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Who Are Your Customers?

Last months news that Facebook was re-writing their iOS application did not come as a surprise.  I had been following (and researching) the trend of using HTML5 for native applications.  It appears there is a much larger population of web -vs- iOS developments and the lure of using what you know to solve a new problem is very temping.  It's this whole "change is hard" thinking.

Facebook knows web development (PHP, JS, CSS, etc) and its understandable that the HTML5 option would be on the table.  It's not for a lack of money or resources.  I believe it was the thinking that there customers are familiar with the desktop browser version of Facebook and thus the transition for their customers would be a minor issue.  Business win, developer win, customer win.

Except, for two issues:

  • Their mobile users may not be the same as their desktop users, thus different expectations.
  • The expectations from a mobile application (i.e., native) are much different from a mobile browser experience.

The self-justification that the customers expectations should be met based on ones own desires and personal (and corporate) resistance to change is pervasive in the software industry.  Facebook had the resources, time and money to create an iOS native application that at least matched their mobile uses expectations, but they didn't.  So it appears that the justification was based on personal or business goals and not for the user.  A mobile user expects the performance of a mobile application to be fast, fluid and simple.  The mobile uses does not care or understand what language was used, how it was developed or the justification behind it, it just needs to behave like other native applications.  The iOS Facebook app didn't.

I've talked myself into many decisions where I know that, even I was not convinced at my choice.  My thoughts and desires are just that, my own, they have no impact on what other think and require.  I may justify my lack of knowledge, tools or desire for decisions that are truly ill fitted to the situation.

In the end the root of these thoughts may just be the fear of change.  It's interesting to see this possible behavior in such a large company and even rarer still to see they have realized their mistakes and build a native iOS application because of "performance" reasons.

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