• Read more about #23 Top-Performing Small Technology Company

Mobomo, LLC Ranked #23 in the 8/28/2020 issue Washington Business Journal’s Top-Performing Small Technology Companies

The Washington Business Journal has released a ranked list of the Top-Performing Small Technology Companies in the greater D.C. area in its in the 8/28/2020 issue. To evaluate these companies, the Journal reviewed revenue from 2019, and only companies with fewer than 150 total employees headquartered in the DMV region could qualify. Mobomo, LLC was proud to be seated as the 23rd top-performing company. 

This placement shows not only the tremendous growth of our organization but also the well-deserved accomplishments of all members of our small team. To reflect on some specific achievements in 2019 that lead to our successes.

"Mobomo is excited to be recognized and listed amongst this impressive group of DC area businesses," said Brian Lacey, CEO. "Our team's dedication to innovation and client satisfaction continues to drive our year over year growth." 

The full list of companies included can be found here: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/subscriber-only/2020/08/28/top-performing-small-technology.html

About the Washington Business Journal:

The Washington Business Journal is the leading source for business news and data for the Washington, D.C., region. The Business Journal publishes all the information and insights you need to succeed in business — through the weekly edition, website, email products, and our events and awards programs. Owned by the parent company, American City Business Journals – The Business Journals brands are recognized on the local level in 43 markets and have 400+ journalists entrenched in their local markets and industries.

• Read more about Ken Fang Honored as 2018 NVTC Tech Executive of the Year

We are honored to announce that Ken Fang, President of Mobomo, was named as one of the 2018 NVTC Tech 100 Executives of the Year. The NVTC Tech 100 recognizes companies and individuals who are driving tech innovation, implementing new solutions, and leading growth in the Greater Washington region. Ken Fang is a mobile, web, and cloud Subject Matter Expert who works closely with clients to create solutions to meet their strategic needs. He is adept at developing solutions on all major web, mobile, and cloud platforms, overseeing large-scale application and infrastructure deployments at NASA, NOAA, USGS, Commerce, NIH, and other federal agencies.

“We are all continually impressed with Ken Fang’s uncanny work ethic, technical knowledge, and positive leadership skills that have propelled Mobomo to the company that it is today,” said CEO, Brian Lacey.

About the NVTC

The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) is the membership and trade association for the technology community in Northern Virginia and is the largest technology council in the nation. Its membership includes companies from all sectors of the technology industry including information technology, software/hardware, Internet, ISPs, telecommunications, biotechnology, bioinformatics, aerospace, and nanotechnology, as well as the service providers that play an important role in supporting these companies. In addition, universities, foreign embassies, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies are members and take an active participation in meeting NVTC goals and objectives.

• Read more about Mobomo Named Prime Awardee Of Web Re-Engineering By The United States Geological Survey

Mobomo was recently named the winner of a prime contract at the United States Geological Survey for web re-engineering services, slated to begin this fall.

The purpose of the USGS web re-engineering project is to connect USGS research and science to Internet users through their web presence. The team will consolidate 320+ disparate websites into a single Drupal Content Management System in an Amazon Web Services cloud environment with the objective of continuously improving customer satisfaction and achieving an excellent customer experience by making USGS science and information available, usable, affordable, and accessible in one functional website.

“Mobomo is excited to have been chosen by USGS as their technical partner in this vision. The launch of the new redesigned USGS.gov was a huge accomplishment, and we look forward to continued success ensuring USGS science and information is effectively delivered to website visitors in an engaging and efficient manner.” says Ken Fang, President at Mobomo, LLC.

Mobomo, LLC, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a premier mobile-first web and mobile application design and engineer company that has extensive experience in working with federal agencies and commercial enterprises.

Mobomo specializes in working with government agencies helping enable technologies and improve the way they serve and engage with users. Not only does this benefit the user but agencies are seeing benefit through cost savings.

• Read more about Mobomo Named Best Places To Work 2016

We are ecstatic to have been named one of the Best Places to Work in DC by the Washington Business Journal!

“The Washington Business Journal is owned and operated by American City Business Journals, the nation’s largest publisher of metropolitan business newspapers. American City Business Journals also includes Bizjournals, the new media division, which operates the Web sites for each of the company’s 43 business journal markets. The Washington Business Journal has been Greater Washington’s leading source of business news and information for 30 years, providing over 150,000 business executives with comprehensive news on local people and their companies, as well as industry trends, tips and strategies and award-winning critical analysis. For more information, please visit www.washingtonbusinessjournal.com.”

Washington Business Journal selects the winners by evaluating job satisfaction survey responses that are filled out by each company’s employees. The winners are split into four lists: Small (10-24 employees), Medium (25-49 employees), Large (50-249 employees), and Extra-Large (250-99,999 employees).

