Beyond progressive-enhancement

Photo courtesy of @MAMK
enhancement
progressive
beyond

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/shoutsfromtheabyss/5313714706
It will be like electricity”.
“…[technology] will just be seamless. It will just be there.
The web will be everything and it will be nothing.
by 2020...
– Eric Schmidt, Google

it can be hard to visualise
what this will truly mean...
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mwichary/3189145257

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/accidentdesigns/6137301255
with computation + connectivity…
with each day that goes by we ﬁnd
new ways to augment everyday things

the results can be
both magical and disturbing
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/accidentdesigns/6137308437

self driving cars that collect
gigabytes of data per second…
Twitter: Bill Gross

Almax - EyeSee Mannequin
mannequins that watch, listen
and analyse who you are

to “build” a better suit…
mobile stores with 3D scanners
Kickstarter: Tailor truck

recharge electric buses…
smart roads that wirelessly
KAIST OLEV project: YouTube

Proteus Digital Health - Digital health feedback system
stomach acid powered sensors that communicate
with applications on your smartphone…

senses how you eat…
a fork that
Hapi Fork by Hapi Labs

Proteus Digital Health - Digital health feedback system
Apple Gives Share-
holders More Input;
Will Facebook Get the
Message?
At its annual shareholders meet-
ing on Thursday, Apple’s man-
agement bowed to pressure
from key investors and agreed to
allow shareholders to elect
board directors by a simple ma-
jority vote.
Now any new or current director
standing for election who fails to
receive support from a majority
of shareholders must resign his
By Tim Carmody
February 24, 2012 | 4:26 pm
MENU
and smart toilets that help you track
what comes out…

microchip
+
sensors data
out
A real-time web (or app) based
progress report is available.
The fork gathers data
as you eat.
data
out
data
outservice
data
out
Fork vibrates if you’re
eating too fast
they are systems…
these aren’t just smart connected objects,
Hapi Fork by Hapi Labs

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/gcbb/2502506212
of these systems…
it’s not always obvious where the web ﬁts in,
but it has an important role to play in each

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/tristanf/2234332037
the pathways from today’s web to apps
and things are anything but…
but while the future may be seamless,

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/doglotion/4131810103
Accelerometer
Camera
Capture
Compass
Connection
Contacts
Device
Events
File
Geolocation
Globalization
inAppBrowser
Media
Notiﬁcation
Storage
to communicate with hardware…
our current approach to building the future web
is to develop APIs that enable the web

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/davidchief/6441607321
…the theory being that only a more capable and
powerful web can compete with native apps...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mozillaeu/9191443975
or maybe replace them altogether…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/orijinal/8133373975
I’m not suggesting this is the wrong path,
but I think we may be missing part of the story…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/micora/5105225792
(being “born of tech” doesn’t exempt us from these growing pains)
…we’re far from the only industry that’s been
challenged by the power of new technologies…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/bﬁshadow/3637298219
be the best path…
it’s natural to want to compete with them,
but history suggests this may not

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/sohrab_kabuli/5294817108
rethink how we relate to them…
…rather than compete, we need to adapt,
embrace new technologies and completely
Online journalism and blogging
workshop in Jalalabad

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ummella/4088456000
a ﬁrst step is to accept that
native software isn’t going away…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/sndrv/4635764320
…we need native software
to power complex experiences,
geolocation
camera
3D rendering
gyroscope
video & audio

at the last web standards round...
access bits of hardware or software that didn’t exist
“Motes” are Bluetooth Low Energy (LE)
devices that can broadcast data on
behalf of things in the real world.
There still no Bluetooth API for the web
(LE or otherwise...)
Source: EstimoteRead Scott Jenson’s W3C article proposing we extend web discovery to objects

...and take full advantage of
powerful new chipsets
The Moto X includes a low-power core
whose only job is to listen for the
passphrase "OK, Google Now”.
(This plus another core devoted to sensors
enables, Touchless Control to run in the
background without the need to power up
the entire processor, which would
drain your battery.
and technologies
Photo: Mashable

