Mobile applications for your

customers
Case study: Brussels
community website
• Customer
– Brussels hoofdstedelijk gewest

– CIBG (central IT department of Brussels)

• Goals
– Reinforce economy by creating a digital local community

– Monetise services / platform (in the long term)

• Must-have features
– Works offline: permanent presence on the user’s phone

– Automatic update of content through web services

– Easy distribution (SMS “MyService” to 3236)

– Website integration

– Works on 80% of mobile phones

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Functionality: online city
community

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 Solution architecture:
Citylive Community Services
Platform
• Functionality
– Service creation

– Service delivery

– Service management

• Technical
– SOA architecture

– SQL server 2000 DB

– MS .NET 3.0 framework backend / ASP.NET

frontend

– Web services (JSON, REST, SOAP) through WCF

– Session management and telco service

integration through Microsoft Connected Services
Framework 3.0

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Solution hardwarde
• Hosting:Kangaroot
datacenter with Global
Crossings, Tiscali and
FreeBIX 1GB
connections
• Servers: HP cluster
with SAN as virtual
server host
• Mobile phones:
everything that runs
Windows Mobile or
Java J2ME

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Solution software: Hydra
• Functionality:
– Collection of enabling services out-
of-the-box
– Central & secure repository for
profile and application data
– Provides abstraction layer for
applications & websites using
simple API’s
– Controlled environment handling
privacy/authentication/authorizatio
n
• AD based authentication of
services (internal or external)
• Impersonation for non-
authenticated service
consumers
• Authorisation: own service or
CSF

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Solution software: Application
creation

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Solution software: Mobile
Widget engines
• Reference
implementation
on .NET Compact
Framework
• After validation,
porting to J2ME,
Javascript, Flash
• Symbian: tried, but
too fragmented /
difficult process /
weird architecture

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 Operation / system
management
• Service Operator: Has a web-based management interface
• Widget authors: publish their apps and remain responsible
(are supported through separate glowe.org website and can
come to information sessions)
• Community members: can transfer ownership of data entities
in the system to each other. Escalation process with manual
intervention if no agreement
• Users: select their own content & widgets, create their own
accounts, distribution by SMS and self-installation
• Technical operations: regular process monitoring / server
monitoring with MOM, regular DB and software maintenance
schedules

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 Development cycle for mobile

• Starts on PC
prototyping in .NET on desktop before implementing in .NET CF
(is one of the bis advantaged of Windows Mobile)

• Methodology: Scrum++
agility linked with the room to breath for some innovation

• Tools: Microsoft toolchain

Visual studio, team server with sourcesafe, documentation on
Sharepoint
 Challenges / lessons learned
Things to do
• Make mock-ups FIRST
– Mobile apps have no set expectation
– You can’t predict what will work
Do extensive user testing
– • Avoid the bigger picture
– Be prepared to change your concept
– Technical POC alone is not enough
• Use the internet & its protocols
– A mobile does not live in your network
– VPN’s are a thing of the past
– SOAP is nice when critical, XML is easier
– Use the universal firewall bypass port (80)
• Think Multi-platform
– 1 platform only is not realistic
– When you can: move up an abstraction layer or
two (but web browser might be too thin)
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Things to avoid
• Stay out-of-control
– With mobile, the user is in control
– You can’t manage his device. Forget it.
– Give users tools so they can DIY.
– Focus on a concrete function with an immediate
value add for the user
– Trying to change work processes, integrate with
business intelligence, cover a larger scope: it will
all fail
– Mobile is new: create demand first
– When it’s time for the bigger picture, current
technology will be obsolete
• Translate the web to mobile
– In some cases, mobile websites are OK
– But: don’t just convert existing web tools
– Mobile has a different usage model then fixed
(“browsing” is done on a desk)
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 Influence of future evolutions
from MS
• XAML: would make a great open cross-platform
mobile abstraction layer (please)
• SQL server compact: gets you there fast, but needs
to open up to other platforms to be viable outside of
corporate walls. (e.g. use XML schemes in WCF)
• Popfly (mashup dev tool): will really take of if given
some mobile service delivery blocks
• DirectX: user input,video rendering,sound and 3D
are big problems in mobile. MS has a nice
architecture here
• Directpush: Don’t keep the magic for Activesync,
open up the API to ISV’s.

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 Stay in touch

Advertised By: Vinayak Hegde Nandikal

Email: vinayak.nandi@gmail.com

blog.citylive.be www.citylive.be
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