Transcript Dashboard Development Methodology

Touch, Tap and Swipe Your Way to
Delightful iPad Apps
MicroStrategy World, 2012
Miami, Florida
Rohit Bhayana, Managing Partner
InfoCepts
Brief Overview of InfoCepts
Helping Our Customers Derive Value from Their Data
 High quality, low cost dual shore
delivery model
 220 people devoted to delivering BI
and DI Services and Solutions
 6+ years of growth driven largely by
referrals and expansion of our
customer’s teams
 Solutions focus on emergent areas
(e.g. Social Media Intelligence, Big
Data Analytics, Mobile Applications)
 Broad and deep set of BI/DW
technologies supported
Some of Our Customers Across Industries
Our Services
Data Management
BI Strategic Services
BI Application Development
& Management

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Enterprise Information

Business Analytics
Strategy and Planning

Text Analytics
BI Metrics Management

Predictive Analytics
Data Governance &
Stewardship

Data Quality

Data Integration

BI Application Customization

Unstructured Data

Administration and
Integration
Technology – Managed

Metadata Management
Services

Master Data
Management
5
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Data Analysis

Data Design

Program/Project
Management
Industries and Technologies
Technologies
BI:
MicroStrategy, Microsoft SSRS/SSAS, Cognos, Pentaho, BO
DB:
Oracle, SQL Server, Teradata, MySQL, Netezza, Postgress, Greenplum
Custom:
Custom Web and Mobile user interfaces for BI applications
ETL:
Informatica, SQL Scripts, Microsoft SSIS, Talend, ODI, Composite
Specialized:
Clarabridge CMP, Tibco, SPSS/SAS, iMacros, QL2, WebQL
Tools:
Bugzilla, Load Runner, Badboy, Testlink, QTP, HP Quality Center
Industries
Retail, Online Media, Telecom, Pharmaceuticals, Hospitality, Healthcare, Mortgage,
Insurance, Higher Education, Financial Services
Focus on Solutions
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Highly Specific to the Technology

Best Practices, Processes & Templates
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Guides and Checklists for each Phase of the Development
Lifecycle
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Reference Architecture
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Project Management Tools
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Technical Widgets
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Test Cases
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Reference Materials
Our MicroStrategy Dashboard Solution

Designed for MicroStrategy

Data Visualization Best
Practices

150 page Design Guide

Design Catalog

Re-usable Templates

Requirements questionnaire,
sample project plan, test case
format, design template and
design checklist
Our MicroStrategy Credentials
 Both Founders ex-MicroStrategy
 Strategic MicroStrategy Partner and Reseller
 200+ MicroStrategy Projects
 MicroStrategy Customizations, SDK Experts
 Award-winning Dashboard Design & Development Methodology
 Dedicated Data Visualization Experts
 One of the First to Market with Mobile Applications
 Only MicroStrategy Partner to Participate in all MicroStrategy beta releases
Steve Jobs Lore #1
According to his friends, what color did
Steve Jobs’ skin appear to have at times
and why?
Designing & Developing
MicroStrategy iPad Apps
From Grids, Graphs and SQL
To Dashboards and Visualizations
To Designing Apps for the iPad – Scenes and Screens
The Corner of Technology Street and Liberal Arts Street

Competing against Angry Birds, Tinytower and other well designed Apps
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Storyline
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User input - tactile, gestures
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Device specific constraints
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Mobility
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Security
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Apple Human Interface Design and Data Visualization Principles
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Executive Driven Projects
iPad Design Guidelines (1 of 4)
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Keeping the background and frame in a graph transparent should be
avoided since it appears black on iPhone due to the default black
background
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The following graph types are not supported in iPad – Gantt Chart,
Funnel, Graph, Pareto Chart, Histogram, Hi-Lo Stock Chart
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Pie Graph should be used at the place of comparisons where
number of elements is less than or equal to five for more than that
horizontal sorted bar graphs can be used
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Grids can be used in situations where number of elements is less
than 10 so that all the data can be see on the screen at a time and,
for more than that, line graphs can be useful
iPad Design Guidelines (2 of 4)
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Graph reports present data visually in a style such as a bar, line, or pie
graph.
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To view tooltips to explain parts of a graph - Tap and hold on the screen