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mujitra/8688838450
increasingly...out in the real world
…and native software needs the web to power discovery,
not just through search—but social media and

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/craigmurphy/3979174573
a world of “things” you may want to chat with
but not care enough about to start a full-on relationship
For more on this, read Scott
Jenson’s seminal article on just-in-
time interactions.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/68453216@N03/6227748188
a veritable superpower that will only increase
once everyone is connected…
the web is the ubiquitous pathway,

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/splitthekipper/5727366179
…so how do we
make the web even better?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/greggoconnell/201374093
progressive enhancement
but not the way we’ve known it…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ducdigital/2892313560
providing an enhanced version to those
“…using web technologies in a layered fashion that allows
everyone to access the basic functionality…while also
with more advanced capabilities”.
Progressive enhancement:

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/2267250649
if we truly value the ideas
behind progressive enhancement…
some see an escalator...others see a highly enhanced
and gracefully degrading staircase...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/blmurch/6024605166
everyone is diﬀerent…
…if we truly believe that creating great experiences
begins with an acknowledgement that

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsf/9358670299
different contexts, with different
intents and capabilities…
experiencing the web in

…we must accept that enhancement
may sometimes lie beyond the web
Source: Nymi
Nymi lets you use your unique cardiac rhythm
to authenticate your identity.

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/yghelloworld/4964999147
weave the web in and out
of their day…
that (thanks to mobile), people
research already shows

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/susanito/5447525972
in doing so, they dip in and out
of the web content we create…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/shortcatt/6233298063
the choices they make are complex,
sometimes irrational, and uniquely personal…

“
...services aren’t made on an assembly line...you can’t
predict precisely which [touchpoint] each user will
need, in what order she will encounter them, and
who will help her along the way.
The service is experienced diﬀerently by every
person, because every person is diﬀerent."
- Andy Polaine
the services we create must embrace
that complexity...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/mozillaeu/9293845962
it’s natural for us to want to coax users
towards the open web…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/kalleboo/9400677132
it’s also natural for our app-making colleagues
to want to drag them the other way…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/juhansonin/7883095062
…and who knows what direction
may come along next

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/andrewmalone/2355592191
all this jostling for attention is
counterproductive…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jazbeck/8025692978
through technology…
…it doesn’t help us gain trust, create engagement,
increase loyalty or enable users to improve their lives

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/shimelle/5586063513
web vs apps, print vs digital,
or bricks + mortar vs online…
the work we do is not about

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/drtran/7468519076
it’s about leveraging technology to
build relationships and enable conversations

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jdickert/3091034336
to make this happen, we have to
stop thinking in silos…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/eletrosonico/3359915532
often referred to as “digital”…
not just the technologies we use,
but the culture around what is still
...we need to evolve
If I buy a TV online
while in-store on my
mobile, which channel
am I using...?

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/meddygarnet/4012204741
here’s an example of a company that is slowly taking steps
to disentangle itself from silos and legacy thinking…

Dixons (owner of electronics giants Curry’s and PC
World) recently scrapped individual sales commissions
in favour of store-wide schemes linked to measures
of customer satisfaction.
To overcome managers’ reluctance to refer customers
to the website, stores are now credited with all sales
in their catchment area...regardless of whether
a buyer entered the premises.
- The Economist
“

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/yokohamarides/6677622077
–not where and how the interactions occurred
this approach makes sense because in the end,
what’s most valuable to the company is a satisﬁed customer

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/2154870998
it’s probably also more eﬃcient as the entire company
can work towards a common goal…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/egfocus/6001107753
than what we’re doing today
what’s possible, and why embracing it might be better
shifting culture can be hard, but the ﬁrst step is to understand

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jamesstewart/5736745348
more seamless, honest and future-friendly…
i’m going to walk you through some technologies that
I believe can help us create experiences that are

