasing your app to the Google
Play Store via the Google Play Console. Unlike the Apple App
Store, you are free to change the metadata and visual assets
whenever you desire without having to publish a new version
of your app. Something else which is unique for the Google
Play Store are the Store Listing Experiments4 . Those give you
the option to A/B - test different variations of your app store
page elements on the Google Play Store to identify the best
performing combination based on downloads. When doing ASO
for Android apps you should definitely take advantage of this
testing possibility to analyze the impact of your changes.

4   developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/grow/store-listing-
experiments

245 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Apple App Store
For iOS apps, the structure of the app store page is rather
similar, with a few major differences to note. In the Apple
App Store, you have eight elements to consider for your ASO
activities.

9:41

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esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla
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tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.

Today Games Apps Updates Search

1. Icon
2. App Title
3. Subtitle
4. Preview Video
5. Screenshots
6. Category Ranking
7. Long Description
8. Keywords (not visible)

246 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Two of these elements, namely the app preview video and
the subtitle are optional, while the rest are mandatory. Another
specialty in the Apple App Store is the keywords field, which
is invisible for store visitors and competitors and can only be
viewed and adjusted in the App Store Connect Console. Unlike
the assets in the Google Play Store, changes in the Apple
App Store can only be applied when releasing a new version
of the app. Therefore, aligning your ASO activities with the
development activities is crucial. The single elements and their
impact on the visibility and conversion rate will be discussed
in greater detail in the sections below.

Optimizing Textual Elements

One important aspect of ASO involves optimizing the textual
elements (app title, subtitle, short description, long descrip-
tion, keywords field) of your app store page in terms of
keyword usage. Using the right keywords in the right positions
will boost visibility by helping your app to appear on top of
the search results page for all relevant search terms. In order
to boost conversions and therefore downloads, it is important
to review if the selected keywords drive the right people
towards your app and make adjustments if needed.

Keyword Ranking Algorithm

Each of the app stores has its dedicated algorithm which
is responsible for ranking an app for specific keywords. The
ultimate goal of every search ranking algorithm is to help users
find the best products & services for their needs. This is done
by showing a sorted list of results that best match the used
search terms. The goal of ASO is to trigger the algorithms to
consider your app as relevant for specific search terms.

247 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 The algorithm of the Google Play Store is indexing every
textual part of an app store page. Therefore, the app title,
short description and the long description should be filled
with relevant keywords. The algorithm of the Apple App Store
is more selective and only a few elements such as app title,
subtitle and the off-page keywords field are indexed. Therefore,
it is especially important for the Apple App Store to position
your keywords wisely by placing the most relevant ones in the
app title.

Keyword Research and Analysis

Keyword research is one of the most crucial ASO activities.
Keywords are a decisive aspect for your app to be found on the
Apple App Store and Google Play Store. One of the first steps
in App Store Optimization is to perform a detailed keyword
analysis.
There are different tools enabling you to see which
keywords are valuable and which should possibly be replaced,
for example:

— AppTweak.com
— TheTool.io
— MobileAction.co
— AppRadar.com
— AppAnnie.com
— SensorTower.com

Important metrics to focus on when analyzing your

keywords are the search volume and the competition each
keyword sees in the respective app stores. The goal is to
identify keywords that will drive relevant traffic to your app
store page and are not already under high competition. Keep in
mind that a keyword analysis and ASO in general are typically

248 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 things you should repeat every once in a while in order to
react to changes either in the store algorithms or in your app.
The keywords you are using in the metadata of your app store
page should be monitored and iterated regularly to achieve the
best results.

01 02
Derive keywords from Analyze apps of the
the features and competition to find
benefits of the app new inspirations

04 03
Analyze volume Regularly repeat
and competition keywords analysis to
per keyword identify trends

App Title
Keywords in your app title have a lot of weight in the
algorithm of both app stores. Therefore, try adding your most
valuable and most relevant keywords in your app title to
increase your app’s discoverability. Choose an app title that
contains relevant keywords, but still fits the purpose of your
app and the guidelines of your brand. It should be a simple,
memorable title that hints at what your app does. The best
practice to add additional keywords to your app title is to
put your app name first and then use a “:” or “-” to fill the
remaining characters with relevant keywords. Apple allows a
maximum of 30 characters for the app title while the limit on
Google's Play Store is 50 characters.

249 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Do not change the app title too often, as it may have a
negative impact on your ranking and confuse your users.
Please note that the app title in the app store is independent
of the name of your app on the home screen of a device once
it is installed. This means adding additional keywords to your
app title in the app store will not change the name of your app
once it is installed on the device in any way.

App Subtitle (iOS only)

The subtitle appears under the app title in the Apple App Store
and allows you to explain the value of your app in greater
detail. A subtitle does not exist in the Google Play Store.
Keywords from the subtitle are indexed by Apple's algorithm
and are therefore an important ranking factor. Avoid generic
descriptions such as "World’s Best App". Instead, highlight the
unique value propositions of your app. As mentioned above,
the subtitle is one of the few elements in the metadata of your
app store page which is not mandatory. If you do not choose a
dedicated subtitle, the publisher's name will be shown under-
neath the app title. This is not recommended since it does not
let you make use of the allowed 30 characters that could be a
substantial resource for visibility improvement.

Short Description (Android only)

The short description is only available for your app store page
in the Google Play Store, and appears underneath the screen-
shots and promo video. Within the short description, you can
motivate the user to download your app by providing a short
and eye-catching one-line description, which explains the best
features and functions of your app. Other approaches which
could also be used for the short description are a call-to-action
(CTA) (e.g. “Join the largest film-making community now!”,
or a user-centric trigger (e.g. “Can you solve the mystery?”).

250 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Depending on your app, one approach may work better for
your audience than the others. This is something you could
test with the Store Listing Experiments5 which were mentioned
above.
Short descriptions are limited to 80 characters, and they
can contain emojis and rich text (HTML).

Long Description
Within the long description you can highlight features and
functions of your app and guide the user on how to access the
full potential of your app. Let potential users know what makes
your app unique and why they will love it. The long description
is only indexed by the algorithm of the Google Play Store,
and not in the Apple App Store. When optimizing your long
description for the Google Play Store, use your relevant key-
words as often as possible while maintaining a meaningful and
relevant content. For the long description, a good structure is
vital. Subheadlines are a good way to enable interested users
to quickly find relevant information. To keep it simple, you can
reuse the content from your optimized long description from
the Google Play Store for the Apple App Store. Keep in mind
that changes on the Apple App Store can only be applied when
publishing a new version of your app, while changes on the
Google Play Store are possible at any time.
Apple as well as Google have set a limit of 4,000 characters
for long descriptions. In Google's Play Store you can also use
HTML formatting and emojis.

5   developer.android.com/distribute/best-practices/grow/store-listing-
experiments

251 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Promotional text (iOS only)
The promotional text is an optional element on your app store
page in the Apple App Store. Within the 170 allowed charac-
ters you can promote limited-time sales or inform users about
new upcoming features of your app. If used, the promotional
text will be shown on top of the long description. In contrast
to the other elements on your Apple App Store page the
promotional text can be updated at anytime without having to
publish a new version of your app.

Keywords field (iOS only)

The keywords field only exists in the Apple App Store, and
is invisible to store visitors and competitors. The keywords
field can contain up to 100 characters per localization which
should be separated by a comma only. Using additional spaces
is not necessary and will waste your character allowance. The
keywords field should contain relevant keywords that are not
part of your app title or subtitle.

Category
Choosing the right category for your app to be listed in is
crucial. It will influence how users can discover your app while
browsing through the app stores. The position of your app in
the category ranking depends on the number of downloads
and uninstalls, as well as your ratings. The higher the number
of downloads and the better the star-ranking for your app,
the higher you will be listed in the chosen category. On the
Apple App Store you can choose 2 categories, a primary and
a secondary category. You will only be listed in your primary
category. The secondary category only serves as a keyword,
e.g. picking the "navigation" category for the secondary will
improve your ranking for the keyword "navigation”. On the

252 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Google Play Store you can only pick one category. Keep an eye
out for new categories, this does not happen frequently, but do
not let it catch you by surprise! By being one of the first in a
new category you can benefit from less competition. You can
check all available categories for the Google Play Store6 and
for the Apple App Store online7.

Optimizing the Visuals

Optimizing the visual elements such as app icon, preview
video, and screenshots will draw the attention of potential
users towards your app which will eventually have a positive
influence on the conversion rate and therefore on the number
of downloads. Furthermore, a clean design of your app store
page will enhance the first impression a user gets of your app
and set the tone for further interaction.

App Icon
The app icon is the very first visual element a user sees when
finding your app in the app stores. Having a great icon does
not necessarily guarantee tons of downloads, but it might help
to get users to explore your app in more depth. A clean and
eye-catching app store icon that is recognizable and under-
standable will make your app stand out from the crowd.
Both stores require the icon to have a size of 512px by
512px. More detailed information on how to design your app
icon can be found online under:

6   support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113475?hl=en

7   developer.apple.com/app-store/categories

253 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 — Apple's App Store Connect: help.apple.com/app-store-
connect/#/dev8b5cb82e2 and Apple's Design Guidelines:
developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/
ios/icons-and-images/app-icon
— Google’s Developer Portal: developer.android.com/google-
play/resources/icon-design-specifications and Material
Design Guidelines: material.io/design/iconography/product-
icons.html#design-principles.

Generally, the icons in both stores should be cohesive in

order to have a clear and consistent branding.

Screenshots
Screenshots allow you to comprehensively and visually
communicate the best features and the most outstanding
value propositions of your app. The screenshots are one of the
most valuable elements on your app store page. Since visual
information can be processed quickly by the human brain,
potential new users are able to gain lots of information about
your app by quickly looking at the screenshots. Make sure
to provide them with relevant information and an appealing
design to optimize your conversion rate.
There are numerous ways to conceptualize and design your
screenshots. Viable approaches can range from a strict value
and feature show-off, to a more creative approach that empha-
sizes on emotions and artistic aspects. The main point is, that
potential new users should be attracted by your screenshots.
The screenshots will support potential users by deciding if your
app fits their needs and give them a first feel for your app.
Again there are some differences when it comes to the
two app stores which should be considered. On the Apple App
Store, one screenshot per localization is required, but up to
ten screenshots per device (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, tvOS)

254 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 can be published. iPhone screenshots are required for 6.5-inch
iPhone Xs Max and 5.5-inch devices; for iPads, 12.9-inch iPad
Pro (2nd gen) and 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd gen) screenshots are
needed. These screenshots will be scaled down for smaller de-
vice sizes. The first three screenshots will be displayed on the
search results page and should therefore be highly informative
and appealing. Further information on the different specifica-
tions can be found in the App Store Connect help section8.
On the Google Play Store, up to eight screenshots per device
(Smartphone and Tablet) can be uploaded. A minimum of two
screenshots has to be provided in order to publish a store
listing.
More in-depth information and specifications can be found
in the Play Console Help9.

