7 Tips for Building a Well-Loved App with QuickBase

7 Attributes of a Scalable App that is Beloved by All

Rich Crum

Co-Founder, VeilSun, Inc.

James Cosman

Co-Founder, VeilSun, Inc.

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① Introductions

② Why is Adoption Important?

③ How Human’s Interact with Software

④ The 7 Attributes of Scalable Apps that are Beloved by All

⑤ Q&A

AGENDA

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About Your Presenters

James Cosman

•Co-founder, VeilSun

•6 years in QuickBase serving 100+ clients

•Business Process Background

•MBA, Rice University

Rich Crum

•Co-founder, VeilSun

•25+ years in technology development and implementation

•11 years in QuickBase serving all company sizes

•Masters, Telecommunication Management

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What VeilSun Does

Build QuickBase

Fix QuickBase

Extend QuickBase

Support QuickBasePictured: Qscheduler – VeilSun’s most popular extension

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VeilSun “By the Numbers”

133 Clients served

#1 THE top-reviewed

Solution Provider

31 Industries served

41 5-Star Reviews

Info.veilsun.com/empower2015Password: Empower15i

What % of IT projects fail??

* According IAG Consulting (2008)

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Estimated worldwide loss per year from failed IT Projects*:

Adoption Matters!

$6.2 Trillion

* Sessions, Roger. The IT Complex Crisis: Danger and Opportunity

Your App is a Trusted Co-Worker

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Where do you know these robots from?

R2-D2 from

Star Wars

War Games

Rosie from

The Jetsons

Samantha

from “Her”

HAL from

2001: A Space

Odyssey

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How We Communicate with Software

“[Users] want personality, they want something that will joke or be more present.”- From “Speak up! Advertisers Want You to Talk with New Apps”. NPR 2013

"Media are treated politely, they can invade our body space, they can have personalities that match our own, they can be a team mate, and they can elicit gender stereotypes. Media can evoke responses, demand attention, threaten us, influence memories, and change ideas of what is natural. Media are full participants in our social and natural world.”- From “The Media Equation - How People Treat Computers, Television, and New

Media like Real People and Places” 1997

Clifford Nass

Stanford Professor

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What attributes DO you want?

What do you want in a Co-Worker?

What Attributes DO you NOT want?

The 7 Attributesof a QuickBase app beloved by all

…And now (drumroll please)

Is Well-Introduced1ChangeManagement

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Communicate the need for and purpose of the

new application

Enlist champions to help

Build excitement around the app

“This app is not a threat, it is your best friend!”

Introduce early and communicate frequently

Introducing your App

Is In It for the “Long Haul”2 Scalable

Architecture

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Think deeply and get professional feedback about

your app’s architecture BEFORE building your app,

considering:

1. How your data relates

2. The workflow you want to achieve

3. Reporting needs

4. Data volume

App Architecture Is Key to Scalability

Tip:Try LucidChartwww.lucidchart.com

Has a Strong Identity3 Branding

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Brand it

Name it

Make it fit culturally

Building an App with a Strong Identity

Is Easy to Work With4 Workflow

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Good Workflow Defined

Getting the most

done in the fewest #

of clicks

But how?

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Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

Map Your Process Tip:Try LucidChartwww.lucidchart.com

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Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

Define RolesTip:

Download our Roles Definition Worksheetinfo.veilsun.com/empower2015password:Empower15

For each Role, define:

1. Their primary functions in

QuickBase (what they will do)

2. Their reports

3. Their homepage

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Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

Focus on Homepages

Which Homepage do you prefer?

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Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

URL ButtonsYou can write buttons to:

Add Records

Move records from one table to

another

1-Click editing of an existing record

Direct users to a specific form

Much more! Learn more at

info.veilsun.com/empower2015

These Things

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Project Builder

•By VeilSun

•Templates held outside of your live tables

•Pre-choose task

Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

“Record Generators”Tools that allow you to create many records at 1x

Copy Parent-Child

• Native

• Easy setup

• Template model

•Trigger actions automatically

•Extremely flexible

•No coding necessary

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Native Tools

• QuickBase Sync

• Email Notifications (use w/ caution)

• Table-to-Table Import

Creating Workflow in QuickBase:

Some Other Helpful QuickBase Workflow Tools

Third-Party Tools

QScheduler

Project Builder

FileUp+

FormNav

Is Well-Dressed5 User Interface

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Building an Attractive User Experience

Cell Colorization• Statuses

• Conditions

• Priorities

Icons• Statuses

• Conditions

• Priorities

• Buttons

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Attention to Homepages

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Row Colorization

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NavigationFormNavBy VeilSun

Makes Life Easier6 Constant Evaluation

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① Define an app’s “job” early and

constantly evaluate against this “job”

② Identify and measure against Success

Metrics

③ Get constant feedback

Does it do its Job?

Tip:Download our App Feedback Appinfo.veilsun.com/empower 2015

Has a Good Support System 7

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① Change Management Plan

② Planned releases and roadmap

③ Continual feedback loop

④ Yearly “Health Checks”

Components of a Well-Supported App

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① PLAN your app

② COMMUNICATE your app

③ EVALUATE your app

④ SUPPORT your app

In Summary Development isn’t evenhalf the battle

Questions?