Summary

Methods for new mobile experiences, from concept creation to prototyping to commercialization.

The mobile device is changing the ways we interact with each other and with the world. The mobile experience is distinct from the desktop or laptop experience; mobile apps require a significantly different design philosophy as well as design methods that reflect the unique experience of computing in the world. This book presents an approach to designing mobile media that takes advantage of the Internet-connected, context-aware, and media-sharing capabilities of mobile devices. It introduces tools that can be used at every stage of building a mobile application, from concept creation to commercialization, as well as real-world examples from industry and academia.

The methods outlined apply user-centered design processes to mobile devices in a way that makes these methods relevant to the mobile experience--which involves the use of systems in the complex spatial and social world rather than at a desk. The book shows how each project begins with generative research into the practices and desires of a diverse set of potential users, which grounds research and design in the real world. It then describes methods for rapid prototyping, usability evaluation, field testing, and scaling up solutions in order to bring a product to market. Building Mobile Experiences grew out of an MIT course in communicating with mobile technology; it is appropriate for classroom use and as a reference for mobile app designers.

Choice Review

Building Mobile Experiences markets itself as a tool to help developers meaningfully apply user-centered design principles to the mobile device experience. However, what Bentley (research scientist, Motorola) and Barrett (writing and humanistic studies, MIT) have created is not a useful reference, but rather something of an extended conference paper. When faced with statements like "useful heuristics are available from Nielsen (2005) and Wodtke's (2002) eight principles" or "Beyer and Holtzblatt (1998) introduce several in their book" as the bulk of the discussion regarding the underlying principles being applied, it quickly becomes clear that the authors expect everyone to have read the same books they have. Solidly researched and documented, the book is an excellent piece of scholarship, but it is not really a helpful, in-depth practical resource by itself. Perhaps somewhat ironically, the authors fail to apply the book's principles to the book itself. Students would be better served by more hands-on narratives, full of diagrams and visual aids, which can be found in many a book on the same topic. Readers may wish to consult J. J. Garrett's The Elements of User Experience (2nd ed., CH, Sep'11, 49-0321). Summing Up: Optional. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty. P. L. Kantor formerly, Southern Vermont College