Video
A video gives users a much more dynamic view into your
app, with the help of animations, sounds, music, and voice
captions. It is not required from the app stores but is recom-
mended as a fun and engaging way to present your app to
potential users. The video will be positioned in front of the
screenshots and is therefore highly visible.
On Apple's App Store, up to three videos can be uploaded,
but usually, one video should be sufficient. It will be shown
within the search results page and autoplay directly by
default. Therefore, having a video on the Apple App Store is
crucial, since it will be a moving element in the search results
page that will catch the attention of the user and increase
the visibility of your app. The length of the video should be
between 15-30 seconds and only in-app-footage is supposed to

8   help.apple.com/app-store-connect/#/dev910472ff2

9   support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870

255 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 be shown. You are free to add music or a speaker to your video
but keep in mind, that some users watch the video in silent
mode, so make sure that they understand the benefits of your
app without sound. In order to include a video, you will have
to upload it to your App Store Connect Console. You can find
some more information regarding the specification in the App
Store Connect Help10.
Google's Play Store, only allows one video to be added
to your store listing. In order to do so, your video has to be
published to YouTube first. Once this is done you can upload
it to the Google Play Store by inserting a YouTube URL in the
"Promo video" field in your Google Play Console. In comparison
to the video in the Apple App Store, you are not limited to
in-app-content when it comes to your video. You can reuse
existing video material which explains the functions of your
app, add an explanation text or even contextual scenes if
needed. Try to stay within 30 seconds to keep the attention of
the user. The video will be displayed on your app page before
the screenshots. In order to watch the video users will have
to click on the play button on top of the feature graphic, and
then they will be taken to YouTube to watch it. Additional
information about video specifications can be found on
Google’s developer page11.

Feature graphic (Android only)

The feature graphic and the promo video are intertwined
assets, in the sense that the feature graphic is required, but
will not be shown on your app page without the video. When
using a video in your app store listing in the Google Play Store
the feature graphic is displayed before your screenshots. A

10   help.apple.com/app-store-connect/#/dev4e413fcb8
11   support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870

256 App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Play button will be overlaid on the feature graphic, and users
can watch the video by clicking on it. Consider the placement
of the play button when designing your feature graphic and
ensure a nice ensemble between the feature graphic and the
following screenshots. Furthermore, animate the video so that
the transition from the "thumbnail" that is the feature graphic
to the first few seconds of the video is smooth so you do not
irritate the viewers. You should also always use large font sizes
when adding text here.
Google requires this asset as a 1024px by 500px JPEG or
24-bit PNG (no alpha).

Learn more
This chapter covered the basics of ASO which is an ever-evolv-
ing field. It is a complex topic and it is impossible to cover
everything within one chapter. Apple and Google are regularly
performing changes on their respective app stores which
can influence the requirements. Therefore, it is important to
frequently review the app store presence of your app and keep
an eye out for changes. We hope this chapter has aroused your
interest to learn more about ASO.
Here is a list of some elements which were not touched in
this chapter but are still relevant for ASO:

— Release Notes/ What’s New

— App Store Features
— Optimizing ratings and reviews
— ASO Analytics

If you want to learn more, search for those terms online and
read on!

257 App Store Optimization (ASO)

Christian Eckhardt

User Acquisition and

Retargeting
BY

Users are oxygen for your mobile app. Regardless of how you
intend to make a living from your mobile business, you will
have a tough time making any money from it without having
a healthy user base that continually uses your app (even more
so if you tap into virtually any advertising-based business
models). In this chapter, we will look at the basic mechanics
behind acquiring and retaining users for your mobile applica-
tion as well as the different activities that are part of it.
The contents of this chapter have a significant overlap
with what would be called performance marketing in a lot of
online/mobile-first companies. Without wanting to go into too
much marketing theory here, performance marketing typically
describes all activities that have the goal of acquiring &
retaining users with the help of quantifiable marketing chan-
nels (so not Out-of-Home or print for example). If you want to
put it like this, the opposite of performance marketing is the
more traditional brand marketing where you will sometimes
even use the same channels as in performance marketing, but
the outcomes of your activities generally are very hard (or
downright impossible) to measure. Having said that, there is
still a significant amount of dependencies and interferences
between performance marketing and brand marketing1. In most
larger companies, these two fields of marketing are handled by
separate (but ideally well-connected) teams.
It is not a secret that performance marketing means big
business these days (particularly the user acquisition part)

1   thenext-us.com/2017/10/brand-marketing-vs-performance-marketing

259 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 with numerous participants in the mobile marketing value
chain all trying to get their small (or not so small) piece of the
big advertising cake. According to mobile attribution provider
AppsFlyer, a whopping $38.9 billion have been spent in 2018
globally just on mobile app install campaigns2 while mobile
marketing is making up for around 70% of digital ad revenue
already today3. With ludicrous YoY growth rates of over 20%,
there is no end in sight for the growth of mobile advertising
revenues4 . Mobile has become the norm in the advertising
world.
Interestingly enough there are not just a few app publishers
out there where the entire business growth (story) is funda-
mentally based on performance marketing activities, meaning
the number of users they have today is primarily made up
out of users that were generated from putting money into
marketing campaigns (so-called paid users). Typical character-
istics of such companies are a strong online-based product as
well as significant venture capital at hand (to spend on those
marketing campaigns).

2   appsflyer.com/blog/app-install-ad-spend-predictions-2017-2020/

3   EMarketer: "Mobile makes up 70% of retailers' digital ad spend", bit.

ly/2tNkhys
4   "Mobile Advertising Will Drive 75% Of All Digital Ad Spend In 2018: Here's
What's Changing", bit.ly/33C4liL

260 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 User Acquisition
User acquisition describes all activities that aim to acquire new
users for your mobile application. It is a vast field and often
consists of online marketing activities for businesses that live
in the online world (naturally).
From a processual perspective, user acquisition is about all
the steps involved from a user seeing an ad for your product to
clicking on it, being redirected to a corresponding website or
the app store page and then installing your mobile application.
The channels in which you can find new users can be catego-
rized into paid media and owned media, as we will learn below.
In almost all companies that engage in user acquisition
activities, the marketing manager on duty will make use of dif-
ferent available media channels/sources to acquire qualitative
new users (forming what is called the media mix).

Paid Media
Virtually any marketing campaign where you, either directly
or indirectly, pay money to the owner of the ad inventory
(that displays the ad for your product or service) falls into the
category of paid media marketing campaigns. There are some
common examples of companies that only exist because they
offer paid media campaigns (say Google and Facebook), gener-
ating the vast majority of their overall revenue in advertising,
north of 80% to be more precise5.
Paid media campaigns emit an almost magical appeal to
marketing managers as they all come with the same highly
attractive yet easy to understand value proposition: You insert
money on one side and receive new users for your app on the
other. Now the reality is not that simple, but the mechanisms

5 "How Google Makes Money", bit.ly/2CY5oLr 

261 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 behind all paid media campaigns follow the same pattern. You
pay someone for a new user achieving some goal that was
agreed upon (in our context this is typically a click on the ad,
an app install or even some action inside of your app to be
triggered by the newly acquired user). The payment between
you as the advertiser and the owner of the ad inventory for the
billable action you agreed upon, can happen either directly (in
case of players like Google or Facebook) or somewhat diffusely
via numerous intermediaries (smaller app publishers do not
have the resources to market the little ad inventory they own,
so they have to revert to ad-networks or so-called mediation
platforms to sell their ad inventory).

Goals & Metrics

The apparent goal of any paid media user acquisition campaign
is to generate qualitative new users for your mobile app.
Metrics that are commonly used for such campaigns have
naturally evolved around that goal and have been influenced
by the needs of advertisers as well as the owners of the ad
inventory (which naturally have slightly different intentions
sometimes). The most important core metrics for you to know
as you tap into the land of paid user acquisition are:

METRIC DESCRIPTION
Impressions An ad being exposed/displayed
to a single user
Clicks A user clicking on an ad
Installs A user installing an app
Actions (Events) A user performing some kind of
action in your app

262 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 While the most popular acronyms (largely resulting from the
core metrics above) for you to know in regards to paid user
acquisition are:

METRIC EXPLICATION DESCRIPTION

CPM Cost Per Mile Very traditional online marketing
metric that describes the price of one
thousand ad impressions.
CTR Click-Through The percentage obtained from dividing
Rate the number of users that clicked on
a given ad by the number of times
the ad was delivered (=impressions).
Important indicator for the quality of
the creatives that you are using (the
higher, the better).
CPC Cost Per Click The price for one user clicking on your
ad.
CPI Cost Per Install The price for one user installing your
mobile application after clicking on
your ad.
CPA Cost Per Action The price for one user performing some
predefined action inside of your mobile
application. Sometimes also referred to
as CPE (Cost Per Event).
CLTV Customer The predicted or calculated net profit
Lifetime Value that you are going to make from the
relationship with a given user.

263 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 METRIC EXPLICATION DESCRIPTION
ROI Return on The percentage obtained from dividing
Investment the net profit generated by the market-
ing campaign by the net spend for
the marketing campaign times 100.
In contrast to ROAS, this metric takes
into account all expenditures that were
invested into the campaign (software,
labor, costs,...) which means it is
harder to achieve a positive ROI than
it is to achieve a positive ROAS.
ROAS Return on The percentage obtained from dividing
Advertising the revenue made from ads by the ad-
Spend vertising spend times 100. In contrast
to the ROI, this metric only takes into
account ad spend and revenue made
from the acquired users. Essentially
ROAS is only considering revenue while
ROI is considering profit.

