Chris DiPierro, Mi-Co's CTO, used his technical expertise to explain the differences between mobile forms and mobile apps to attendees during Mi-Corporation's featured monthly webinar yesterday afternoon.

Chris argued that at a certain point when developing and using mobile form solutions, they move into the mobile application category.

When the  mobile solution development process begins, many people start with questions about specific design details:

• What it should look like?
• Which colors will be on the form?
• How will it be formatted?

What they should really be asking initially, Chris explained, is:

• What process is being replaced?
• What is the point of pain in that process?
• How will success with a mobile transformation be measured?
• Is there a device preference? If so, why?

The takeaway? Focus on the process, not the specific product.

It may sound strange coming from a best-of-breed mobile solution company, but there is no such things as 'just' forms in mobile. Scope-creep is common, and you want to make sure mobile forms can act like mobile apps as needed (excluding reporting, display and other non-data capture functions). If it's on your smartphone, tablet or slate, it can arguably be categorized as a mobile application even if it looks like a mobile form. It doesn't have to be scary, though: it can be as simple or as complex as the situation calls for.

If you missed this month's webinar, listen to a recording and be sure to sign up for future events!