# Designing for a specific audience

Every application you design should have a specific purpose. Find out who will use the application, what they will use it for, and which mobile devices they have. Then design the application to fit a specific context of use.

### Analyzing users and their tasks

Gather information about the user group to learn about the context the people live in, their current tasks, their problems with current solutions, their needs for new products or services, and underlying motivations that would get them to adopt and use them. Possible methods for gathering the information include interviewing users, observing them at their current tasks, asking them to document their daily activities, and creating questionnaires. For example, gather information about the use of a Web site to determine which content or service is accessed most frequently and would thus make a useful widget.

You can combine content from Web sites with a local context to deliver personalized services that are relevant to your users. For example, a weather widget can use the global positioning system (GPS) in mobile devices to access the user's location and deliver information about the local weather.

For more information on user experience techniques, see Usability in a mobile application development project.

### Selecting supported devices

You can install and run widgets on devices that support Web Runtime (WRT). Each unique device targets a different market niche, a combination of form, functionality, and price, which expands the total addressable market for mobile applications. The characteristics of your target devices, such as screen size and orientation, touch support, and the availability of a keyboard or home screen, affect widget design.

For more information on the target devices, see Device Specifications.

### Designing for a specific context of use

When designing for mobile devices, keep in mind the context in which users use their mobile devices:

- Location—Where and how do users use the widget? Are they standing up or sitting down? Do they have one hand free?

  Design widgets that users can use with one hand, while walking. For more information, see Managing user interaction

- Time—How much time can users afford to spend on the widget? How much attention can they give to it?

  Design widgets that fit into the natural flow of users and do not take them out of it. For more information, see Moving within widgets.

- Light—Are the users inside or outside? What are the weather conditions?

  Design widgets that users can see even in direct sunlight. For more information, see Designing for small screens.

- Situation—Can users or those around them be disturbed by the mobile device?

  Because users take their devices with them everywhere, design widgets that remain silent when devices are set to silent.

- Ease of use—How experienced are users in using mobile devices?

  Design widgets that even inexperienced users can use. For more information, see Designing simple pages.