Selected Channels
The channels to reach qualitative new users for your mobile
app are ever-evolving (as is the way people use their
smartphones). Generally speaking, you can only reach users ef-
fectively in other apps where they spend a significant amount
of time. Obviously, those apps have to offer ad inventory so
that you can run your ads there. The four quintessential meta-
categories of channels for paid user acquisition are:
Paid Social
Advertising is the primary revenue stream for virtually any
of the social networks these days. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat,
and many more will be happy to take your precious marketing
budget to run ads for your product. Because these platforms

264 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 appear as such an obvious choice for marketers looking to
engage with new users, competition with other advertisers
(and hence prices for ad inventory) is continuously on the rise
for any of these. Therefore, it is essential to efficiently target
and optimize one's campaigns in order to stand out of the
flood of marketing campaigns, which users are confronted with
every day.
Billing for the ads you run on these platforms typically
happens on models that are related to either the impression
(CPM), click (CPC) or install (CPI) while some even offer models
that are based on users taking some specific action in your app
after the install (cost per action or CPA). Almost all advertisers
that are serious about their online marketing, engage in some
sort of paid social activities.
Paid Search
Google has always been and still is the pioneer in this area,
but with Apple rolling out Apple Search Ads6 to more and
more storefronts globally, there finally is the option to run ads
on the search function of the App Store as well. In general,
paid search describes all occasions where you can display ads
after a user has been searching for some specific keyword(s).
The two main use cases for this in the app context are the
search on the web (where Google is still ace) as well as search
queries in the Google Play and Apple App Store. For the latter,
you have to use Google Universal App Campaigns (UAC) on
Android7 and Apple Search Ads on iOS to be displayed above
the organic search results (and hence your competitors) in the
app stores.

6   searchads.apple.com

7   developers.google.com/adwords/api/docs/guides/mobile-app-campaigns

265 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 Again, billing for the ads you run on these platforms
typically happens on models that are related to either the
impression (CPM), click (CPC) or install (CPI) while some also
offer user-action (CPA) based models.
Ad-Networks
Traditional ad-networks are directly connected to many
publishing apps and try to sell their traffic on a semi-exclusive
basis. Unfortunately, they represent the most intransparent
traffic as they will typically not disclose the actual publisher
apps to you (as this is their only asset really). This diffuse-
ness makes this kind of business model highly attractive for
fraudsters that apply all types of techniques to fake results
(regardless whether it is ad clicks, installs or even in-app
activity). Billing for the ads you run on these platforms usually
happens on models that are related to the app install (CPI)
while some might be willing to offer you CPA-based models.
Given the limited transparency of such offerings, you should
treat any campaigns, that you run with such networks, with
extra caution and question the numbers you get out of them
(especially if they offer you CPA-based billing).
Real-Time-Bidding (RTB)
A relatively new trend when it comes to user acquisition
is the rise of RTB (Real-Time-Bidding) platforms as well as
providers who specialize in acquiring app installs through the
big SSPs (Supply Side Platforms). What they do is placing bids
for ad inventory at so-called ad exchanges. This allows them to
buy traffic from a multitude of different apps in an automated
manner. The various vendors in this area compete against each
other by using their own (supposedly superior) proprietary
algorithms, as well as machine learning to find the right users
to place a bid on the auctions. Billing for the ads you run on
these platforms typically happens on models that are related to
either the impression (CPM) or the click (CPC). Providers worth

266 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 taking a look at here are Jampp.com and Liftoff.io (amongst
countless others).

Tracking
To be able to run paid user acquisition campaigns that are
based on anything else than the mere amount of impressions
and clicks, you have to integrate additional tracking solutions
into your mobile app. The reason for this is that 3rd parties
(like Google or Facebook) have a tough time figuring out
whether an install of your app has happened after a click on
one of their ads without such additional tracking solution.
They can not fetch this information from the Google Play and
Apple App Store, meaning that in consequence, they can also
not sell you app installs (as they are unable to detect that
an install has happened). That is why it is no surprise that
the most basic install tracking solutions come from someone
that has a natural interest in enabling the measurement of
app installs and user behavior based events for your app - the
advertising platforms themselves. Facebook and many of
the more significant advertising platforms offer their own
proprietary tracking solutions so that you can run advertising
campaigns on their platforms. The two biggest problems with
these: They only work for measuring campaign results on the
advertising platform that is handing them out (creating a
similar situation like you have on web where every advertising
partner forces you to integrate a proprietary tracking pixel on
your website to run campaigns with them) and secondly, it is
just not advisable to receive the measurement of the campaign
results from the same party that is selling you the traffic.
Instead, it is recommended to integrate a 3rd party install
attribution provider (they call themselves MMPs - Mobile
Measurement Partners) that can independently attribute new
app installs to the source (e.g., your marketing campaign on a

267 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 certain website). There are four relevant vendors in the market
for this today: Adjust.com, AppsFlyer.com, Branch.io & Kochava.
com. Each of them is working in more or less the same way.
They collect information from the user upon clicking on the
ad and save it on their servers. Then there is a component of
the tool that you have to integrate into your app (a so-called
SDK - Software Development Kit). Once implemented, this SDK
runs inside of your app and collects information from the user
as well. When the user installs and then opens your app for the
first time (after clicking on the ad of course) these tool provid-
ers match that two information (click & install) and attribute
the install to the source. After that has happened, they would
then also forward this information to the advertising platform
which will then be able to count the install (and subsequently
bill you for it). In addition to the install tracking, the SDK of
the MMP would also be able to measure certain activities that
your users perform in your app (which you can freely define or
even choose not to capture entirely). This behavioral data can
be forwarded to the advertising platforms as well and will then
be available to optimize your campaigns (i.e., buy more users
that perform the desired actions in your app). Ever wondered
why that pair of socks from Amazon you looked at three weeks
ago is still chasing you in different ads across different mobile
apps you are using? This is how they do it.

268
 Owned Media
While all the paid marketing activities for user acquisition
described in this chapter so far might seem attractive to you,
they all have one major drawback: They cost money (typically
a scarce resource if you are just starting out with your mobile
business). That is why we will now speak about a kind of
placement that is not costing you any money - your very own
ad inventory.
If you have a website or some other kind of online presence
that goes along your mobile application, chances are that
you have unused potential to convert some of the users that
visit your website/blog/social media page to actual app users.
As paid marketing has become the norm and cure for every-
thing, the potentials of owned media placements are often
disregarded. The general idea behind all the placements listed
below is to show the visitor that you have a mobile app that is
compatible with his device and that he or she should certainly
try it out.

Goals and Metrics

The goal behind any owned media user acquisition activity
only differs slightly from the objectives behind paid user
acquisition campaigns. Similarly, you try to generate new users
for your app - the only difference being, that now the users are
already on your website and as you own the inventory, you do
not have to pay to show your ads.
Since there are no costs attached to the ad placements
themselves, we are only looking at a reduced subset of core
metrics, which should be taken into account for your owned
media user acquisition activities, compared to the paid user
acquisition activities:

269 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 — Clicks
— Installs
— Actions (Events)

While the most popular acronyms (largely resulting from the

core metrics above) for you to know in regards to owned media
user acquisition are:

— CTR (Click-Through Rate )

— CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value)

Example Placements
Possible options for placements in your online presences are
numerous and depend heavily on the kind of service or product
you offer. The three most effective and most universal ones
are:
Smart Banner
Both Android and iOS offer standard versions of the smart
banner, which hovers on top of your website and for visi-
tors using a smartphone leading directly to your app's store
entry. If you use a tracking provider (MMP) in your app, it is
advisable to create a custom smart banner and put a tracking
link behind it, so that you can measure how many installs you
generate from it (+ some extra information).
App Store/Play Store Badges
It is advisable to put the official Apple/Google app store
badges (standardized buttons opening your app's store entry)
somewhere at the bottom of your website if your app relates to
the content of the website. Doing so gives your users another
option to get your app and shows that you have one in the
first place.

270 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 Check Apple's and Google's developer pages to download the
assets and learn more about the respective guidelines on their
usage:

— developer.apple.com/app-store/marketing/guidelines
— play.google.com/intl/en_us/badges

QR Code
For website visitors using a regular
computer, it is helpful also to include a
QR-code to the App Store/Play Store so
that they can take out their smartphone
and scan the code, instead of having
to look for your app on the stores. If
you use an install attribution provider
(MMP), this exercise becomes a bit
easier because they all offer tracking
links that can determine the correct app store (Android/iOS)
for the user to be redirected to based on the user's device.

271 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 Tracking
As you can probably tell by now, it makes your life a lot
easier if you use an attribution tracking provider (MMP) when
implementing the owned media placements mentioned above.
Indeed, it is not an absolute necessity to have a tracking
provider in place (in contrast to paid media), but if you do,
you should use tracking links behind all the placements so that
you can get the clicks, installs, and events resulting from your
owned media activities.
Furthermore, it is advisable to create a small script that
fetches the so-called referrer URL and any incoming UTM
parameters coming with the website where the user clicks on
your tracking link. This information should then be written
into the tracking link you use on the page as tracking param-
eters (right in the moment when the page is loaded). This way,
you can see where visitors from your website are coming from
before installing your app in your MMP dashboard/reporting.

Retargeting
Acquiring new users for your mobile app is only half of the
story (actually less than that). In order to establish any
sustainable app business, you need loyal customers that come
back to your app over and over again. All the precious installs
you can buy with marketing money will not take you anywhere,
if none of these paid users show any activity after the install
(which is often the case with low quality mobile traffic). The
technical expression for users becoming inactive, is user churn
- if you start reading more about this, you will most certainly
come across the term in a lot of publications as the problem is
describes as somewhat trending these days (and even more so
the available countermeasures at hand).

272 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 The sheer figures are quite depressing. According to a study
from mobile legend Andrew Chen dating back to 20158, around
80% of new users are gone just three days after they installed
the app on their Android smartphone. That is they either
stopped using the app or just downright uninstalled it from
their device.

Average retention curve for android apps

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0
1 3 7 14 30 60 90
Days since App Install

These figures were confirmed with more recent data

throughout the following years, leaving a rather dismal image
of how users engage with the apps on their smartphone.
If you study the problem of user churn for mobile apps on
a meta-level, you end up with three fundamental solutions (or
countermeasures) that should always be seen as complemen-
tary to each other, rather than alternatively.

8   "New data shows losing 80% of mobile users is normal, and why the best
apps do better", bit.ly/2AjOvMS

273 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 A) Paid Retargeting
You run paid ads in other apps/websites exclusively target-
ing existing app users of yours that are not as active in your
app as you would wish (because they either abandoned your
app or entirely uninstalled it from their device). By showing
them additional features of your product or sometimes just
raising awareness that the app already exists on the user's
phone, you try to convince them to get back into your app
and to give your product another shot. Due to the level of
technological sophistication involved in the process of buying
ad-inventory in a real-time manner, you have to rely on one of
the dedicated mobile app retargeting providers in the market
such as Remerge9.
B) mCRM (Mobile Customer Relationship Management)
Think of mCRM as the owned media counterpart of paid
retargeting. You make use of communication channels that do
not incur any (or just minimal) incremental costs per message
sent like push notifications, in-app-notifications, email and
so on, again trying to convince the user that he should come
back to your app. The obvious downside is that with the
majority of messaging channels that are coming with your app
directly (namely push notifications and in-app-notifications),
you will not be able to reach any users that have already
uninstalled your app. If you want to succeed in the mCRM
domain, it is almost inevitable that you end up using a
technology provider that handles user segmentation, message
delivery, campaign triggering, and reporting for you. The topic
of mCRM will be portrayed in greater detail in the next major
chapter of this book.

