More people are using mobile devices to handle their everyday computer tasks. Given three minutes and my iPhone, I can check my work and personal emails, my schedule, the news, the weather, and sometimes even get in a game of Tetris. It, like so many mobile devices, is usable, engaging, efficient, informative, and scalable. This mobile convenience should carry through training and marketing solutions as well. Unfortunately, often due to certain limitations of each mobile device and their short shelf life, there is often not a credible mobile counterpart to most training applications. To bridge the gaps, here are 6 ways to extend the user experience of your web or CD-ROM based app through mobile devices.

1. Limit Your Limitations
   It is often said that the difficulty in developing mobile experiences is that there are too many custom devices, all with unique technologies that need unique solutions, and therefore too many limitations to justify the development price. In reality, you can often find that two or three devices, or types of devices, make up a majority of what your audience uses. This may not always be the case, but survey your audience, you may find out that that most use iPhones and Blackberries, or maybe they tend to use more generalized cell phones. There is nothing wrong with developing towards a couple specific types of devices if it makes sense. By understanding what devices are typically used by your audience, you can limit the limitations, save time and money.
   
2. Adjust the Experience, Not the Goals
   Even while limiting your limitations, they still exist. Mobile devices tend to have smaller computing power, smaller screen real estate, and limited browser or application capabilities. It may be difficult to continue the same exact user experience across this constrained platforms. When extending an application through a mobile device, the user experience can change, as long as it follows the goals, objectives, and brand that is needed to make the final solution a success.
3. Use the Screen as a Window, Not a Content Perimeter
   While the screen real estate is smaller on a mobile device, it can be used as a window into a greater user experience, rather than the edges of the screen acting as a perimeter for the content. The iPhone is a great example of this. Even with a small screen, users don’t feel they are being limited by it. Often, with a flick of their finger, additional content slides in from just out of view. When content slides into view from outside the borders, or from the out-of-view area that surrounds the screen, it establishes an environment that goes outside of what is on screen. This can greatly reduce the claustrophobic feeling of a small content area.
4. Don’t Forget Marketing
   It is easy to get caught up defining a new training application or website. “Build it and they will come” does not always work when your audience doesn’t know of it’s existence, services, and benefits. Don’t forget to define a marketing plan for the mobile version of your course or marketing aid. Market the app as an extension of their abilities, not an extra thing to do. Advertising can be as important as the application itself.
5. Remember You and Your Administrators
   You and your administrators are part of your application’s audience. You may have different goals than your trainees but you need to continue your experiences through mobile devices as well. It may be important for you to review analytical reports during a meeting or author content while sitting on a train headed farther and farther away from your desktop computer. Whatever you need to do, make sure if is factored into the overall solution.
6. Look Towards the Future
   A lot of time can be spent developing mobile solutions. Mobile devices are changing rapidly. Developing scalable solutions and reusable components are the best approach to offering training and marketing experiences that last.