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/ryanbrunsvold/5218091651
weaving the web in and out of everyday life
none of these examples exclusively involve the web –
they can however play a role in more seamlessly
a friendly warning:

iOS smart app banners
URLs that (kinda) open apps
APPBROWSER

The call to action adapts to suit the
context:
• OPEN if the app is installed,
• VIEW if it’s not
The banner also won’t appear if the
app isn’t supported (...in that region,
on that particular model)
iOS Smart App Banners can
prompt users to open or
install your app, and are easy
to implement using a meta-tag
in the head of each page.
They are less obtrusive than
modal windows and are native
components so won’t impact
performance or suﬀer from
usability problems as a modals
often can.
Source: Apple developer

While less intrusive than other methods, smart app banners
can still send mixed messages. Don’t use them “simply because
you can”. Make sure they are truly useful.

If the user already has the app installed, generically linking to it
is about as useful as generically dumping all smartphone users
on your (mobile) home page. You can do better...
<a href=”http://
www.amazon.co.uk/
bookReference”>
Clicking OPEN passes
that page’s URL...
...which the app
parses and resolves
to display the content
1
2
3
This is sadly a mythical example. Amazon could do this, but so far hasn’t.

Bottom line:
If used well, Smart app banners can deliver a good experience.
It’s a shame however that their content can’t be customized to
make them feel a bit less like an advert in cases where users
already have the app installed.

Custom URI schemes
more URLs that (kinda) open apps
APPBROWSER

URI schemes are a mechanism through which third-party apps
can communicate with each other.
They are supported on iOS, BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone 8
and Android (using the far more robust intents).

polar://
The user clicks a link
within a web page
The native app (that’s
already installed)
recognises the scheme
The app developer
registers the scheme
within the native app
<a href=”polar://
polls/2246/”>
The app opens and (if it’s been
well designed) resolves the full
URL to display the content or
activity the user requested
using a web link
to launch an app in iOS
2
3
4
1
example:
Luke’s case study: Linking mobile web and native app experiences

Boo...the user is on
another platform
(Mac, PC, Android etc.)
...if only it were that simple :-(
(a complicated error prone process using cookies ensued to make this work...see the case study)
Boo...the native
app isn’t installed
FAIL
Luke’s case study: Linking mobile web and native app experiences
<a href=”polar://
polls/2246/”>
FAIL
polar://
The app developer
registers the scheme
within the native app
The user clicks a link
within a web page
2
3
3
1

Bottom line:
For the moment at least...schemes are a bit of a hack.
They don’t gracefully degrade, so it takes a lot of work to
ensure everyone gets a good experience.

intents on Android
outsource tasks to other apps
TASKTASK
TASK

Intents are the glue between application components,
both within an app, and across diﬀerent apps. They allow
apps to outsource tasks to other apps (that they may not
even know about!) using predetermined interfaces.
“ - Roman Nurik

Why is this useful?
Intents enable users to choose the app they prefer to use
when completing a task, such as sharing a link, saving a ﬁle or
opening a URL.
(In contrast to the typical scenario where the platform owner, app
developer or designer decides what people should use (and often how they
should use it) and in some way hard-codes the functionality into the app.)

An intent is simply a
combination of an action,
and a piece of data.
Source: Nick Butcher, Google
VIEW
EDIT Contact “Bryan Rieger”
www.yiibu.com

Android apps can register
their ability to handle
each type of intent.
Source: Nick Butcher, Google
I can....
...VIEW
...EDIT
...SHARE
...CHOOSE
“ ...an image, ﬁle etc.
...an URL, photo etc.
...a photo, document etc.
...just about anything

Pick me!!
Two apps respond
“I can handle ”view”
intents on amazon.co.uk”
browser resolves
the URL
app resolves
the URL
user is
prompted to
pick...
the user clicks a link
within a web page, in an
email, or in another app...
<a href=”http://
www.amazon.co.uk/
bookReference”>
the intent is
broadcast
VIEW
{URI}
Share
Amazon Chrome
Clicking a hyperlink is one of the many user actions that
triggers an intent.
It’s therefore possible for brands with both an app, and a mobile
optimised site to enable behaviours like this....
Once again a mythical example. Amazon could do this, but so far hasn’t.

