Engineering the Mobile Web Site

An interview with Richard Parker-Lead ATTi developer for Mobile Web
RICHARDPARKER
AT&T Interactive’s new mobile web site recently went live, which replaces the previous WAP site and the newer iPhone web app (site) – developed entirely by our AT&T Interactive Mobile Development Team.

The new site (found at m.yp.com) reflects features and search tools from our flagship mobile app – YPmobile.

One of the most significant changes is the site’s ability to dynamically deliver content based on the user’s device. It supports over 6,000 mobile device profiles! That means users should always see edge-to-edge crystal clear maps; and all of the icons and font sizes should be appropriately sized for their device’s screen size and resolution.

I had a chance to catch up with AT&T Interactive’s lead developer on this system, Richard Parker, to get more insight into all the work that went behind creating the new site:

Q: What language/tools were used to develop this application?
A: We used Ruby on Rails, Netbiscuits and the usual array of HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.

Q: What were the technical challenges of this build?
A: We had to support over 6,000 different mobile devices, each with their own display peculiarities. This was in order to meet our primary requirement of the displays being functionally clean and scalable.

Q: Who was involved in the engineering of this system?
A: We worked with a very wide group within AT&T Interactive including Ops, Apps Support, Architecture, Manual QA, Automated QA, Business Intelligence, Search, Syndication, Web team, and Logging.

Q: Give us a short look back on this system
A: This system had previously been outsourced. We decided to “in source” with an internal team in order to have more influence on functionality and user interface.

Q: What else would you say was significant?
A: This build was done in a very short time frame, which is a strong reflection of the excellent working relationship within our product and the other engineering groups. The team was VERY open to help and suggestions. We operated in an “ego-less” fashion. Essentially it was passion for excellence tempered with receptiveness to outside influences. We re-factored constantly to raise the quality of the product. In addition, our code was reviewed by three different groups.

IPhone