My personal thoughts on developing a mobile app based on my personal experiences working on a small team of developers. This is not meant to be prescriptive. It is simply a collection of thoughts to consider that you may or may not have considered previously.
Select a software framework that enables a single codebase to manage and build out to all targets.
In 2015 we had a small multiuser on prem web based application that we briefly considered making into a mobile app.
Xamarin was chosen for it's flexibility to target multiple device types and its virtual hardware simulator's for each.
Xamarin has been deprecated in favor of .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI). IF I were going to attempt a mobile app I would probably use this as I code in .NET primarily.
Select a small scope for the initial release.
This will give you time to get started understanding whatever framework you end up developing with as there will be a learning curve.
It will help ignite and focus developers building out your business logic in the new framework without becoming overwhelmed.
Our team lead used to use the phrase "I cannot boil the ocean, but I can make a cup of tea!" when impressing upon us to always limit our scope when working with customers who will naturally ask that you boil the ocean for them. 😄
Make sure the initial release meets a customer need.
I think Ryan and others have hit the nail on the head. In my opinion the first release should have Rule Management and Rule Activity.
These are already developed in the web codebase.
These should be easy to implement and make sense in a touch based app interface.
Make sure the small scope you choose aligns well with the platform targeted.
Play to platform strengths, like push notifications, biometric security and widgets.
A push notification that a rule has fired should take you to the app and show the rule details in Rule Activity.
Whichever method is used to launch the Sequence app should trigger a biometric login if available. I have not verified but MAUI and other frameworks should have classes that encapsulate the local security to login.
You can borrow the Google Tasks UI as a starting place if you want. I always like to leverage the work that others have done before reinventing the wheel.
The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time.The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.
-- Tom Cargill, Bell Labs
Start Simply
The quote above from Tom Cargill was oft cited as it is easy to fall into a quagmire of small user requests for changes to the UI.
By Start Simply I mean the first release should be "rough" as this will be Beta in the App UI department.
Especially considering the Android space has so much hardware and OS variability.
Set and Manage user expectations
Make certain to engage the community and clarify initially what is and is not in scope once that has been decided.
Communicate that this is under development but is new territory so to expect some delays in the schedule as you retool and learn what you do not know.
Communicate progress using your email announcement system on a regular basis.
Android Widget and App examples using Google Tasks as a model:
Widget UI multiselect after clicking drop down to select various groups of tasks. This could be used for filtering rules in rules management by for example source or target account/pod/port.
This widget view could be used for Rule Activity showing the latest run rules at the top.
From the previous Rule Activity list once a rule is selected it could show the activity details the same as it does already in the right hand pane in the web version.
Here is an example contrived in Google Tasks to simulate a new rule addition or update.
You can even borrow Googles schedule UI example Add Date/Time from Tasks shown here when setting a rule schedule.
My personal thoughts on developing a mobile app based on my personal experiences working on a small team of developers. This is not meant to be prescriptive. It is simply a collection of thoughts to consider that you may or may not have considered previously.
Select a software framework that enables a single codebase to manage and build out to all targets.
Select a small scope for the initial release.
Make sure the initial release meets a customer need.
Make sure the small scope you choose aligns well with the platform targeted.
The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.
-- Tom Cargill, Bell Labs
Start Simply
Set and Manage user expectations
Android Widget and App examples using Google Tasks as a model:
Widget UI multiselect after clicking drop down to select various groups of tasks. This could be used for filtering rules in rules management by for example source or target account/pod/port.
This widget view could be used for Rule Activity showing the latest run rules at the top.
From the previous Rule Activity list once a rule is selected it could show the activity details the same as it does already in the right hand pane in the web version.
Here is an example contrived in Google Tasks to simulate a new rule addition or update.
You can even borrow Googles schedule UI example Add Date/Time from Tasks shown here when setting a rule schedule.