Savvy Avi

It seems that agile is the predominant methodology in software development, especially in shrink-wrap software and web. It certainly stands behind some mammoth success stories of late. However, agile is not a fit-all method, in many software domains it just won’t work well. More than that, agile seems more like a philosophy, a way of thinking, than a complete methodology. Software is a new field and it is going through some phases. Agile is one of those. Let’s look at the language used in new wave development methodologies. Programmers are action figures; they are “cowboys” or “ninjas” or simply “heroes”. Programming is a dangerous, masculine, activity like rugby (scrum) or an extreme sport (extreme programming). Planning is a poker game, specifications are paper in an electronic paperless world and all we need is dialog (agile manifesto). Could it be that this juvenile lingo is a product of an engineering field that is in its adolescence? When considering what methodology to use...

Service companies use branches, phone, kiosks and web as direct channels to customers. In recent years service companies added a new channel - the smart phone application. Smart phones differ from PCs in screen size, ease of typing and input, connection speed and use context. Keeping these changes in mind, mobile apps shouldn’t be a replica of their online counterparts. One difference is that the mobile app has to be leaner. Another difference is that mobile apps should have unique features, such as location based features, taking advantage of mobile capabilities. As a case study, I compared the online website and mobile app of Citibank ’s card services. As shown below the mobile app has fewer pages (17 vs. 84) and has fewer levels (4 deep vs. 6 deep). Companies rushed to create iPhone and android apps often not doing it “right”. Mobile operation system defragmentation and rapid market changes make doing it right all the more challenging. That may be the reason why Citibank’s iPhon...