Web and Mobile Applications: One Product, Two Surfaces

Web and Mobile Applications: One Product, Two Surfaces

This is a description of a project type we deliver: one product that has to work on a laptop and in a pocket, without becoming two unrelated pieces of software.

The Challenge

The same users needed the same capability at a desk and in the field. Building two independent products doubled the cost of every change and guaranteed that the two would drift apart; building only a web page left the mobile experience awkward on small screens and unavailable offline.

Our Approach

Discovery identified what was genuinely shared and what was specific to each surface: the data, the rules and the workflows are shared, while the interaction patterns differ, particularly around cameras, location, notifications and unreliable connections.

Solution

A shared backend exposing one set of APIs, consumed by a responsive web application and a mobile client built on the approach the product required. Identical business logic in one place means a rule change lands everywhere at once, while each surface keeps an interface designed for its own context.

Technology

An API and backend service layer with authentication and role-based access, a web front end rendered for speed, and a mobile client chosen between native and cross-platform on the constraints of the product.

Implementation

Released surface by surface: the shared API and one client first, the second client once the API had proven itself under real use, with testing covering the shared behaviour on both.

Results

Delivery and maintenance outcomes are measured against the goals set during discovery, and published only where verified and approved.

Need one product on two surfaces? Tell us about your project and we will plan both together.

Project details in this article are deliberately general. Client names, verified results and references are published only with the client's approval.