{
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    "title" : "Trends on Tuesday: Avoid the “App Graveyard” |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Trends on Tuesday: Avoid the “App Graveyard”",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/29/trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Trends on Tuesday: Avoid the “App Graveyard”","summary" : "Apps that are downloaded, used a few times and then never used again, are considered part of the “app graveyard.” In fact, 95% of apps are discarded within a month of download by users. Focus on creating a great user experience to make sure your agency apps are used consistently.","date" : "2014-07-29T01:23:17-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"jparcell" : "Jacob Parcell","katie-steffy" : "Katie Steffy"},"topics" : {
        
            "emerging-tech" : "Emerging tech",
            "mobile" : "Mobile",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-07-29-trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/07/2014-07-29-trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-29-trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-29-trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard.md","slug" : "trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/29/trends-on-tuesday-avoid-the-app-graveyard/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eApps that are downloaded, used a few times and then never used again, are considered part of the “app graveyard.” In fact, 95% of apps are discarded within a month of download by users, according to Smashing Magazine. By focusing on creating a great user experience, you can make sure your agency apps are used consistently and don’t end up in the app graveyard.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/600-x-400-Old-Cemeteries-Tombstone-Closeups-luvemakphoto-iStock-Thinkstock-492264081.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Old Cemeteries Tombstone Closeups\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eluvemakphoto/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eSmashing Magazine lists some “\u003ca href=\"http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2013/11/28/lessons-from-an-app-graveyard/\"\u003eLessons Learned From the App Graveyard\u003c/a\u003e” that government agencies should heed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eValidate the Need for the App:\u003c/strong\u003e Before creating an app, think about your business goals and determine whether a native app is really necessary for the content/functionality you are hoping to provide to your users.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMake Sure the App Works as Expected:\u003c/strong\u003e When apps fail to accomplish their main task, users will stop using them. To avoid this, be sure to test your app on actual mobile devices when releasing a new version or after an OS release.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDon’t Drain the User’s Device:\u003c/strong\u003e Apps should sparingly and effectively use a device’s resources. These resources include memory space, bandwidth and battery power.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFollow Design Standards and Guidelines:\u003c/strong\u003e Developers should ALWAYS refer to industry standards provided for all platforms (iOS, Android, or Windows), and the MobileGov \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/communities/\"\u003eCommunity of Practice\u003c/a\u003e created \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/mobile-user-experience-guidelines/\"\u003eMobile User Experience Guidelines and Recommendations\u003c/a\u003e to help agencies create amazing and engaging mobile user experiences.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, mobile development is ever changing and it is time we revisited these guidelines and recommendations. At our August 4th Mobile Gov Workshop: Help Expand the Mobile User Experience Guidelines, the MobileGov Community of Practice and the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/communities/user-experience/\"\u003eFederal User Experience Community\u003c/a\u003e want your thoughts on how we move those guidelines forward. Sign up and help us ensure that federal mobile products don’t end up in an app graveyard!\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}