With this post I’m happy to introduce a new type of blogging for us here at Forum Nokia. All our blogs so far focus on people. Some of the people are Forum Nokia Champion developers, other people are Forum Nokia experts, but all the blogs are very personal in nature and open to whatever topic the person chooses to share, whenever they feel like sharing it. Read through these blogs and you’ll see a great mix of code tips, reports from conferences, and overall rants and raves about life on the creation side of the mobile lifestyle.

 

Start2Finish blogs will take a more structured approach to the process of creating mobile experiences. Each blog will follow a particular project from start to finish. They will begin with the spark of an idea in a developer’s imagination, end with some realization of that dream in executable form, and walk through just about every step along the way.

 

The blogs will also link to one or more Wiki entries where you can find the code under development. Follow the blogs to understand the pathway; check out the Wikis to see the destination.

 

Think of Start2Finish blogs as a very public expression of an engineering journal. Just like an engineering journal, they will explore architectural considerations, technology choices, tooling, coding, debugging, and ultimately preparation of the proof of concept package for installation on real devices.

 

Like an engineering journal, these blogs will contain not only the final polished result, but all the details that it took to get there. False starts. Dead ends. And how to overcome problems using all the resources Forum Nokia has to offer.

 

Unlike a paper-bound engineering journal, though, these blogs are a community resource. Engineering journals are private documents, with legal standing in many countries when it comes time to defend intellectual property rights. Start2Finish blogs are a public tool for the Forum Nokia community to collaborate and reach a common goal. The code developed and the skills learned are free for anyone in the community to use.

 

Over the next several days I’ll introduce the experience I want to develop. Let me confess right up front I am no expert mobile developer, and that’s one of the benefits we hope to bring to this style of blogging. I’m an engineer, I’ve spent years doing system design and integration in industrial automation, but I will bring to this project considerably more passion than mobile expertise. I also bring to the project a great understanding of the public resources of the Forum Nokia community, and a considerable personal network of Nokia contacts. Where I find myself using private channels to information, I will do my best to make the information public so we can all benefit from it.

 

I will make mistakes along the way. That’s how we learn. If you see me doing something that doesn’t make sense to you, please let me know by posting a comment. I may be doing something recommended by an expert member of the community – in which case I’ll get the expert to point us both to the reasoning behind the decision. I also may be making a decision that I will come to regret later – in which case I will be grateful if you point out my mistake before it costs me too many late nights later in the project.

 

So if you’ve got a great idea for a mobile experience but you’ve never quite known how to get started, come with me through this project. Along the way, feel free to ask questions and we’ll figure it out together.

 

If you’ve got friends who are looking to expand their skills or applications into the mobile space, do them a favor and send them a link to this blog. I’m going to learn a lot along the way, and hope you all do to.