Responsive, mobile app, mobile first: untangling the UX design web in practical experience

Abstract

This experience report describes some recent experiences in user interface design for responsive websites, native mobile applications, and mobile-first designs for a corporation supporting multiple platforms, multiple products, and multiple customer types. In order to situate the information and comparisons, the paper includes discussion of certain supporting methodologies, technologies, skill sets, and approaches typical in each. Some of the expected and perceived benefits and drawbacks to these design methods are discussed in the contexts of various stakeholders. This discussion is not an attempt to define or teach these methodologies, but rather to examine certain relative merits and shortfalls of each in context.