The design of mobile apps: what and how to teach?

Abstract

Mobile applications (or mobile apps or apps for short) gain importance, and will, as is our expectation, find a place in the curricula of Computer Science and Software Engineering. In books, courses and tutorials, not much attention has been given to the design of mobile applications. In this paper, we describe the anatomy of mobile apps, using Android as an example. Based on this anatomy, we offer an inventarization of modeling techniques that can be applied to adequately design mobile apps. Some of these modeling techniques are already taught in most curricula, albeit in different courses. A modeling technique that is useful for several aspects of mobile apps is the Interaction Flow Modeling Language (IFML). This modeling technique would have to be introduced when one would like to teach students how to design apps. We also describe which strategies can be followed when introducing mobile apps in a curriculum: as a subject of a course, together with knowledge of the concepts and the necessary modeling techniques, or as examples in different courses. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of both approaches.