9   remerge.io

274 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 C) You build the perfect product
In theory, all the market shares should be yours if you
"simply" go out there and craft the ideal app. While that
scenario is never going to happen, it is a matter of fact that a
higher quality product will almost always have better customer
retention rates than a similar product of lower quality.
As you will have noticed, only two of those countermea-
sures even fall into the marketing category (paid retargeting
& mCRM). Consequently, paid retargeting will be discussed in
this sub-chapter, while the other marketing-based cure for user
churn (mCRM) will be the main actor in the next major chapter.

Paid Retargeting
The character of paid retargeting in itself is similar to paid
user acquisition, only for users that already have (or have
had) your mobile application installed on their device. The
main goal is to raise additional awareness for your app by
displaying ads to existing users in order to get them back into
your app. Thanks to so-called deep-links, the user experience
can be designed pretty smoothly. For example, you can decide
to take users right back into your app, after clicking on the
ad (vs. having them to go through the app store again).
Typically you would only target users that are not living up to
your particular definition of a loyal customer with this kind of
campaign and then try to convince those people to give your
product another go. The obvious downside is that you have
to pay someone a good amount of marketing money again to
go out, find the users that already have your app while they
browse other apps and websites (utilizing so-called user lists
with device identifiers of the users you already know), buy an
ad impression from this specific app publisher and eventually
display a banner or some video to the user you are retargeting.
All of this has to happen in a staggeringly short period of time

275 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 (the time between a user clicking on a link to a new page/
screen in the app and the desired page having finished to
load - speaking milliseconds here) which is why you will have
to use one of the RTB (real-time-bidding) providers.

Goals and Metrics

Paid retargeting campaigns are typically created with a
clearly defined goal in mind: Some action or behavior that
users should perform in your app. Think of app retargeting
campaigns as a tool to push users a little bit further down
the conversion funnel. They have already installed your app
but did not place an order yet or did not buy that extra pack
of in-app-currency you offered them two weeks ago. With
retargeting ads, you would now be able to remind them of your
app/service and make them come back to your app to perform
the desired action eventually.
Since users are already in the later stages of the conversion
funnel (where install has already happened) we are looking at
a smaller subset of important core metrics here:

— Clicks
— Actions (Events)

While the most popular acronyms (largely resulting from the

core metrics above) for you to know in regards to paid user
retargeting are:

— CPA (Click per Action)

— CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value)
— ROI (Return on Investment)
— ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend)

276 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 Methodology and Vendors
There are numerous vendors for app retargeting campaigns
offering their supposedly superior campaign solutions to
solvent app publishers wanting to re-engage their user base.
However, from a technological and processual perspective, the
different offerings do not actually differ too much. The only
real differences are in the quality of the algorithms, which they
use to place bids for ad inventory on the big ad exchanges,
leading to better efficiency for some of the vendors.
Outside of the bidding algorithm, they all work in the same
way: When starting the campaign, you provide them with a list
of users you want to retarget. Users on that list are typically
identified by the GPS_ADID for Android and the IDFA for iOS
(being the two dedicated advertising identifiers from Apple
and Google). Secondly, you have to define the creatives, the
goal of the campaign (what should users do in your app?)
and set up the data transmission from your MMP so that
the event data is passed to the retargeting provider. When
all the preparational work is done, the retargeting provider
starts to place bids for ad inventory being displayed to users
on your user list at the big ad exchanges like MoPub.com or
PubNative.net. Those exchanges run auctions for ad inventory
right at the moment when a page on a website or inside of an
app is loaded. At that time, the information about what user is
going to see the ad (based on advertising ID) is already pres-
ent and the retargeting providers would then only place bids
for users that are on your user list. If they win the auction,
your ad is displayed, and ideally, the user would click on it.
Upon the click on the ad (which has your MMP tracking link
behind it), the user gets taken back to your app straightaway
while the MMP SDK would track all the user behavior after

277 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 the app opens again. Events that occur are forwarded to the
retargeting provider so that they can optimize the campaign
based on this.
Having made the point of how similar the providers are
to each other, there is still a hand full of vendors that we
can recommend from personal experience and based on the
technology in use. These are Jampp.com, Liftoff.io, Remerge.io
and Adikteev.com.

Tracking
Having an MMP in place is even more critical for retarget-
ing campaigns than it is for user acquisition campaigns. It
is downright impossible to run any retargeting campaigns
without an MMP because you will lack the most quintessential
part of the retargeting campaign setup: The user list that the
retargeting provider needs to look for your existing users as
they use other apps and websites. This list is maintained by
your MMP (as the SDK runs in your app, capturing all your
current users).
Despite the user list, your MMP plays another vital role in
executing retargeting campaigns by measuring user events (ac-
tions your users perform in your app). One of these events will
most certainly be the goal of your retargeting campaign and
without your MMP tracking it in the first place and forwarding
that data to the retargeting provider you simply can not run
the campaign (i.e., the retargeting provider would refuse even
to start the campaign as there is no success criterium).

Deeplinking
From a user experience perspective, it is (very) advisable to
use deep-links when setting up any retargeting campaign. In
combination with the mechanics of the tracking link you get
from your MMP, this allows you to redirect the user right back

278 User Acquisition and Retargeting

 into your app upon clicking on the retargeting ad (vs. having
them go through the app store again). Ideally, you would re-
direct the user to the view/page in your app that corresponds
with the content of the ad that the user clicked on in the first
place. To give you an example: If you run a fashion online
store app and you are displaying retargeting ads showing
sneakers, make sure that the user gets the correct deep-link to
be redirected to that particular pair of sneakers (and not have
him land on the homepage of your shop).
If you reach the point where you want to run retargeting
ads for your app, and you do not support deep-links by then,
it is high time to get them implemented. There is no extra tool
needed to achieve this. You only have to declare the deep-links
and corresponding views in the IDE (integrated development
environment) that you are using. Both Apple10 and Google11
provide detailed instructions on how this can be done.

10   apple.co/2Ki9JAg
11   developer.android.com/training/app-links/deep-linking

279
Christian Eckhardt

Mobile Customer
Relationship Management
(mCRM)
BY

Generating new users for your mobile app is only one side of
the medal. If you set out to establish any kind of (successful)
long-term app business, you need to build a robust foundation
of loyal users that utilize your app continually and over a
prolonged period. After we have been looking at paid retarget-
ing activities (i.e., showing ads to existing app users of yours,
inside of other apps or websites) as a counteractive measure
in the last chapter, we will now move on to another popular
countermeasure to user churn: Mobile Customer Relationship
Management (mCRM)
Compared to paid retargeting, you can think of mCRM as the
owned media counterpart, so to speak. The general approach
in mCRM is to make use of communication channels that come
with your app (e.g., push notifications or in-app messages) or
are rather easy to get into such as e-mail, trying to convince
the user that he should come back to your app. In contrast to
paid retargeting where you have to pay for every ad impres-
sion that is served to a user, mCRM relies on channels that
typically do not incur any (or just minimal) incremental costs
per message sent (say push notifications). Generally speaking,
there are development resources (and hence costs) attached to
setting up a mCRM system in almost all cases though. Typical
content that you would deliver to your users as part of your
mCRM activities would be new product improvements, special
promotions, relevant external events (if applicable) or even
just a general introduction to some features that the customer

281 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 was not using until this point. If you want to succeed in the
mCRM domain, it is almost inevitable that you use a technol-
ogy provider that handles user segmentation, message delivery,
campaign triggering, and reporting for you.
With CRM in itself being a traditional marketing discipline,
it is fascinating to see what kind of symbioses it forms with
the actual product experience in the mobile app realm. It is
impossible to draw a clear line between what is still considered
as the product user experience (typically dictated by product
managers and UX designers) and what is already mCRM
(managed by the marketing managers). When done right, your
users will not be able to tell that the friendly onboarding they
are receiving is already the very first part of your set of mCRM
campaigns. Regardless of these more theoretical questions, it
was proven over and over again that the best mCRM campaign
experiences are crafted when the marketing teams work very
closely with the responsible product teams (or are represented
by the same person(s) even).

Communication Channels
There is a large variety of messaging channels that can be uti-
lized for mCRM activities, reaching from the usual suspects like
push notifications to corner cases like SMS (in most countries)
or even physical mailing. Depicting all of them would go way
beyond the scope of this chapter, meaning we will focus on the
most popular and most widely accepted ones for now.
It helps to look at the different messaging channels in a
matrix between urgency (how urgently do I want to have this
communication being delivered to my customers) and content
richness (how much content does the message contain). This

282 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 concept was first brought up by mCRM tool vendor Braze1 and
subsequently found quite a bit of public interest in the mCRM
field.
High
Urgency

Push
Notifications E-Mail
Simple Rich
Content Content
In-App News Feed
Messages

Low
Urgency

In the illustration, you can see the four most extensively

practiced messaging channels in mCRM and how you would use
them depending on the nature of your messaging. This way
of thinking goes back to one of the core concepts of mCRM
in general: You would always plan the content and goal of
your message first and then look for the adequate messaging
channel - not the other way around.
A second general rule of thumb in mCRM is to always start
with the least intrusive messaging channel for whatever
communication you want to deliver and then to only gradu-
ally increase the obtrusiveness by selecting one of the more
intimidating messaging channels as required by external
circumstances (i.e., you would send somebody an e-mail with
your latest summer sale first, and only if the user does not

1   braze.com

283 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 open the e-mail, you would maybe want to think about send-
ing a reminder as a push notification a few days later - not the
other way around).
Let us take a look at those four most popular messaging
channels in greater detail and discuss some of the more
uncommon cases right after that.

