Analysis of Software Engineering Issues for
Mobile Application Development
Derreck Stewart
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
MGMT 221 - James Rush
Abstract
This short paper is an analysis of an existing body of work that addresses the difficulties during the creation of third party or non-native applications. Third party application development has become a large part of the mobile device world; so much so that companies have created Software Development Kits (SDKs) in order to lend necessary resources and guidelines to the developer in order to promote solid programming and ensure reliability in operation. The original work mentions engineering issues shared by native and third party applications, but takes a closer look at the issues inherent to third party mobile applications.
Analysis of Software Engineering Issues for Mobile Application Development
Wasserman’s survey (2010) solicited information from online developer forums in order to better understand development practices for third party mobile applications. The survey concluded that most applications were small and relatively simple, requiring only one or two developers to create the application, and that most developers followed the recommended “best practices” despite not utilizing formal development processes or gathering many metrics.
Third party developers aren’t entirely on their own; SDKs have been created for every major mobile platform and along with the necessary code resources they provide guidelines, or best practices, for programming reliable applications. These SDKs are meant to ensure that third party developers are able to create applications that function properly across a wide range of operating systems within the chosen platform and in some cases across platforms. Cross-Platform Development Tools (CPDTs) are intended for the individual developer creating a small application that doesn’t utilize many native or proprietary functions found on differing platforms....