Reminder: The beauty here is this is an enhancement. The web
page simply contains a URL. If there’s no Amazon app installed,
the URL simply opens in a browser.
(If the user has two browsers installed (for example, a text to speech browser), and hasn’t
designated a default, both will respond...and the user can make a choice).

SHARE
{data}
“Save”
INTENT
click “share”
...completing the action automatically brings you back to the Twitter app
choose an app
edit/compose
your note
Intents also enable out-of-the-box seamless experiences.
Once a task is complete, the user automatically ends up back
where they initiated that task.
Share
Twitter does use intents. Yay!

The more apps support intents, the more users can chain apps
and activities together to complete very personal experiences...
Share (i.e. open)
using Google Translate
...then Share in an SMS
hardware Back
open Tweet
using your
chosen “app”
click a URL in the
Tweet and open using
your favourite “app” seamless auto Back
seamless auto Back
hardware Back

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/khamtran/5871541424
Intents are pretty cool.
It’s a shame they’re just
an Android thing...

Detailed instructions on developers.google.com and try this out in Pocket on iOS
user clicks a link
from within the
Pocket iOS app
VIEW
mock-intent
?
NO
YES
isChrome
Installed?
oﬀers the usual
web view
roundtrip enabled using the x-callback-url scheme
enjoy content in your
favourite browser
Google has implemented a variant of intents enabling apps to
delegate viewing web content to Chrome on iOS. While a bit
contrived, it incorporates feature detection so can be used as an
unobtrusive progressive enhancement.
“open in Chrome”
option is oﬀered
“back” button
added at runtime

Mozilla has also developed the web activities API for Firefox
(mobile) and Firefox OS. Web activities enable (web) apps to
delegate activities to other (web) apps.
three apps respond
“I can pick a photo”
user picks a photo...
the app gets the photo back as a ﬁle blob, and does something with it...
PICK
{photo}
invokes the
pick activity
Select Crop
...does other useful
stuﬀ with their
favourite app...
I’m
done!Pick
Wallpaper
Gallery
Camera
More on Web Activities and a comparison of Web Activities and the far broader Web Intents

Mozilla hopes that web
activities will be
adopted as a standard.
The development of
web intents–a similar,
but more complex W3C
standard–is now on
hold as the various
groups discuss how
best to proceed.
Before the web intents working group was disbanded, web intents were available behind
a Chrome ﬂag. This highly stylised and non-oﬃcial visualization provides a glimpse of
how these worked on a Chromebook.
Which service should be used for saving?
App suggestions from Chrome Web Store:
Evernote Add to Chrome

CONNECTED STUFF OUT IN
THE WORLD
DEVICE
APPAPP
APP
The last couple scenarios
all began (and ended) with an
app (the browser is also an app :-)
Next we’ll talk about ways to
enable interactions between
other users, devices and
connected “things”?

NFC
easily exchange all sorts of data
DEVICE DEVICE
(and much more...)

NFC is a simple but powerful wireless technology that
makes it easy to complete transactions, exchange digital
content, and connect electronic devices.

Apple doesn’t yet support NFC :-(
Supported on most BlackBerry
and Windows Phone devices.
1 million NFC-enabled Android
devices activated each week*.
*Source: Google I/O 2013. Also of interest are the Mozilla NFC web API, a PhoneGap plugin, and the W3C NFC working group.
Apple appears to have no plan to support NFC and may instead focus
on Bluetooth LE. These technologies overlap but each has its
strengths. It’s a shame that Apple is as usual going its own way.

Receive small amounts of data
from an unpowered object
the NFC tag is
momentarily
powered by the
device’s NFC ﬁeld
NFC enabled devices operate at a very short range (max. 4”/10cm)
and can communicate with two types of “things.”
Exchange data of any size
with another powered device

The word “data” downplays the power of a potential
NFC data exchange. Here are a few examples...