Push Notifications
Traditional push notifications are by far the most widely
adopted means amongst all the mCRM messaging types
whatsoever. Everyone that has ever used a smartphone (i.e.,
the majority of the population) is familiar with the little
notifications delivered directly to the home screen via the
operating system, and for most users, it is a bit of a love-hate
relationship these days. Marketers have realized pretty early
on, that push notifications are a very direct (and hence fairly
intimidating) way of communicating messages to their users,
despite both Apple and Google (in their respective developer
guidelines) explicitly prohibiting push notifications that
can unmistakably be identified as advertising or possess an
overly commercial character. Push notifications have been the
subject of ongoing debates in the past and what is socially
acceptable with your users, in particular, depends heavily on
the geography (e.g., push notifications with marketing content
are more accepted or at least tolerated in Latin America while
the acceptance threshold for most European users will be much
lower) as well as other factors like your app vertical.
If you manage to deliver relevant and helpful content to
your users that does not annoy them in their everyday life,
though, push notifications can be a highly potent communica-
tion tool between you and your users. This golden rule applies
to all messaging channels we are looking at here but push
notifications are clearly the type of message that is the most

284 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 prone to annoy users, given that it is delivered so directly to
the screen of the device and competes with a multitude of
other notifications there (supposedly from family & friends
because of all the messenger apps). On that account, it is
no surprise that opt-in rates for push notifications (which
users have to grant in your app using a predefined permission
prompt before you can send them proper push notifications, at
least on iOS) will be meager if you do not manage to deliver
meaningful content to the user. You are all set up for a terrible
start already if you do not give the user clear and reasonable
arguments as to why he should be allowing you to send push
notifications in the first place (which you should display prior
to the default system-side permission prompt). In addition
to that, the user can opt-out from push notifications in the
system settings on both Android and iOS at any time. The opt-
out situation also symbolizes the most significant downside
about traditional push notifications as a channel for mCRM - if
you lose (or never get) the user's consent, you will not be able
to send him any push notification whatsoever.

285 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 In-App Messages
Another pretty popular messaging channel for mCRM is the
utilization of so-called in-app messages. It might look like
this:

They come in many different

shapes and sizes (from interstitial
to full screen to floating at
the bottom/top of the screen),
meaning that you have pretty
much endless possibilities in
designing and testing them.
What they all have in common:
They are displayed inside of the
app, which means they are only
visible for users that are already
using your app (ruling them out
for virtually any campaign that
is aiming to bring users back
into the app). The real beauty
of in-app messages lays in the
fact that the marketer can create
and run them using one of the
mCRM tools we will look at below, without having to bother
the developers to touch the code of the app again (let alone
having to wait for the next app release and until users have
adopted the new version).
Very often in-app messages are used alongside regular push
notifications to present some additional information to the
user inside of the app after he clicked on the push notifica-
tion (a critical aspect of providing meaningful content to the
users).

286 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 News Feed
Think of a blog (with any information you as a marketer want
it to carry) that lives right inside of the app. This is the so-
called news feed (sometimes also referred to as the app inbox).

The news feed is a functional-

ity that (the better) mCRM tools
in the market offer today, and
that is integrated into the app
once (same as with the in-app
messages). Typically, the news
feed would live somewhere in
the side menu as a news or
updates section (to be decided
upon integration). Again the
significant advantage is that the
marketer can deliver content
to the app without having to
touch the code or even ask the
developers. In contrast to the
in-app messages, the content
of the news feed is even more
persistent, meaning you can put
information there which users might refer to again at a later
point (say voucher codes).

E-Mail
Measured by opens, the overall e-mail messaging channel
is dominated by mobile devices today. Depending on which
figures you look at, the point at which more e-mails were
opened on mobile devices than on desktop computers has

287 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 been reached somewhere between 2015 and 20172 . You should
design any e-mail that you compose accordingly. In particular,
this means a mobile-friendly design as well as using (univer-
sal) deep links wherever possible to redirect users straight back
into your app when they click on one of the links. If you have
an attribution provider (so-called MMP, see previous chapter)
integrated with your app, it is advisable to use tracking links
with appended deep links in your e-mails to track what users
are doing after they click on any of the links in your e-mail.
From an mCRM campaigning perspective, it is vital to
include e-mail as a channel for reaching mobile app users in
your planning so that the messaging they receive, feels in
line with what they get on the other mobile channels (push
notifications, and so on).

Edge Cases (SMS, Physical Mailing)

Numerous additional messaging channels can be utilized as a
part of your mCRM strategy. For a telecommunication provider
owning the associated infrastructure, SMS might make perfect
sense as a messaging channel, for example. The same might
hold true for physical mailing (i.e., letters) if your target group
dictates that.
The general rule of thumb for all of these channels: The
more uncommon they are, the more often you will not see
them as default out-of-the-box offerings from the mCRM
vendors. Rather than that, these additional channels will most
likely be made available via some API from the mCRM vendor
to a 3rd party tool that is much more focused on the specific
channel such as Twilio for SMS3. In any case, you should make

2   "Mobile is now preferred platform for reading email with more than half of
all email opens", bit.ly/2GZTma9
3   twilio.com

288 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 sure that the communication you send via these alternative
channels is in line with what you present to your customers
using your more traditional online mCRM channels and ensure
that you track the results of the campaign in these other
channels if possible.

Campaigns
All activities in the mCRM realm follow the same logical
structure. You will always have a campaign that is being sent
to a particular group of users (the user segment). A campaign
can consist of different messages and can make use of differ-
ent messaging channels (like push notification and e-mail) at
the same time.
For every campaign to be sent, you need to define a user
segment and at least one message to be contained in the
campaign. What you want to receive once the campaign is
completed (i.e., after the messages were sent) is the campaign
performance data, showing you the results of your campaign.
Data that you would expect to be included in this would be
clicks on the push notification (if applicable), push notifica-
tions sent (if applicable), e-mail opens (if applicable), app
opens, as well as particular actions that the user takes in your
app after receiving the message (which you defined upfront as
the goal of your campaign). While you can theoretically run
mCRM campaigns without this campaign performance data,
there is not much of a point in doing so, as it would be a
complete stab in the dark with no way of optimizing anything,
really.
In the next subchapters, we will take a closer look at all the
components of mCRM activities mentioned above.

289 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 User Segmentation
It all starts with the user segmentation. Here you would
define, which users you want to target with your campaign.
Segmentation typically happens based on user attributes (like
age, gender, location, and so on) as well as user behavior
(usually tracked in the form of events like "placed an order",
"signed up for the newsletter" or "completed registration
form"). For most use cases, you will want to run the segmenta-
tion dynamically - meaning that the segment of users is not
just a mere snapshot of all users that fall into the criteria
when the segment is created. Rather than that, you want to
have the defined requirements for the users to fall into the
segment being monitored on an ongoing basis so that you
have the most up to date list of recipients when the campaign
trigger occurs (see next subchapter). The information that you
base your user segmentation on, has to be tracked/captured
for each user first though (typically via the event & user
attribute tracking of your mCRM vendor).

Campaign Triggering
The campaign trigger, as the name already implies, is the
actuator for your campaign to start sending the messages. The
more ordinary campaign triggers evolve around time with the
utmost basic trigger being the exact moment when you hit
the "launch campaign" button. More sophisticated triggers are
based on different events to happen, and they can also carry
a delay if required (e.g., "send the user the onboarding push
notification 2 hours after he first opened the app" or "remind
the user of the item in his basket if he does not proceed to
checkout within 30 minutes after adding it to the cart"). The
information that you want to base your triggers on has to be
tracked/captured for each user first though (typically via the
event tracking capabilities of your mCRM vendor).

290 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 Messaging & Personalization
The messaging is the content of your mCRM activities. As such,
it is mission-critical, and you should invest a good amount
of consideration into what kind of content would be relevant
for the user as well as what the exact caption should be for
each message. The other question you have to answer here is
which (combination of) channels you want to use, in order to
transmit your message to the user. The last important aspect
to mention in this area is the personalization. There are two
points to it:

— Personalizing the kind of content you send to the user

based on his/her behavior and preferences (take a look at
what Netflix does for their apps with push notifications
around recommendations and suggestions for content
based on your previous behavior)
— Personalizing the actual caption using placeholders for
supposedly personal information. If you send messages
at scale, it becomes unfeasible to contact every user you
got manually and to put his or her first name into the
first line of the message (not that this would be recom-
mended anyways). Instead, you should make use of smart
placeholders that allow you to send messages at scale
and in an automated fashion, while still appearing to be
super personal for the user. The information that should be
available in the placeholders has to be tracked/captured
for each user first though (typically via the event & user
attribute tracking of your mCRM vendor).

291 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 Campaign Performance Measurement
With the campaign performance measurement and reporting
part, we have come full circle. This data will tell you how well
your campaigns did, how many users clicked on your push noti-
fication, how many opened your e-mail, and so on. Your mCRM
vendor typically captures all of this. With this information, you
can make informed decisions to optimize your campaigns and
potentially even trigger new campaigns, depending on whether
the user opened that one e-mail or not. It is also what you
will have to report if someone higher up in your organization
asks you whether the uplift you are getting from your mCRM
campaigns is really worth all the efforts of the integration (of
the tool). On this occasion, it is also helpful if you have set
up a global control group of users (we recommend ~ 10%) that
never received any messaging from you to prove, that the ones
who did are indeed generating more revenue than the control
group.

Automation
As we have learned above, there are many moving parts in-
volved in creating a sophisticated mCRM setup to enhance the
experience of your app users. With all the mechanics, technical
infrastructure, logical operators, tracking data and rule engines
needed to run mCRM campaigns at scale, it is important to
stress again that virtually any company that wants to be
successful with their mCRM efforts, ends up using one of the
established SaaS vendors in the space sooner or later. These
tool vendors handle user segmentation, message delivery,
(user) data capturing, campaign triggering, and reporting for
you and all come with some sort of web-based GUI. It is no
surprise that the development efforts that went into their solu-
tions are far away from something that you might be able to

292 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 build yourself in-house as a little side project. Big corporates
with significant development workforce have failed miserably
trying to do that, and it is even more unrealistic for smaller
companies just starting off to succeed at this adventure. It is
the same story as with a lot of SaaS vendors and companies
trying to replicate their functionalities in-house today: If
you actually manage to build a reasonable mCRM solution for
mobile apps as a side project, you will most certainly be better
off pivoting your entire business into becoming the new rising
star on the mCRM SaaS sky (making your side project the new
main project vs. continuing your previous business).
One area that is especially hard to replicate from the
features that modern mCRM tools have to offer is the automa-
tion piece. Interestingly enough, marketing automation is even
used as a synonym for mCRM sometimes, because automating
your campaigns is such an essential part of the whole mCRM
game. What marketing automation describes is the condition
of having all your different mCRM campaigns lined up neatly
in a way that they would all be triggered automatically (and
often depending on each other) based on user behavior and
other external events, without any manual human input. This
is extremely difficult to achieve, and most marketing managers
already fail at even just visualizing all the mCRM campaigns
they run and the interferences between them. The leading
mCRM vendors can do the heavy lifting for you here, and all of
them come with some kind of journey/flow builder that looks
something like this:

293 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 IF condition added...

