Mobile has been grabbing the headlines in our industry for some time now. And with good cause – it’s a vibrant, ever-changing area.

The pace of change is unmatched, the competition fierce; there’s always something new to get excited about. But this chaotic backdrop has left many organisations on the back foot when it comes to mobile development:

• The speed of mobile’s entrance meant that some initiatives were originally spun up outside the core IT function – perhaps on a marketing budget.
• Older mobile software can betray a lack of engineering rigour – the result of youthful exuberance and the scent of a new goldrush.
• In the case of some older mobile initiatives, the main purpose was simply to get something out there in the market. The downsides to rushing in and building something that wasn’t right for the long-term are beginning to show.

At Equal Experts, we’re experienced in putting your mobile development on firmer foundations. For more insight into our thinking, listen to Paul Stringer, our Mobile Practice Lead, who shared his views in the ExpertTalks Podcast:

Mobile software is still software

In a market that’s still subject to an extraordinary pace of change – and not immune to the odd gimmick – approaching mobile delivery with the right mindset is crucial.

At Equal Experts, we approach mobile in the same way as any other engineering or delivery challenge (read more about our values to learn more on this front). In-depth expertise and an uncompromising approach to quality make all the difference, and that’s what our background of engineering rigour and proven delivery practices brings.

We’ve found that many of these established best practices are often missing from mobile projects. Introducing them can bring transformative results.

• Continuous Delivery – to bring new features and enhancements to users more regularly, allowing brands to establish more conversational relationship with a more engaged audience.
• Working with Legacy Code – With the rapid expansion of mobile in such a short period, there’s often plenty of existing code to work with. Rather than looking to rewrite everything from scratch, we view working with legacy code (to both improve it and make it more flexible for future change) as a challenge to be embraced; indeed it’s an essential aspect of our mobile work.
• Introducing TDD and XP principles – proven practices with short, ‘fail fast’ feedback loops to ensure we are building the right product, in the right way.
• Reducing over reliance on Manual tests – or overly complex automated tests, which can hinder rather than help your development process and ability to deliver.

Expertise and discipline delivers results

O2 Priority

We’ve worked with O2 on its prestigious Priority app since 2012. Initially our role was to put in place the technology that underpins the loyalty programme, managing and targeting its wide range of offers, but our role rapidly grew to see us delivering Priority’s native apps for iOS and Android, as well as its mobile web experience.

More recently, we’ve worked with O2 to regularly put new enhancements in users’ hands – helping to cement the Priority’s position as a top-rated app in both the Appstore and Google Play Store.

Download Priority for iOS >
Download Priority for Android >

UK Government

Delivering working software for Government is demanding (and rightly so!). The stringent guidelines governing public sector work ensure that delivered code is of high quality, and the story is no different for mobile.

Equal Experts has recently delivered a native app for a major government department, bringing its core services to an audience of millions of smartphone users.

Camelot Global

Our work with the UK lottery operator’s global wing is predominantly concerned with its mobile projects. This is very much an engagement in keeping with the points made above – whereby we are helping to embed proven working practices and technical discipline into daily operations. There’s more detail in our case study.