Think about the support

When commissioning a corporate mobile application it is all to easy to forget that a successful mobile solution needs to be followed up with ongoing support and improvement in order to sustain and enhance that success.  

It is a great achievement to plant that initial creative seed that brings a new mobile app into your organisation, and start realising the many benefits that can arise through a new channel of communication and interaction.  This initial success however should be only the first step in an ongoing journey of improvement.  

Gamozzii prides itself on being there not just at that first exciting stage of releasing a new mobile app, but for the longer journey - we will partner with you in a way that is cost effective and manageable so that you have the confidence that the support is there where and when you need it to ensure your solution remains robust and effective. 

We will work closely with your business, utilising Agile delivery methods and time boxing techniques, to provide continuous improvement to your successful mobile solution, in a way that is transparent and manageable, and that can be easily integrated into your operational budget plans.

Contact Us if you would like to understand more about how we can partner with you to maintain and enhance your existing mobile presence.

Christmas iPhone App puts Modern Twist on Old Favourite

12 days of Christmas Puzzle for iPhone Rewards Young and Old with Song

We all know the song, well up until 5 gold rings anyway … but what came on day twelve? An iPhone App now provides a fun way of finding out the answer through a puzzle game that rewards the solver with a stirring rendition of the Christmas Carol, with an accompanying animation.

The music in the game is a vocal choir with instrumental backing performed by the Galway Christmas Singers. Rights to the song were purchased by gamozzzi Pty Ltd from Countdown Media in Germany to give the game a truly rich and homely Christmas quality.

The “Twelve Days of Christmas Puzzle” is most likely to be enjoyed by children with its cartoon graphics and animated song sequence, but it also provides an expert level, with a 100 move animated shuffle that can challenge the sharpest Mum or Dad. The mix of easy and difficult levels gives the game a universal appeal from age 4 upwards.

The twelve gifts outlined in this popular traditional Christmas carol will be firmly etched into the memories of kids and adults alike as they sail or stumble their way through this fun slider puzzle game.

The “Twelve Day of Christmas Puzzle” iPhone App was released this week by local Sydney iPhone developer gamozzii Pty Ltd.

Link to App on Apple iTunes Web Site:
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/twelve-days-of-christmas-puzzle/id406430533?mt=8
Web Site for App:
http://www.gamozzii.com/twelve-days-of-christmas

Response to: Platos Revenge: The Business Analyst is the Tester!

In response to:  Plato's Revenge: The Business Analyst is the Tester!:

Its interesting that the CIO article that Plato's Revenge refers to mentions "Agile" practices and states "even if they don't know what they are".

I think that the point Plato's Revenge hits on well and seems a consistent theme across the IT solutions delivery spectrum is breaking down the barrier between the business stakeholders and the technical delivery team. 

Traditionally the BA is a big part of this interface and as described, the value of experience in both camps cannot be underestimated as it can be such a lynch pin role in the success or failure of a project.

In theory a well implemented Agile process for solutions delivery should help to bring down these barriers as well in a variety of ways.

One aspect of agile development that is worth examining in relation to Plato's Revenge's post is the concept of 'test driven development'.  This feature of agile ties in very well with the idea of a BA being involved in the testing of a project. 

The concept being that in order to write a piece of functionality properly a developer first needs to understand the requirements well enough to know how that functionality will be tested - thus by writing (or attempting to write) the tests first, prior to developing the code, it is quite likely that potential inconsistencies in the requirements or miscommunication or misunderstanding of requirements will be identified and resolved earlier in the exercise. 

Adhering to the test-driven development methodology effectively forces the technical team to think about the end stakeholder goals very early in the process.

Having the tests written before hand then provides a benchmark that will help to prevent the technical team getting carried away with over-architecting a solution to the extent that they lose sight of the original requirements and goals of the project.

There are numerous other ways a properly implemented Agile methodology can help to increase communication and feedback between the delivery team and the business takeholders.

This includes shorter and more regular delivery/feedback cycles, requirements management mechanisms which explicitly cater for adjusting to changing understanding of business processes and various other features about the way teams and communication are structured that if implemented properly can achieve signficant benefits. 

The business stakeholders are a key part of making the process work, so if the business stakeholders are not participating in, understanding or seeing those benefits then the Agile process is not being implemented properly and the disconnect still remains.

Because the Business Analyst plays a key role as an interface between the technical team and the business stakeholders, a BA with a good grasp of the ideas and objectives behind Agile methodolgy can play a key role in facilitating an effective implementation of this methodology.

simplicity is the complexity - information filtered to time and place

gamozzii today released a new iPhone application on the iTunes store.  The press release is included below.

This application is very straightforward in terms of what it delivers.

One interesting feature about it is that the users of the application are typically going to be interested in only one single piece of information, and that information consists of only four numbers!

Those numbers being the hour and minute that a bridge opens.  This is a bridge that stands between them and where they are going, and at some times of the day will open and prevent them from getting there.   Thus only four numbers, yet so powerful when provided at the right place and time.

This is one of the key interaction advantages provided by mobile communication.  Information can be filtered very specifically to a time and place - thus it is the simplicity of the information presented that is the complexity.  The fact that it delivers exactly the information the person wants, where they want it and when they want it.

gamozzii


Spit Bridge opening with tap of finger

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Users of Sydney's controversial Spit Bridge can now avoid congestion by using an iPhone App that gives them the next bridge opening time with just the tap of a finger.

The "Spit Bridge Opening Times" iPhone application will also mean yachties will  have no excuse for running late for the bridge openings, which can sometimes hold up hundreds of cars to let just one leisure yacht pass through. 

Trying to navigate the web on a tiny screen while beating into a southerly buster will also be a thing of the past.

With one tap on their iPhone, yachties, motorists and commuters alike can see the next bridge opening time for that day as well as all openings after that till days end. Times are filtered for weekends, public holidays and whether daylight savings is in effect, taking all guesswork out of the process.

The Spit Bridge is a Northern Beaches anachronism that is loved by some, but loathed by many, as it opens regularly through the day blocking one of the main transport arteries to Sydney's Northern Beaches.

The opening times were recently reviewed and changed in February 2010 and the RTA recently began seeking feedback on a proposal to change one of the bus lanes feeding the bridge to a 24-hour bus lane.

Robert Silver, principal of mobile consultancy gamozzii, who developed the application, said that he shares the frustrations motorists have with the bridge, particularly on summer weekends. "but being someone who has gone both over and under the bridge, I try to think of it as a reminder to slow the pace a little and appreciate the beautiful environment we live in here on the Northern Beaches".

The "Spit Bridge Opening Times" iPhone Application became available on the Apple iTunes store this week.