43,000 entered

Send push
“Welcome Push“
0 current / 43k done

Has received
push notification?
YES NO
0 current
Send email “Welcome
Wait for 24 hours
Email with App“
0 current / 40k done 0 current / 3k done

Has done event Has clicked

“orderSuccessful“ email message
YES NO YES NO

Has done event Send connector

Stop journey “categoryViewed“ “Send SMS“
10k exited
NO YES

Wait for 24 hours Stop journey

Stop journey Send email “Send
Email with Dynamic“ 1k exited
20k exited Has done event
“orderSuccesful“
Stop journey
NO YES
10k exited
Has done event Stop journey
“productViewed“
1k exited
NO YES

Stop journey Send email „Send Email

with product Re“
0.5k exited

Stop journey

0.5k exited

294 Mobile Customer Relationship Management (mCRM)

 In this case, the example is borrowed from MoEngage4, but
other vendors have similar offerings. This example campaign
flow starts with a user first opening the app after the install
(i.e., the onboarding) and runs through different decision trees
of possible campaigns, depending on user behavior and other
factors like simple time delays. It shows you in one illustration
why it is so incredibly difficult to build all those campaign
logics and interferences between campaigns yourself.
If you want to learn more about the many-faceted topic of
mCRM, you should certainly take a look at the vendors that are
leading the pack at the moment:

— Braze.com
— CleverTap.com
— Leanplum.com
— MoEngage.com

4   moengage.com/flows

295
Linda Harnisch

Mobile Analytics & User

Feedback
BY

If you are a mobile app marketer, product manager or app

developer, would you trust your gut feeling in order to craft
outstanding mobile app experiences for your users? Probably
not. According to McKinsey, "companies that use customer
analytics outdo their competition in terms of profit almost
twice as often as companies that do not"1. In this chapter, we
will focus on the value for app publishers to gain understand-
ing beyond numerical data such as app downloads. But look
at patterns in user behavior by means of quantitative and
qualitative analytics to reach their business goals.
Getting users to download your app does not mean they will
stick around. One of the biggest challenges and barriers around
app audience growth is linked to user retention2 . According
to numbers by Localytics, over 70% of app users churn3, due
to app deletion, after 90 days. This is disappointing because
app companies work hard and burn marketing cash on user
acquisition (UA) campaigns. In order to retain existing users,
you have to start collecting user behavior data inside your
app. This is why you need mobile analytics.
Mobile analytics in this chapter refers to a method of
collecting user behavior data in iOS or Android apps, gather-
ing insights into the hidden lives of your app users and act
on them. These data points guide marketing, sales, product

1   "Why customer analytics matter", mck.co/2KdAEuX

2   You can learn more about retaining app users in this book's chapter: Mobile
Customer Relationship Management
3   info.localytics.com/blog/mobile-apps-whats-a-good-retention-rate

297 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 and development teams in making data-informed decisions.
Ultimately, you want to know how well your app works and
what to optimize.
This chapter will answer questions around mobile app
analytics that push beyond features and functionality of the
traditional web. Familiar metrics and mechanisms from your
web analytics experience might not get you far at all. We are
just using mobile apps completely different than the web. In
this chapter you will learn what type of analytics information
is gathered; from quantitative data (performance, product, and
marketing analytical data) to qualitative data insights via user
feedback. By the end of this chapter, you will understand why
everyone from marketing to product and development needs
analytics data.

Defining Goals
Without hard data, app publishers and developers are left
flying blind. Or they fall prey to arbitrary feature development
sourced from their intuition or eager managers. Analytics data
provides a base from which different app business units can
actually strategize. This is powerful for marketers and develop-
ers alike and enables them to create an app experience that
is more useful and engaging for their users. For instance, if
an e-commerce app publisher discovers that a big amount of
their users drops out in the shipment screen, there must be a
technical problem or an issue with the user interface.
Before you immerse yourself in the mobile analytics world,
it is worth understanding how to set the stage for your analyt-
ics strategy. This should be rooted in your Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs) and the business value you hope to derive
from the app.
Unless you are developing your app in a small start-up,

298 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 there are often many business units working alongside
to develop, optimize and promote an app. Each of these
departments - product, marketing, business development, the
technical team and management - should make up their mind
about:

— What they want to accomplish.

— What their key performance indicators (KPIs) are.
— How they will determine whether they are achieving them.

Establishing a KPI hierarchy for all departments helps to

counteract conflicting KPIs between departments ensuring
visibility to the objective of each team. What is important
is to establish only a few key performance indicators and
supporting metrics that a business unit can actually influence
and that makes sense to measure. The metrics supporting your
KPIs will differ from whether you are chasing app installs,
retain users, or turn users into (paying) customers. Each app
and each business model is different.
If you want to know more about mobile metrics that app
developers use to measure success, there are many resources
online such as Braze’s article "10 Essential Mobile App KPIs
And Engagement Metrics And How To Use Them"4 .

4   braze.com/blog/essential-mobile-app-metrics-formulas

299 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 Deciding What to Track and Measure
What would you like to measure to understand how the
app is being used? Certainly, this depends on whether you
are concerned with product management, marketing or the
development/technical unit of an app business: Mobile
analytics guide marketing teams to create better campaigns.
For example; by segmenting users and automating campaigns.
At the same time analytics help product teams to A/B test new
features and develop the product further. And developers use
mobile analytics to track performance and to become aware of
technical problems.
Let us take a look at three categories of analytics:

— App Performance Analytics

— Product Analytics & User Feedback
— Marketing Analytics

Again, as we obtain more data, interpreting the details

becomes more complicated. Hence, it is important to focus on
a handful of KPIs that are relevant to your business goals.

App-Performance Analytics
App performance analytics provide answers to questions such
as:

— Why is my app crashing?

— When and on which devices?
— Where do users encounter problems?
— Are any third party SDKs slowing the app down?

300 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 Technically, app performance tracking is part of product
analytics. It is about understanding how often and why the
app crashes and identifying remedies for points of failure.
According to data from Apteligent, 30% of consumers indicate
that they will consider leaving a brand due to poor app experi-
ence5. Monitoring your app’s performance-based metrics is the
backbone of successful optimization. Your task as a developer
is to fight any performance issues and optimize the code so
your users can enjoy a fault-free, seamless mobile application.
The following KPIs can be used to tweak your app accord-
ingly:

— User device attribution (iOS vs Android)

— Crashes
— Launch time and resume time
— Load time
— Battery consumption
— Error rate
— Number and length of sessions
— UI average response time
— Screen dimensions

Google Firebase6 is sufficient if you are looking for a simple

app performance analytics solution. For more in-depth analyses
that can detect bugs or slow data connection, commercial
analytics tools are necessary. Public transport apps, for in-
stance, are interested in analyzing the connection speed data
over the day. With commercial tools such as Apteligent.com or
NewRelic.de peak times and rush hours can be evaluated.

5   "Retaining Mobile App Customers 3 Strategies to Fight Churn",

youtube.com/watch?v=66S9k7plzbU
6   firebase.google.com

301 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 Product Analytics
Product analytics provide answers to questions such as:

— How do users interact and engage with the app?

— At which point and screen does a user leave the app?
— Where do users get stuck?
— What features get the most use?
— How long does a user stay in the app and how many users
return to your app?

To craft a data-based product strategy, product teams use

analytics insights to build and defend their product roadmaps.
User behavior is a tough nut to crack. Knowing how users
interact with your product, how certain features are used,
or whether they are used at all is essential to offer users a
positive UX.
As a product manager you want to look at some of the
following KPIs to tweak your app:

— Ratings and reviews in App Store and Google Play Store

— Stickiness
— Daily/weekly/monthly active users (DAU/WAU/MAU)
— Crashes
— Load time
— Number of uninstalls
— Retention
— Session length
— Number of opens

Tracking these KPIs involves using dedicated tools with

the capabilities to map user behavior within your app with
heatmaps, user flow and screen recordings. We will provide
more information on how to track responsibly at the end of

302 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 this chapter. The data collected from product analytics can
then be shared with development teams, marketing and growth
teams to create better UX.

Marketing Analytics
Marketing analytics provide answers to questions such as:

— Which acquisition channel generates the most (valuable)

users?
— Which parts of the app lead to conversions?
— How much did you spend on acquiring a user?
— Is there any danger of fraudulent traffic from my traffic
sources?

There is an overlap between product managers and market-

ing managers both relying heavily on user behavior data. The
data will be different for marketers, as they are more con-
cerned with measuring the quality of their marketing activities
by evaluating the quality of users from respective acquisition
sources against each other. Hence, an attribution software
provider is at the heart of any marketing setup to review
performance and budget allocations for acquisition measures.
As a marketing manager you want to look at some of the
following KPIs:

— Installs
— Retention (this could be weekly, monthly or after day 1,
day 7 and day 30)
— Store Pageviews
— DAU/WAU/MAU
— Stickiness
— Activation rate
— Conversion rates from Google Play and Apple App Store

303 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 — Churn rate
— Returning vs new users
— Total amount spend on advertising
— Push notification click conversion

After clicking on an ad, users are directed to the Apple

App Store or Google Play Store. In the stores, it is not directly
possible to capture the information as to whether the user is
installing the app or not. In order to fill this gap many mobile
measurement partners (MMPs) have entered the market around
the traffic attribution of app installs.
Why do you need a commercial attribution tracking tool?
Google Analytics is not suited at all for mobile attribution
tracking because it does not collect traffic from important
app traffic sources such as Facebook, Apple Search Ads and
ad networks. An attribution tool allows you to attribute any
incoming app install to its corresponding source. Secondly, it
will also measure your post-install user behavior to give you
valuable insights about what your users do in your app, related
to the source of the install. This post-install behavior will be
measured via events that the user triggers. This information
is collected centrally and should be impartially assessed by
traffic providers. The market is dominated by MMPs such as
Appsflyer.com and Adjust.com. These tools vary widely in
features and functionalities (fraud detection, deep linking) and
provide a different pricing model. Read the chapter about User
Retention and mCRM in this guide to learn more.

304 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 Qualitative Data Sources - User Feedback
Hard, quantitative data is a great source for improvements
in your app. Yet, another way of receiving insights into user
behavior is combining analytics together with qualitative data
via user feedback.
How can app developers actually understand the motives of
their app's users? Well, the answer to this lies in communicat-
ing with users, receiving feedback and leveraging it to improve
the user experience. There are several reasons why you start
integrating user insights in your app analytics:

— Validating assumptions you are making based on the

information you are receiving from your analytics sources.
— Reducing costs by allocating resources to features that
will add value
— Boosting the connection with your users and opening
possibilities for more engagement.
— Improving the product road map and UX to prioritize
features that matter most to users.

