Handbook

Mobile Engineering ↔ SDLC ↔ PDLC bridge

This document maps **Mobile Engineering** practices to the two lifecycle frameworks:

Mobile Engineering ↔ SDLC ↔ PDLC bridge

Purpose

This document maps Mobile Engineering practices to the two lifecycle frameworks:

  • PDLC — "Are we building the right product?"
  • SDLC — "Are we building the product right?"
  • Mobile — "Does the mobile experience perform well across platforms and devices?"

Mobile engineering adds platform-specific constraints to standard SDLC delivery — binary distribution, app store review, device fragmentation — and connects to PDLC through mobile-specific engagement and distribution channels.

Canonical sources: MOBILE.md (this package) · Product development lifecycle (PDLC) · Software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Comparison table

Dimension Mobile Engineering SDLC PDLC
Core question Does the mobile experience perform well across platforms and devices? How do we build this correctly? Should we build this; does it create the right outcomes?
Scope Native/cross-platform development, offline-first, push notifications, app store lifecycle, device fragmentation, mobile security Requirements → design → implementation → verification → release (A–F) Problem discovery → strategy → launch → growth → sunset (P1–P6)
Primary owner Mobile / platform engineers Delivery team Product manager / product trio
Success metric Crash-free rate, app startup time, ANR rate, app store rating, install/uninstall ratio Velocity, defect escape rate, CI/CD pass rate Adoption, retention, revenue, NPS
Key artifacts Signed binaries, Fastlane config, device test results, app store metadata Specs, code, tests, release notes Research, strategy, metrics
Risk focus Device fragmentation, OS updates, store rejection, offline data loss, battery/memory Technical correctness Market and outcome risk

Mobile across the lifecycle

Phase Mobile role Key activities Outputs
P1–P2 Platform evaluator Assess mobile feasibility; prototype on target devices; evaluate native vs cross-platform Platform recommendation, device matrix, prototype
P3 Technical advisor Platform strategy (native/cross-platform), minimum OS version, offline requirements Platform ADR, device support matrix, offline strategy
A Discover Mobile architect Framework selection, architecture pattern (MVVM/MVI/Clean), navigation approach, CI/CD pipeline design Architecture doc, CI/CD pipeline plan
B Specify Feature specifier Map specs to mobile patterns; identify platform-specific behaviors; define deep link schema Mobile-specific acceptance criteria, deep link contract
C Design Platform builder Set up project structure, DI, navigation, local storage, networking layer, design system integration Project scaffold, core modules, component library
D Build Feature implementer Build features per platform; implement offline sync, push notifications, deep linking Feature code, platform-specific adaptations
E Verify Device tester Device farm testing, screenshot/snapshot tests, performance profiling, accessibility, security scan Device test results, performance baselines, security report
F Release Release engineer Code signing, app store submission, staged rollout, feature flags, OTA updates Signed binaries, store listings, rollout config
P4 Launch Store manager App store optimization (ASO), screenshot updates, review responses, initial analytics setup Store listing, analytics dashboards
P5 Grow Engagement engineer Push notification campaigns, deep link attribution, A/B testing, performance optimization Engagement metrics, experiment results, performance improvements
P6 Sunset Migration manager Forced update to migration path, data export, app delisting, support wind-down Migration guide, delisting plan

Mobile-specific lifecycle concerns

Release complexity (vs web)

Concern Web Mobile
Distribution Deploy to CDN/server Submit to app stores; review process (1–7 days)
Rollback Instant redeploy Cannot force uninstall; expedited review for hotfix
Update adoption Immediate (next page load) User-controlled (or OS auto-update); installed base fragmentation
Feature flags Simple (server-controlled) Important for decoupling release from rollout; limited by offline
Hotfixes Redeploy in minutes OTA for JS bundles; native hotfixes require new store submission

Device fragmentation

Dimension Strategy
Screen sizes Responsive layouts, adaptive components, device-class detection
OS versions Define minimum supported version; use compatibility libraries; test on oldest supported
Hardware capabilities Feature detection (camera, NFC, biometrics); graceful degradation for missing hardware
Manufacturer variants (Android) Test on popular OEM devices; handle manufacturer-specific behaviors

Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern Description Fix
Web app in a shell Cross-platform app that ignores platform conventions — feels foreign on both platforms Follow platform HIG; use native navigation patterns; respect platform gestures
Ignoring the installed base Assuming all users are on latest version; breaking backward compatibility API versioning; gradual migration; minimum version enforcement with user communication
Always-online assumption App crashes or shows empty screens without network Offline-first with cached data and queued writes; clear offline state indicators
Permission spam Requesting all permissions at install/first launch Request permissions contextually when the feature that needs them is first used
Manual release Code signing, screenshots, metadata updated by hand Fastlane + CI/CD for automated builds, signing, screenshots, and submission
Doc Why
MOBILE.md Platform strategy, architecture, app lifecycle, performance, app store management
Mobile patterns (blueprint) Navigation, offline, push notification, deep linking patterns
Mobile platforms (blueprint) iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, KMP specifics
UX-DESIGN.md Interaction design, design systems — mobile-specific UX patterns
Software development lifecycle (SDLC) Delivery phases A–F
Product development lifecycle (PDLC) Product phases P1–P6
Security ↔ SDLC ↔ PDLC bridge Mobile security — certificate pinning, secure storage, biometrics

Canonical source

Edit https://github.com/autowww/blueprints/blob/main/disciplines/engineering/mobile/MOB-SDLC-PDLC-BRIDGE.md first; regenerate with docs/build-handbook.py.