To zoom in/out - Perform a pinch on the center of the screen or double-tap
the center of the screen to switch between a zoomed-in view and a
zoomed-out view.
iPad Design Guidelines (3 of 4)
Flash Widget
Substitute in
Microcharts
Available in iPad
RSS Reader
Available in iPhone
Waterfall
Thresholding
in Graph
Weighted List Viewer
Grid with
thresholding
on metrics
/
iPad Design Guidelines (4 of 4)
Flash Widget
Substitute in
Time Series
Slider
Available
Graph Matrix
Line/Area
Graph
Interactive
Stacked Graph
Stacked Graph
Media
Link to Video
/
Key Considerations when
Designing iPad Apps
Steve Jobs Lore #2
Why didn’t Steve Jobs and his wife,
Laurene have a sofa in their home
after eight years of living in their
home?
#1 - Use a Data Visualization Expert

Expert on Data Visualization Best Practices and Apple Human
Interface Design Guidelines

Mobile and MicroStrategy Experience
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Guide selection of appropriate controls/widgets during the design
phase
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Create any new images/icons needed for the App

Create the App Color Palette
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Create Mobile “Refined” App Mockup which defines the final look
and feel
Created by a Developer/BA
After DV Expert
Shaded Trend
Graphs instead
of Horizontal
Bar
Reduced size
of map
Expanded KPI
Grid
Addl screen
space – more
information
More appealing
color palette
#2 – You are Gathering Requirements for an App – not just a set
of Reports
#3 - Show Them What They’ll Get – Building a Demo
Building the Demo
 Ingredients
 Knowledge of your business and application
 Some PowerPoint skills
 MicroStrategy Web
 Screen capture tools
 Video tools like Captivate
 Templates
 A Sample Video
Steve Jobs Lore #3
What employee number was Steve
Jobs at Apple?
#4 - Involve Your Humans Often
Requirements
Requirements Gathering and Analysis
App
Storyboarding
Agile Build
Process
1 – Storyboard
Review
App Storyboarding
Initial App Mockup
Color Palette & Branding
Identify Datasets
Refined Mockup
Template & Landing Page
Data Sets
2 – UI
Prototype
Review
Design All Screens
Develop Subsequent Screens
3 – 1st Cut
Dev
Iterative QA
Test Application
4 – Selected
Release
Regression Test
Deployment
Final Application
App Storyboard
#5 - Think about Your Test Strategy Upfront

Need to address many new variables specific to Mobile Development
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User interface is no longer a GUI. It is a NUI (Natural User Interface)
with tactile features that need to be tested – “finger” testing
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Navigation – A lot of navigation enabled on a smaller screen

Mobile Apps are prone to interruptions, such as incoming calls, or
switching to other applications. All such use cases need to be
thoroughly tested.

The mobile environment offers less memory and processing power
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Network performance
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Security
Our Approach for Test Cases
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Usability Test Cases
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iPad Gesture Testing
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Interruption Handling
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Network
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Restore Sessions
Our Program
Key Attributes
 The importance of a Data Visualization Expert
 Key considerations when gathering requirements
 Show your users how the app will look before doing any
development – use our Guide
 Involve humans often
 Think about your testing strategy up front
Our Approach
Requirements
Requirements Gathering and Analysis
App
Storyboarding
Agile Build
Process
App Storyboarding
Initial App Mockup
Color Palette & Branding
Identify Datasets
Refined Mockup
Template & Landing Page
Data Sets
Design All Screens
Develop Subsequent Screens
Iterative QA
Test Application
Regression Test
Deployment
Final Application
Our Mobile (iPad) Design and Development Program
KEY ARTIFACTS
 Mobile App Requirements
Questionnaire
TEAM
 Onsite Project Lead
 Offshore DV Expert
 App Storyboarding
Guidelines
 Mobile App Design
Templates
 App Development
Checklist
 Test Case Document
 Mobile Configuration and
Deployment Guide
 Offshore Project Lead
 Offshore Developer
 Offshore Data Quality
Analyst
THANK YOU