How do app developers actually get user feedback? You may

want to consider collecting feedback via:
Apple App Store and Google Play Store
The app store rating is the number of stars you see in both
the Google Play as well as Apple’s App Store. It is basically
showing the average customer rating that your app is getting.
iOS and Android developers can program a prompt for users
to rate the app and leave reviews. Optimizing the review flow
is incredibly important in order to maximize your chances of

305 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 getting reviews from your users7. You can read more on this in
the App Store Optimization Chapter in this booklet.
In-App Feedback
Specific in-app user feedback tools such as
Apptentive.com can help developers to strategically obtain
user feedback requesting it right there on the spot in the app
with certain mechanisms such as feature request management
or in-app surveys. Create feedback functions, such as contact
forms and basic surveys within the app, in easily discoverable
locations. It should be convenient for customers to reach
out inside the app. Your app is definitely *the* best place to
collect feedback. If a user just completed the next level in a
gaming app, *now* is the time to ask them about their experi-
ence without leaving the app. Nevertheless, do not forget that
multiple feedback channels can work together.
Social Media, Forums and Communities
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Co. are meaningful
channels through which you can collect valuable feedback
from your target groups. Once your app has got a considerable
amount of traction. If you do not have that traction yet you
might want to begin with social listening monitoring mentions
of your app (and your competitors).

7   "5 Clever Ways to Increase Mobile App Reviews", neilpatel.com/blog/

increase-mobile-app-reviews

306
 Choosing an Analytics Data Source
In order for your mobile app to succeed, there are numerous
metrics you need to be measuring and analyzing. This means
you will need to find a source to actually get your data from.
After setting up KPIs and supporting metrics you need to
define your sources:

— Developer consoles: With App Store Connect8 or the

Google Play Console9 developers can manage and submit
apps, yet they can also acquire information on analytics
data.
— Commercial mobile analytics platforms: Google’s own
analytics tool, Google Firebase10 is the most popular free
tool. App developers often choose Firebase because it
seems to be meeting many marketing requirements. The
actual usability for marketing managers is unfortunately
very limited. Mobile app analytics tools saturating the
market are adapting to the need and giving app creators
innovative new ways to track and understand user behav-
ior. An analysis of your own requirements for such an app
analytics tool and comparing the market is worthwhile in
any case.
— Opensource: there are several opensource mobile analytics
offerings that include source code for both the client and
the server. Examples include Count.ly and Matomo.org (pre-
viously Piwik).
— In-house: it is possible to create in-house mobile analyt-
ics software. Various companies have done so.

8   developer.apple.com/app-store-connect

9   developer.android.com/distribute/console

10   firebase.google.com

307 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 When it comes to choosing the right mobile analytics tool
for your app, you can easily become quite overwhelmed. Some
main commercial tool options available today from a marketing
and products point of view include the following:

Attribution/Marketing Analytics:

— Adjust.com
— AppsFlyer.com
— branch.io
— Kochava.com

Product Analytics:

— firebase.google.com
— Amplitude.com
— Mixpanel.com
— Count.ly

Mobile Analytics Technology

Mobile analytics track user behavior and interaction within an
app. In terms of technology, we have to distinguish between
mobile web that primarily relies on JavaScript and cookies; and
mobile apps that require a software development kit (SDK).
SDKs contain a package of pre-written code that developers
embed in the mobile app in order to measure metrics that are
important to your analytics strategy. Different platforms need
different SDKs, which exist for Android and iOS.
Mobile analytics SDKs generate a unique identifier for each
device. They do not depend on web cookies. This is how analyt-
ics tools can track and compile reporting. What does mobile
analytics software usually track?

308 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 — Visits
— Sessions
— Visitors
— Pageviews
— Source data
— Device information
— Login/logout
— Custom event data

Tracking & Handling Data Responsibly

You as a developer are responsible to limit and safeguard the
user data that you collect. App publishers have to tell their
users when, why and how they are tracking11 them to avoid
legal actions. When a user performs an action in the app the
tracking code sends data directly to the data collection server
of a respective tool provider. In terms of terminology and
the wake of GDPR, “tracking users” have stirred up negative
conversation when it comes to user privacy12 . Respecting
your users’ privacy means to collect only data from the get-go
that is directly relevant to your app’s core functionality. Be
thoughtful and carefully consider the costs and benefits of
collecting data. Grabbing any information beyond that might
just lead to bad press and lack of trust with users.
Furthermore, hold on to data just as long as you need to.
Just because you need location information, it does not mean
you actually need to keep that data forever. Delete it once it
has fulfilled the purpose for which it was collected. This helps
the potential harm of data breach and other privacy issues.

11   Tracking here means recording user behavior within the application

12   "Many popular iPhone apps secretly record your screen without asking",
tcrn.ch/2td6gt7

309 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 In that regard, it is incredibly important for app companies
to sign a data processing agreement/NDA with any mobile
analytics software provider.
The purpose behind the tracking and the kind of data
collected should be well-informed in the terms and conditions
or data policy of your app. Marketing analytics tools such as
Adjust have already implemented the “right to be forgotten”
with a dedicated opt-out option13 for users.

What to Consider?
If you want to avoid common mistakes, there are a wide range
of topics to consider when implementing and integrating
mobile analytics in mobile apps. The following are some of the
most critical:
Having enough users/traffic: You need enough data to
make qualified decisions. If your app just launched and you
have not tested your channels yet, you need to nail user
acquisition first before starting with mobile app retention and
analytics to feed your retention campaign.
Asking the right questions: You have to ask the right
questions from the start and focus on key metrics that are of
importance to your department (marketing, product manage-
ment, development, management). You need to know how to
link business results with the factors that drive those results,
know what metrics to track and finally, know what value you
want to get out of them.
Ignoring vanity metrics: These are metrics that are
irrelevant and do not act as an indicator of the success of your
mobile app business (e.g. app downloads, social media follow-

13   adjust.com/forget-device/

310 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 ers). They sound impressive but they do not mean anything
and do not focus on user behavior.
Having a tracking concept in place: Implementing a
tracking concept is of utmost importance. Most analytics tools
are event-driven relying on events to collect data. An event is
simply an action by a user such as launching the app, signing
up for your product, activating a subscription or accepting
push notifications. The tracking concept should not be too
complex but functional to the marketing targets.
Customization: Custom event tags augment predefined
events, and many mobile analytics solutions provide ways
for your app to generate them. You may need to format the
custom event messages. If so, pay attention to an encoding of
the elements and separators. For instance, they may need to
be URL encoded14 when they are sent as REST messages.
Costs: There are various costs such as implementation,
financial, operational and costs related to data privacy. These
costs need to be considered and justified and only imple-
mented where the value significantly exceeds the costs, and
where the actual and potential costs can be mitigated.
Testing and calibrated results: Avoid trusting and
interpreting your data blindly. If you find significant patterns
in your data, consult with product managers who understand
user behaviors and the product itself. A good practice is to
test the analytics implementation at the outset, starting with
no users, then one, before testing with more users. Look at
latency, accuracy, and reliability of the recorded data.
Betraying users' trust: We have covered this issue under
"Tracking Responsibly". In terms of tracking users with SDKs,
make sure that you do not blindly “hand over the jewels”, but
have sufficient rights and access to the data that is collected

14   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percent-encoding

311 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 by the analytics software provider. Remember to explain to
the end-users that the app is designed to record and share
information about how the app is being used, ideally in your
terms and conditions.
Time, latency, time zones, cut-offs: There is a lag from
when an app sends an analytics event to when the information
is processed and made available to you. The lag, or latency,
varies from near 'real-time' to many hours. You and your
business sponsors need to decide how long you can afford to
lag real-time events. Also, remember to address globalization
issues such as the timestamp of each element. Does the app
detect the time of an event according to the device's location,
the device's settings or does it use a global timelike UTC time?
Some providers, including Google, have cut-offs for when data
arrives in order for the data to be reported on.
Visualizing data correctly: Data visualization is about
taking raw app data and transforming it into graphs, charts
and images. Creating value out of data visualization can be
a complex process. That is why good data visualization relies
on good design and should be easy to understand for your
different stakeholders looking at the dashboard.

312 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

 Learn More
This chapter covers the basics of mobile app analytics, which
is a field that is ever evolving. It is a complex topic and it
is impossible to cover everything. We hope this chapter has
whetted your appetite to learn more about mobile analytics.
Here are some places to start your ongoing research:

— Amplitude is a mobile analytics tool. They pro-

vide a comprehensive guide to mobile analytics:
www.amplitude.com/mobile-analytics
— Data Stories, a podcast on data visualization with Enrico
Bertini and Moritz Stefaner: www.datastori.es
— Customlytics' blog provides a series on data warehousing:
www.customlytics.com/en/blog
— The Digital Analytics Power Hour podcast:
www.analyticshour.libsyn.com
— The Mobile Analytics Playbook by Julian Harty and
Antoine Aymer includes material on using mobile
analytics to help improve testing of mobile apps:
www.themobileanalyticsplaybook.com
— Mixpanel is another analytics software provider and
is offering an ultimate guide to mobile analytics:
www.mixpanel.com/topics/what-is-mobile-analytics
— Big data blog by Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/bigdata
— Venture Beat Big Data blog:
www.venturebeat.com/category/big-data
— A podcast with Christian Eckhardt on how to measure
metrics: webmasterradio.fm/episode/how-to-measure-
the-metrics-that-matter-most-and-get-started-with-data-
warehousing

313 Mobile Analytics & User Feedback

Epilogue
Thanks for reading this 18th edition of our Mobile Developer’s
Guide. We hope you have enjoyed reading it and that we
helped you to clarify your options. Perhaps you are now ready
to get involved in developing a mobile app or have discovered
new options in the app business. We hope so. Please also get
involved in the community and share your experiences and
ideas with us and with others.
We said it before, and we cannot say it often enough: If
you like to contribute to this guide as a writer or support
upcoming editions as a printing sponsor please write to
[email protected]. If you are using Twitter,
follow the project on twitter.com/mobiledevguide.
You can of course also get this guide as an ebook - just
check amazon.com. Or you simply download the pdf version on
our website: www.mobiledevelopersguide.com.
 About the Book
This project was initiated by Enough Software in 2009 with
the aim to spread knowledge about mobile technologies and
to encourage people to enter our community or deepen their
existing knowledge. In 2018, Open-Xchange (OX) took over
the project, Customlytics joined with this edition. Until today,
we have given away almost 100,000 hardcopies at events
worldwide. Universities and schools in Germany, Netherlands,
UK, Spain and South Africa use the book as teaching material.
The electronic versions (ebook and pdf) have been downloaded
hundreds of thousands of times and the content has been
translated into several languages. The book is a non-profit
project: the writers, editors, translators and designers contrib-
ute their work free of charge.

