Overview: This paper will present a managerial and high-level technical overview of the process of developing
wireless applications. Initially, developing a wire less application may be viewed as a difficult challenge, but this
paper will introduce an 8 step repeatable process that speeds and simplifies development. It will discuss the
peculiarities of wireless applications, and once understood, a typical software development group should have a high
success rate on completing their first wireless application. This paper also supplies a case study and follows a project
from start to finish. The application can be accessed at http://aviddemo.com from any wired or wireless device.
Much has been written about the “Wireless Web”, giving many developers, managers and executives the impression
that wireless devices are just PCs in a reduced size. Unfortunately, this is a vast oversimplification and it has led to
many disappointing and failed wireless initiatives. The point is not to provide a replacement for the Internet in a
small screen (there is probably just as much demand for this as there is for handheld televisions), but to add an
invaluable tool for remote personnel.
The main purpose and benefit of a wireless device is improved communication between distant locations anytime,
anywhere. Wireless communication has been around since the early part of the last century, and has provided
enormous benefit to corporations and governments by allowing their people to talk to one another from remote
locations (cars, job sites, etc.). Wireless data communication has also been around for the last 30 years or so, but the
equipment was very expensive, often custom manufactured, and the coverage was extremely limited. In the past two
to five years, low cost equipment and ubiquitous networks allowed the wide spread adoption of wireless computerto-computer and remote data access.
Implementing a successful wireless project is more than plugging a wireless modem into a laptop – it requires
specific design and understanding of the equipment, the network and the nature of wireless communication. In this
paper, we will review what makes wireless development unique while showing how it fits into the existing
development process. It is important that enterprise IT organizations do not abandon existing software development
processes and techniques just because they are dealing with wireless devices.
To illustrate, we will follow a typical project from the genesis to completion. We will follow their steps as they
progress through the project and show how they handle each activity in terms of mobile devices during their project
life cycle.
The Problem:
“Where do I start?”
Joe has just left a meeting with his COO and VP of Sales. In the meeting, they discussed issues brought to their
attention by the buyers and sales personnel. The issues stemmed from the lack of real-time access to inventory
information. Sales people were taking orders for non-stocked items and the buyers were purchasing products for
which there was little demand. Last year, when business was booming their company could live with these errors
and inefficiencies, because demand was great everything was moving. But now, with a slowing economy, inventory
levels need to be closely monitored, and every order should be filled as soon as possible. The VP of Sales said that
if his sales people knew a certain item was backordered, they could suggest an alternative in-stock item to their
resulting in a 20% increase in fulfillable orders, improving inventory turnovers.
Joe’s group completed a web-based inventory reporting application six months ago, which he felt should have
solved these problems. It was a pretty amazing application, filled with charts, graphs and tables. The only mistake
was that the buyers and sellers worked mainly out of the office and did not have instantaneous access to this
information. About a year ago, the COO equipped her buyers with Palm computers that synced with a subset of the
inventory database, but she explained that all to often the buyers used information that was a week old or they
needed information that was not in the subset of synchronized data. On the VP’s last business trip, he read an article
in an airline magazine that talked about the new wireless web phones and PDA’s. He thought if Joe’s group could
connect these wireless devices into the company’s databases, then his buyers would always have up to the minute
information. He told the COO about his idea and she instantly saw how this could improve her buyer’s efficiency
and in turn reduce poor purchasing decisions.
So, the wireless initiative has been approved and Joe’s group is on deck to perform.
wireless applications. Initially, developing a wire less application may be viewed as a difficult challenge, but this
paper will introduce an 8 step repeatable process that speeds and simplifies development. It will discuss the
peculiarities of wireless applications, and once understood, a typical software development group should have a high
success rate on completing their first wireless application. This paper also supplies a case study and follows a project
from start to finish. The application can be accessed at http://aviddemo.com from any wired or wireless device.
Much has been written about the “Wireless Web”, giving many developers, managers and executives the impression
that wireless devices are just PCs in a reduced size. Unfortunately, this is a vast oversimplification and it has led to
many disappointing and failed wireless initiatives. The point is not to provide a replacement for the Internet in a
small screen (there is probably just as much demand for this as there is for handheld televisions), but to add an
invaluable tool for remote personnel.
The main purpose and benefit of a wireless device is improved communication between distant locations anytime,
anywhere. Wireless communication has been around since the early part of the last century, and has provided
enormous benefit to corporations and governments by allowing their people to talk to one another from remote
locations (cars, job sites, etc.). Wireless data communication has also been around for the last 30 years or so, but the
equipment was very expensive, often custom manufactured, and the coverage was extremely limited. In the past two
to five years, low cost equipment and ubiquitous networks allowed the wide spread adoption of wireless computerto-computer and remote data access.
Implementing a successful wireless project is more than plugging a wireless modem into a laptop – it requires
specific design and understanding of the equipment, the network and the nature of wireless communication. In this
paper, we will review what makes wireless development unique while showing how it fits into the existing
development process. It is important that enterprise IT organizations do not abandon existing software development
processes and techniques just because they are dealing with wireless devices.
To illustrate, we will follow a typical project from the genesis to completion. We will follow their steps as they
progress through the project and show how they handle each activity in terms of mobile devices during their project
life cycle.
The Problem:
“Where do I start?”
Joe has just left a meeting with his COO and VP of Sales. In the meeting, they discussed issues brought to their
attention by the buyers and sales personnel. The issues stemmed from the lack of real-time access to inventory
information. Sales people were taking orders for non-stocked items and the buyers were purchasing products for
which there was little demand. Last year, when business was booming their company could live with these errors
and inefficiencies, because demand was great everything was moving. But now, with a slowing economy, inventory
levels need to be closely monitored, and every order should be filled as soon as possible. The VP of Sales said that
if his sales people knew a certain item was backordered, they could suggest an alternative in-stock item to their
resulting in a 20% increase in fulfillable orders, improving inventory turnovers.
Joe’s group completed a web-based inventory reporting application six months ago, which he felt should have
solved these problems. It was a pretty amazing application, filled with charts, graphs and tables. The only mistake
was that the buyers and sellers worked mainly out of the office and did not have instantaneous access to this
information. About a year ago, the COO equipped her buyers with Palm computers that synced with a subset of the
inventory database, but she explained that all to often the buyers used information that was a week old or they
needed information that was not in the subset of synchronized data. On the VP’s last business trip, he read an article
in an airline magazine that talked about the new wireless web phones and PDA’s. He thought if Joe’s group could
connect these wireless devices into the company’s databases, then his buyers would always have up to the minute
information. He told the COO about his idea and she instantly saw how this could improve her buyer’s efficiency
and in turn reduce poor purchasing decisions.
So, the wireless initiative has been approved and Joe’s group is on deck to perform.
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