Are you thinking about developing your own in-house apps or already doing it? This is your chance to hear from Apperian’s lead engineer, Jeremy Debate, on what makes an enterprise app truly ‘transformative’: It must simplify an existing business process, or answer a new need It must be used. If it’s not used, it’s not transformative! Forget ‘mandatory’ corporate policies. They don’t work, so don’t bother We will share what you need to know when developing enterprise applications, such as specifying the target audience, how to design use case, and how to choose a device (iOS, Android. etc.) Finally, Jeremy will guide you through examples of transformative apps, and demo his latest creation, Apperian’s Epicenter – the world’s first social corporate directory app.

1. Enterprise Apps
That Don’t Suck
Jeremy Debate
jdebate@apperian.com

2. Transformative?
• What makes an enterprise app transformative?
• It simplifies an existing business process
• It enables a completely new business process
• It helps your mobile workforce stay mobile
• ...people actually use it

3. Ways to drive adoption
• “We’ll make it mandatory!”
• “It’s an app – people love apps, right?”
• “If we build it, they will come”
• Jedi mind trick

4. the short version
Build an insanely great app that
your users will actually want to use!

5. the Slightly longer version
• Know your target audience
• Know your target device(s)
• Know your use case
• Know when to ask for help!

6. Know your audience

7. user
BUSINESS IT

8. KNOW your audience
• Users do like apps that live up to the hype
- Does the app make their part of the process easier?
• Users do like to multitask
• Very unlikely that your app is the only one in use
• Users don’t like to lose their work
• Try to automatically save user input in case X happens
• Users don’t like repeatedly entering long passwords
• Depends on use case – security must be appropriate

9. know your device

10. know your device
• Smartphone ≠ Tablet ≠ Desktop
• Different user input devices
• Different amount of screen real estate
• Mobile devices generally offer enhanced capabilities
• Your smartphone is the device you always have with you
• Make it fast and easy to access key functionality
• The platform matters!

11. know your use case

12. know your use case
• What is this app designed to accomplish?
• Helps you stay focused, avoid scope creep
• Helps you convey the value proposition to users
• Make your user interface simple and intuitive
• Where possible, use real-world metaphors
• If ‘modernizing’, make experience feel familiar

13. EXAMPLE: EPICENTER

14. OLD CORPORATE DIRECTORY

15. NEW CORPORATE DIRECTORY

16. EPICENTER
• Information is always up to date
• Users can easily add detail to their profile
• Changes propagate to devices instantly
• Find people in ways not possible with a spreadsheet
• Allows you to interactively browse org chart
• Each user profile helps convey their personality
• Go from finding to collaborating with a single tap

17. ASK THE EXPERTS

18. TL; DR
Build an insanely great app that
your users will actually want to use!