The Publishers
Open-Xchange
Open-Xchange is a developer of open source communication,
collaboration, office productivity, and DNS-based security
software and services. With 270+ employees and a global
presence Open-Xchange is well positioned to meet the needs
of our large Internet Service Provider, Hosting, Telecommunica-
tion and Cable Provider audience. Customers include 1&1,
Orange, Italiaonline, Comcast, GoDaddy, and Softbank, with
more than 200 million users already using our products. The
core of the product portfolio is OX App Suite with applications
for email, contacts, and appointments. OX App Suite can be
expanded to include additional apps such as: OX Drive for
managing and synchronizing files, OX Documents for text
editing, spreadsheets and presentations and OX Guard for email

317 About the Book

and file encryption. Dovecot, the world's leading open source
IMAP server, and PowerDNS, a provider of secure DNS services,
complete the Open-Xchange product portfolio. Open-Xchange is
headquartered in Cologne, Germany, with offices across Europe,
in the USA and Japan.
Our culture is founded on a commitment to openness, a
rebellious business spirit and the desire to leave the world
better than we found it. Effective teamwork is central to our
growth.
Learn more about the benefits of working with OX:
www.open-xchange.com
@openxchange

Customlytics
Customlytics is a Berlin based app marketing consulting
agency. We enable apps to grow successfully by establishing
solid marketing analytics & technology infrastructure. To do so
we offer hands-on support as well as strategic guidance in the
fields of mobile marketing, product management, analytics &
technology integration.
Marketing & Technology: We speak both and act as a
mediator between marketing, product and development teams.
This enables our clients to successfully manage their own app
marketing efforts in the long run.
www.customlytics.com
customlytics.com/en/blog
The Authors & Supporters
This project would not have been possible with the ongoing
support from the mobile community. These are the folks that
have been involved as authors this time. Some of them are on
board for 10 years already, others just recently joined. All are
awesome.

Andrej Balaz / Independent Service & UX Designer,

Partner at Revealed
Andrej works at the intersection
of business, strategy and service
design. He combines tools and per-
spectives from design and market
research, bridging both disciplines
to discover and define new
markets. Formerly at IXDS, Andrej
helped clients across various
industries such as Bosch, Deutsche
Bahn, Fraunhofer, Applause and
others to transition from insight
generation to building and testing new services.
Andrej is currently a partner at Revealed, a consultancy that
empowers businesses to create sustainable growth through an
understanding of why consumers really buy and use products.
With his team that combines the skills of market and design
researchers, product managers and a former criminal investiga-
tor, he provided insight into customer goals and behavior for
teams at Pipedrive, Asana, Twitter to name a few.
@Designamyte
www.balaz.de
Daniel Böhrs / Open-Xchange
Daniel started developing software
in 2006 with PHP and web
development. During his computer
science studies he focused on Java
and especially Android develop-
ment. After obtaining his master's
degree he joined Enough Software
in 2015, which later got acquired
by Open Xchange. In the company,
he is mainly an Android developer,
although he sometimes helps out
in the server development area.
@Boehrsi
boehrsi.de

Dean Churchill / AT&T

Dean works on secure design, development and testing of
applications at AT&T. Over the past
several years he has focused on
driving security requirements in
mobile applications, for consumer
applications as well as internal
AT&T mobile applications. He
has been busy supporting AT&T's
emerging Mobile Health and Digital
Life product lines. He lives in the
Seattle area and enjoys downhill
skiing and fly fishing.
Oscar Clark / Unity Technologies
Oscar Clark is an author, consultant
and evangelist for Everyplay from
Unity Technologies. He has been
a pioneer in online, mobile and
console social games services since
1998. He provided 'vision' for one
of the first Online games communi-
ties (Wireplay - British Telecom);
was the global lead for games at
Hutchison Whampoa (3UK) which
included (perhaps) the first mobile in-App purchase, and was
the Home Architect for PlayStation®Home.
He is a regular columnist on PocketGamer.Biz and Develop-
Online, an outspoken speaker at countless games conferences,
a mentor for accelerator GameFounders and has guest lectured
for several universities. His first book, "Games As A Service -
How Free To Play Design Can Make Better Games" is available
online.
@athanateus
www.gamesasaservice.net
Sarah Duwe/ Open-Xchange
Sarah is an apprentice for digital me-
dia design at Open-Xchange. As part
of the mobile design team at OX, she
is involved with UI, UX and graphic
design for mobile applications. She
is also responsible for the design of
this guide. In her time off she likes to
play video games and to create digital
illustrations.

Christian Eckhardt / Customlytics

Christian is the CEO & Co-Founder of Customlytics where he
helps app companies to establish
a solid marketing analytics and
technology infrastructure. Among
many other things of course, such
as growing the company and making
sure his employees and colleagues
are happy. Previously to founding
his own company, Christian gained
extensive mobile marketing and
product management experience
at Delivery Hero, growing the international app business.
Christian’s expertise in mobile marketing is pretty varied with
a keen interest and focus on mobile CRM, product management
and performance marketing. You can also find him frequently
on stage as a speaker for various industry events such as App
Promotion Summit or Mobile Growth Summit.
www.customlytics.com
www.linkedin.com/in/christian-eckhardt
Julian Harty / Commercetest
Julian's mission is to help people
live better lives through mobile
technologies. He has worked globally
in leadership and engineering roles
for Google, eBay, Salesforce, Klarna,
Badoo, and many others to help
improve engineering practices and
deliver better quality software while
also improving the fulfillment and
motivation for the people involved.
He has been actively involved in the modern mobile ecosystem
since 2006 and this guide from 2010 onwards. Currently, he
is working independently, writing mobile apps & suitable test
automation tools, and helping others to improve their mobile
apps. He is also trying to complete his PhD on improving
development and testing of mobile apps.
@julianharty
github.com/julianharty

Linda Harnisch / Customlytics

Linda works as a communications
and content manager writing articles
and blogs on mobile app topics. She
has developed a deep appreciation
for mobile technologies making her
(and people’s) lives easier. As a
previous sociology student, she ad-
vocates for using empirical data and
analytics to shape e.g. marketing
and communications decisions. Linda
has worked in PR and marketing with a focus on connecting
business communities through networking experiences. At
Customlytics she is drawing on that experience by shaping the
company’s partnership strategy.
www.customlytics.com
www.linkedin.com/in/lindaharnisch

Swen Hutop / swenden

Swen is Managing Director and Co-Founder of swenden. With
his digital product expertise, he
supports companies in the space of
app development. This incorporates
conceptual work, programming and
a huge portion of consulting. He
always strives for clean and easy
solutions.
@swenden_de
www.swenden.de

Dennis Kluge / swenden

Dennis is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of swenden.
He consults clients in the field of digital product develop-
ment. Topics cover conception,
implementation and product valida-
tion. Everything in a lean way. From
time to time you will find him giving
workshops and speaking about his
experiences and knowledge.
@swenden_de
www.swenden.de
Cornelius Haverland / Open-Xchange
Cornelius specializes in graphic, UI, UX
and visual design for mobile applica-
tions and other interactive technolo-
gies. He was in charge of the layout
and design of the previous guides.
When not involved with something
mobile, he loves to experiment with
digital art and illustration.

Ruadhán O'Donoghue / Western

Technological
Ruadhán is a web developer based in
Ireland. He has worked in web devel-
opment since 1999, and developed
his first mobile web application, a
WAP dictionary, back in 2000 when
the mobile web was built on WAP
and WML, and was browsed on tiny
monochrome phone screens. Since
then, he has worked in many different
roles including Head of Engineering
at Afilias/dotMobi. As an editor and contributor to mobile
technology site mobiForge.com for over 10 years, he writes
articles on mobile web development regularly. He published his
first book, "AMP: Building Accelerated Mobile Pages" in 2017.
He now runs his own web consultancy, Western Technological.
@rodono
westerntechnological.com
ruadhan.com
Cathy Rundle / RNIB
Cathy is a User Experience Manager
at RNIB and together with her team
works with companies on their
products, websites and apps to
improve the usability and accessibility
for blind and partially sighted people.
This includes design, heuristic assess-
ments and user testing with blind and
partially sighted people.
www.rnib.org.uk

Laura Spikermann / Customlytics

As an app marketing consultant, Laura is making sure that
app companies are set for success
now and in the future. One of her
major fields of expertise is advising
apps on their app store optimization
activities. If you want to know how to
drive conversions and gain visibility
in the Google Play and Apple App
Store, she is the one you should turn
to. Together with the graphic design
department at Customlytics, she is
developing engaging creative assets for app product pages in
the stores - and she has eagle eyes for any askew alignement.
Other areas of her expertise include mobile CRM topics and
tracking.
www.customlytics.com
www.linkedin.com/in/laura-spikermann-205622130
Marco Tabor / Open-Xchange
Marco started working in the mobile
software business in 2005. Three
years later, he joined the dream
team at Enough Software where he
has been responsible for PR, sales,
project management and much more.
Since the Enough Software team has
become a part of Open Xchange in
2016, Marco fully concentrates on
his role as a product owner, mainly
for mobile apps. He is also the main coordinator of this book
project since its first edition.
@enoughmarco

Marc van 't Veer / Polteq

Marc is a mobile app test expert at
Polteq and has worked in different
test roles for over 14 years. He is
helping companies with test process
improvement (TI4 Mobile approach),
mobile device analysis, mobile test
strategy, implementing mobile test
automation and giving the in-house
developed mobile trainings (mobile
app testing foundation, mobile
automation, API manual and automated testing). Currently
Marc performs research for Polteq on testing AI, is program
chair for the Polteq conference and is running projects for
multiple companies.
Twitter: @marc_vantveer
marcvantveer.niobe.nl
www.polteq.com
Robert Virkus / Open-Xchange
Robert has worked in the mobile in-
dustry for more than 20 years. Having
been involved in a number of open
source projects, and initiating one of
the most successful pre-smartphone
mobile app development frameworks,
he tries to push the envelope based
on open & permission-less standards.
In his spare time, he likes to draw,
play with his retro computers and spend quality time with
his family. Robert has given talks at various conferences
such as Droidcon, CeBIT, MobileTech Conference and more.
He is currently product manager for e-mail and chat apps at
Open-Xchange.
@robert_virkus
Mastodon: mastodon.cloud/@enough

Mladenka Vrdoljak / Open-Xchange

Mladenka is working as a UI/UX
designer at Open-Xchange. That
means she is engaged with User
Interface, User Experience and graphic
design for mobile applications, as well
as coding. She has been responsible
for the layout, design and text editing
of previous editions of this guide. For
this edition, she was in charge of the
text editing. In her spare time, she
likes to travel, draw, play the guitar and video games.
@_mladenka
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