“The Next Frontier in Cross-platform Mobile Development: Wearables and Connected Devices,” a survey of more than 230 global respondents from leading brands in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, reveals that a majority of designers (69 percent) and developers (65 percent) feel that application design and development for wearables and connected devices already is a challenge, or will be one in the next six to 12 months. Among the main drivers for this frustration are a lack of clear vision among stakeholders, and the added complexity of developing and designing for multiple devices and platforms.
“Forward-thinking enterprises are eager to take advantage of the wealth of new devices and form factors entering the market today, but capitalising on these innovations remains a challenge for today’s mobile app design and development teams,” said Dave Shirk, president of Products, Strategy and Marketing, Kony, Inc. “To meet this demand, designers and developers need next-generation creative tools that allow them to more easily adapt their apps to a broader range of interfaces, screen sizes, and capabilities.”
Key findings include:
•The challenge is now: 69 percent of application designers said that designing for wearables and connected devices either already is a challenge they face or it will become one within the next six to 12 months. 65 percent of mobile app developers agreed.
•Poor communication: 40 percent of developers said that the biggest challenge of mobile app development is the lack of communication between developers and IT stakeholders.
•Lack of resources and omni-channel design & development is a challenge: Lack of time and resources (37 percent) and complexity of omni-channel development (37 percent) tied as the top two most oft-cited barriers during the development stage of mobile projects. 51 percent of designers said that designing mobile apps for multiple devices and platforms is a major challenge.
•Lack of vision: Nearly 25 percent of developers felt that stakeholders had “no clear vision” for mobility. Furthermore, the “sheer complexity of omni-channel development and testing” was cited as a top challenge by 37 percent of responding developers. Designers agreed, with 51 percent saying that, “designing for multiple devices and platforms” is a challenge.