Mobile Access for Banner

1. Mobile Access for Banner Ken Dezio - IData Incorporated Marc Carrion - IData Incorporated Justin Webb – University of Mary Washington October 6-7, 2008 Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

2. Introduction • Mobile broadband listed as key emerging technology in 2008 EDUCAUSE Horizon report w/ 2-3 year time-to-adoption horizon • Mobile devices are ubiquitous and mobile web access is increasing rapidly • Explore the feasibility, demand, and potential for mobile broadband connectivity with higher education administrative systems Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

3. Agenda • Examine a project where custom SSB forms were created for mobile access to Banner • Discuss methodology used in creating the mobile web forms • Hear UMW’s perspective on the mobile web project • Analyze demand and potential for a Banner mobile web interface Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

4. About IData Incorporated Technology consulting for higher education Increase the productivity of colleges, universities, and institutional research professionals through better use of administrative and data systems Focus on three primary areas Technical services (programming & analysis) Implementation services Institutional research services Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 4

5. Topic 1 UMW Banner Mobile Access Project Overview Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

6. BMA Project Overview • Created a suite of custom SSB forms accessible via web-enabled mobile devices • Criteria used to chose forms • Provide Banner functionality most desired by students, faculty, and staff • Readily translate to mobile environment Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

7. BMA Project Overview Implemented 5 custom processes • People Search (student, faculty, staff directory) • Course Search • Student Schedule • Class Roster • Emergency Contact Custom menu Custom user authentication Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 7

8. BMA Demo People Search Course Search Student Schedule Class Roster Emergency Contact Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 8

9. BMA Project Statistics 8 weeks elapsed design / development time • 6 days / component (including menu & authentication) Team members had never created mobile web forms prior to project Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 9

10. Development Methodology for Banner Mobile Web Forms Topic 2 Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 10

11. Technology Custom Self Service Banner (SSB) forms • Packages in Oracle DB serving up web forms via OWA XHTML instead of HTML • Supported on most mobile devices Variety of cell phone simulators available for designing and testing forms Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 11

12. Forms Look Different on Different Cell Phones Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 12

13. Design Considerations Keep forms simple Design for small format Leverage existing SSB framework and Banner APIs Separate UI from business logic using Model-View-Controller (MVC) approach Build modular reusable components Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 13

14. Mobile Web Best Practices Follow web standards • Validate pages (W3C page validation) Keep pages small, simple, and clear Avoid pop-ups and frames Do not rely on cookies Do not rely on tables, fonts, or style sheets for page layout Reduce bandwidth – limit page size & data Minimize user keystrokes Source: W3C Mobile Web Best Practices Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 14

15. Development Methodology Detailed whitepaper available at IData vendor booth Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 15

16. UMW Perspective on Banner Mobile Access Project Topic 3 Justin Webb Director, Applications Programming University of Mary Washington Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 16

17. Mobile Web Interfaces Analysis of Demand & Potential Topic 4 Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 17

18. Survey of UMW Students About UMW • 100 year old co-educational, public institution • Approximately 4,000 undergraduate students and over 1,000 graduate students Survey Population • Total of 107 students surveyed • Age of respondents: Median 20 / Average 23.1 • 57% female / 43% male • 87% undergraduate / 13% graduate Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 18

19. How likely would you be to use the following on-line services using your mobile device if they were available at UMW? Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 19

20. In addition to the listed services, what other on-line services at UMW would you like to be available on your cell phone? Access email (6) View campus activities / calendar (4) Blackboard (3) One Card System (2) Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 20

21. How often do you do the following on-line activities on your mobile device? Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 21

22. What type of mobile device do you currently own? Do you currently have web service enabled on your mobile device? Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 22

23. How frequently do you access web sites through your mobile device? Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 23

24. Market Analysis – iPhone Web Usage 0.32% Sep 08 0.07% Oct 07 iPhone 3G released July 11, 2008 Data Source: Net Applications (www.netapplications.com) Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 24

25. Market Analysis iPhone popularity proved the market exists or has created its own market New smartphones competing w/ Apple Google Android w/ Chrome-Lite will be released soon LiMo (Linux Mobile) consortium working on Linux for mobile platforms Mozilla Firefox (project Fennec) Going to alpha testing soon Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 25

26. Market Analysis Phone & software options increasing Wireless providers bundling web access with other features Number of mobile sites increasing (banks, Amazon, eBay, Orbitz, Google, Facebook) Full-function browsers available on phones now or soon (Safari, Opera, Chrome, Firefox) Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 26

27. Mobile Web has Just Crossed the Chasm Innovation Growth Maturity Innovators Early Adopters (Visionaries) Late Adopters (Conservatives) Laggards (Skeptics) Pragmatists Moore’s Chasm * Cumulative Adoption Mobile Web Time * Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling High-Tech Products to Mainstream Customers, Geoffrey Moore Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 27

28. Summary • Mobile web usage is still sparse but is growing rapidly • In 2-3 years students may start expecting or demanding mobile web services • Building custom SSB forms for mobile access is relatively easy, technology-wise • Study & follow best practices when building mobile web forms Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

29. Additional Resources W3C Mobile Web Best Practices http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/ dotMobi Mobile Web Developers Guide http://mobiforge.com/ IData - Banner Mobile Mockup Pages http://m.idatainc.com/bma Mid-Atlantic Banner Users’ Group Hosted By The University of Mary Washington 29

30. Questions & Answers Questions? Hosted By The University of Mary Washington

31. Thank You! www.idatainc.com Ken Dezio (IData) – kdezio@idatainc.com Marc Carrion (IData) – mcarrion@idatainc.com Justin Webb (UMW) – jwebb@umw.edu Hosted By The University of Mary Washington