The use of smartphones is radically improving the reach of enterprises to its customers.
Successful implementation of enterprise mobility results in improved process efficiencies and increased customer outreach.
Due to fragmentation in real world based on user adoptions of different OS’es (iOS/Android/Windows), limiting the app to any one platform decreases the likelihood of its universal adoption. To support all platforms also means additional costs for development and support on respective OS’es.
To deliver multi-platform Apps that are truly Native on Android, iOS, and Windows - having Native User Interface, Native API Access and Native Performance, Xamarin is the answer. With a single shared C# codebase, Xamarin helps build quality mobile apps quickly and with confidence.
Going through the below checklist will prepare an enterprise for successful and accelerated development of cross platform application using Xamarin.
Business Considerations |
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1. | Do you think there would be a need to launch the app on different mobile operating systems later? | |
2. | Is there a need to have the same app flow and design on different platforms? | |
3. | What form factors are you considering for building your application? | |
4. | Does the application need advanced graphics? | |
5. | Is a companion website needed for branding and promotion of your app? | |
Technological Considerations |
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6. | Can using the app affect device performance adversely? | |
7. | Do you have heavy data processing requirements? | |
8. | Can the complexity of business logic be handled by server side implementation? | |
9. | Have you checked if there are any OS specific constraints that can limit the usage of the app? | |
10. | Is there a need for offline support? | |
Backend Considerations |
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11. | Is planning for sufficient memory capacity a consideration? | |
12. | Is a backend server required? | |
13. | Do you know what kind of server is required for the app? | |
Choosing the Right Xamarin Platform |
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14. | Do you know if your app needs to display native behavior or has many need for platform-specific APIs? (Hint: Use Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Android) | |
15. | Do you know if your app needs a custom/ platform-specific UI? (Hint: Use Xamarin's iOS and Android) | |
16. | Do you know if the app being designed is for multiple operating systems or apps that have many platform-specific APIs or where sharing code is more beneficial than creating custom UIs? (Hint: Use Xamarin.Forms) | |
Capability of Resources |
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17. | Are your Developers comfortable working on C# and using Xamarin.Forms? | |
18. | Have you thought of leveraging popular Portable Class Libraries (PCLs) like SQLite, Json.NET, or ReactiveUI? | |
19. | Can your Developers provide the support required for version upgrade, maintenance and regular upkeep? | |
Additional Features and Interfacing |
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20. | Have you identified the built-in features of the mobile devices that you would need? | |
21. | Do you know which plug-ins would be needed (existing or custom) and that they are available on the platforms and versions you will be supporting? | |
22. | Have you checked if it is possible to implement the features required on the devices under consideration on Xamarin itself, rather than writing native code for it? | |
Security Considerations |
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23. | Have you decided the security features of the application? | |
24. | Does the development platform provide the required security features? | |
25. | Does your application need identity management? | |
Multitasking Considerations |
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26. | Does the application have any background processing requirements? | |
27. | If multitasking is needed, are there restrictions applied on OS platforms for your requirements? | |
28. | Have you identified the rules and behaviors that your application must conform to when another application/ service comes to the foreground? | |
Maintenance Considerations |
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29. | Considering the proliferation of device types, is the app being developed such that working on it in future is easy? | |
30. | Can the app be repurposed to meet the enhanced requirements? |