Lessons Learned in the Development of Mobile Electronic Performance Support Systems

Abstract

There are a number of interacting constraints that affect the development of mobile electronic performance support systems (Gery, 1991). For example, users frequently want the resources of a desktop computer in a palm-sized box. Hardware technology, however, dictates that the greater the resources, the larger the device. Mobile electronic performance support systems are frequently initiated as a means to ‘automate’ manual processes. However, such processes must be redesigned to match the capabilities and requirements of mobile computing platforms. As a final example, the desktop conventions of “new, open, and save” used when working with documents are not necessarily the best conventions for mobile applications. This paper identifies many of the constraints involved in developing mobile computing applications and discusses them in the context of applications.