Touch the poster
(which contains a
passive NFC tag) to
receive a product-
related URL.
(...similar to a QR code but at
least you don’t need to own,
open and activate a separate
QR code reader app)
Share a URI
OBJECT DEVICE
data
browser
opens and
loads the URI

Share a dataset
While using the British Airways
app, tap your NFC device to an
NFC-enabled (e-ink display)
luggage tag to transfer your
luggage and ﬂight data.
(Currently in Beta. This is a basic guess of how it will
work. The e-ink image can last for weeks and only
requires power when the tag is being written. )
OBJECTDEVICE
data
Source: British Airways to oﬀer NFC luggage tags

While playing a video using the
YouTube app, touch your phone
to a Smart TV’s NFC logo...
Share a context
2 Loads the video
3 Sets the playhead location
4 Adjusts any other settings
1 Opens the TV’s YouTube app
(This is easy to demonstrate using two smartphones
but not sure if the YouTube app on any NFC-
enabled TV’s support this functionality.
In cases where the app isn’t yet installed, the device
automatically takes you to the page on Google Play
where you can download it.)
DEVICE
data
DEVICE

Tap to send the file
1 Activates Bluetooth (if not already on)
2 Pairs the devices
3 Initiates Bluetooth streaming
Share media
4 Disconnects Bluetooth once complete
Progress is visible in the
notification window
e.g. PDF, mp3, mp4, MPEG
(or Wi-fi Direct)
DEVICE
data
DEVICE
(large)
Play using your
favourite app...
(uses a ”view”
intent on Android!)

Touching the headphone’s
NFC logo to your NFC phone...
2 Activates Bluetooth
3 Pairs the devices
4 Initiates streaming of the
song that’s currently open
on your phone
1 Powers up the headphones
Initiate a connection
DEVICE
data
DEVICE

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/aon/7184559114/
things get even more interesting,
once you consider how users
may chain these behaviours together...

NFC
payment
share voucher with a friend
and so on...
in-store offer:
check-into
Facebook for
10% off
....later that day
redeem
10% off
VIEW
grab QR code
voucher from web
begin
here...
download
brand
loyalty app
see something
you like! share a photo
tell 20 of your
best friends...
conversation
ensues...questions arise
+10!!
friends say
go for it!
browse
reviews
tap POP
display to
get reviews
share
them

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/cristiano_betta/2753834595
tearing down silos isn’t just good
for the web, it’s good for all of us…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/apes_abroad/4690659482
we’re not just build apps,
or web sites...

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/heisenbergmedia/8409313926
we’re building strong, sustainable
companies and brands…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/comedynose/4328893766
…in a world where everything is connected
every company is now a technology company
“...it’s really rather simple, in the future, app development is
going to be just as important as property development.”
- Philip Clarke, CEO, Tesco supermarkets
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/78170556@N08/6992639132

the entire service,
the entire company...is the app
smart POP
contactless
payment
loyalty
just-in-time
inventory
global supply chain
accountability
privacy
personalization
sensors
big data
transparency
open data
http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/comedynose/4328893766
APIs
loyalty

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/yokohamarides/5754457946
the web is by far its most ubiquitous
and resilient access point…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/danzen/4979854477
but the others also have a place in creating
wonderful, diverse and future-friendly experiences…

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/docentjoyce/3314396603
they’re simply tools that help us tell stories
about our products
...technologies aren’t solutions,

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/brownpau/4969358409
and devices that surround us…
our job is to tear down the walls, build bridges, and
ﬁll the gaps between the people, spaces

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/seokchanyun/5537621999
…only then can we tell the stories
our customers deserve

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/dcoetzee/3885789043
for what, for whom, where and most importantly, why.”
- Bill Buxton (in a great many contexts)
for something else. The trick is knowing what is what,
“Everything is best for something and worst
A one-handed ergonomic keyboard from the Buxton collection

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/tinou/453593446
thank you
many thanks to the
amazing photographers on
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
@yiibu
hello@yiibu.com
contact us
at
Presentation deck available @
http://www.slideshare.net/yiibu

Beyond progressive-enhancement

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