Lightbolt develops new Android / iPhone prototyping process.
Developing new Android or iPhone apps can be problematic because many problems only show up during end-user testing – or worst – after release. The Lightning prototyping process allows end-users to test the app during development instead of after. This saves development time and cost.
The process works by letting end-users test and develop the GUI and business logic in a familiar environment – their desktops! As the end-uses make changes, they work out usability issues (also known as human interaction issues). Thus, the developers concentrate on coding the application once the GUI and business logic are completed.
This splits the development in two – literally. Allowing each group to do what they do best. Programmers code, end-users choose the layout and perfect the business logic.
The Lightbolt prototyping system comes from the success of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) which is normally used for large software projects. In MDA, the software developers wait until the end-users have a working prototype – even if just a paper mock-up and flow chart. Once the Model (of MDA) is done, the software developers take over and code it. Thus, as the name implies – the Model Drives the Architecture.
“I’ve been using MDA since 2006 with great success,” Eric a software engineer with LightBolt said. “First at ProQuest where it saved $10,000 0n a project, then later at Ford where it saved my project while others were cut due to the economy.”
The result of MDA is software that passes user-testing faster and with the highest end-user acceptance when compared with other software development methods (SDLC, SCRUM or CMMI).
Now LightBolt has figured out how to make the benefits of MDA available to small software projects and smart phone apps.