What makes Mobomo Awesome:

Here at Mobomo, it’s fair to say that not one person is the same, we encourage creativity and thinking outside the box, we love hiring folks from different backgrounds and experience that’s what makes our culture ours. We hire people who bring awesome to everything that they do, which in turn makes Mobomo awesome. Each employee brings something to the company which makes Mobomo a great place to work.

• Read more about Functional Javascript 101

JavaScript is a real language and it was during my first job as a Salesforce Developer that I was able to start learning the “language.” I remember adding a script on a visual force page and selecting elements while using classes. Not the best practice... but it was my first encounter with the language and I knew that it would take time to truly understand the fundamentals. At the time I didn't imagine the capabilities of the technology and how it was going to evolve and improve the way that we surf the web.

In the sense of paradigms I would say that I started writing JS code in the Imperative way, just defining functions and encapsulating logic to then use all those gears on a single purpose: fire a function onclick to show a modal window. Wow! Really impressive right? Just kidding.

[javascript]function sayMyName() {
alert(“You’re Heisenberg”);
}
document.getElementById("my_button").onclick = sayMyName;[/javascript]

At the same time during my first job I started attending classes at the university and in one of my classes, “Programming 2” we started to learn the famous: Object Oriented Programming, and then I started to implement this knowledge in my daily front-end work. I was able to think more on the responsibility that an object needs to have and the context where that object is going to hangout.

(function() {
"use strict";
var Heisenberg = function() {
this.name = ‘Heisenberg’;
}
Heisenberg.prototype.sayMyName = function() {
alert(“You’re ” + this.name);
};
document.getElementById("my_button").addEventListener("click", function(e) {
var heisenberg = new Heisenberg();
heisenberg.sayMyName();
});
}());

Of course the object-oriented paradigm is much easier to understand than the imperative one, and it’s also more modular.

But then I discovered a new way of thinking about my JS code: the functional way. This doesn’t mean that object-oriented is better or worse, but it’s another way of tackle situations. Let's see:

This solution looks shorter, because I am only using two functions (besides I have added a static return value on the getName function). You don’t need to forget everything you know to take advantage of the functional paradigm. I would say think more on the dependencies of the functions in the context in which they are called in order to know how to structure all the code.

• Read more about Why are Large Retailer Websites Impossible to Navigate?

The other night my wife was browsing the GAP(gap.com) website, itching to spend her “gap bucks”. She asked if I needed anything and as I browsed through the site looking at clothes I didn’t need, but maybe wanted, I found a constant, frustrating theme throughout…this site was not designed for anyone to actually use. Let me clarify below…

In The Beginning…

Let’s start at the beginning of any website, the homepage. It seems that on many large retail sites immediately upon landing you are bombarded with the latest trends in e-commerce sites, a full page interstitial takeover, begging you sign up for their newsletter for an extra XX% off your purchase.

After dismissing the popup you are able to actually land on the homepage, though almost wishing the popup would return, so there was a clear message or action to take. The sheer amount of available options is overwhelming. I wasn’t sure when looking at the homepage, if GAP wanted me to:

Since I am a professional designer but also a user, when I go to a clothing site to purchase something, that’s all I want to do…purchase that item. I hope that retailer websites such as GAP improves their site so it's easier to navigate, because who doesn't love a good sweater or pair or pants from GAP?

On the flip side I do understand the need from a marketing perspective to answer consumer needs and questions that may relate to the aforementioned list. But surely there is an alternative approach to providing people that info.

Perhaps as someone goes through the shopping experience you can lay these bits of content out in appropriate spots. How about when I add an item to my cart? Why not present me with a coupon option then. Or maybe offer me recommendations of other brand items I might like after the checkout process, perhaps on a thank you screen or in my email confirmation. Crafting a breadcrumb trail like this, and targeting people to take action at the right time, could inevitably lead to more e-commerce sales.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter though, because design at it’s core is about solving problems. And if GAP has found that the way their site is structured solves the problems of their users, that’s all that matters.

• Read more about Mobomo Partners with Drupal

Mobomo believes in partnering. Over the years we have partnered with Amazon, IBM, Tracx, and a number of other companies and organizations. We are pleased to announce our recent partnership with the Drupal Association (https://assoc.drupal.org), Drupal has been a major contributor in the community for many years. 

Drupal is an open-source content management system framework used to make many of the websites and applications that you use every day. Drupal has great standard features like easy content authoring, reliable performance, and excellent security. But what sets Drupal apart from other solutions is its flexibility and extensibility; modularity is one of its core principles. Drupal allows you to build the versatile, structured content that is needed for engaging and dynamic web experiences.

We are very pleased to be a part of the Drupal community, since we have developed Drupal solutions for major Federal Government websites in the past this partnership only makes sense. We are excited about our partnerships and look forward to building bigger and better things as a supporting partner of Drupal.org. Be sure to visit our Drupal page.

• Read more about Netherlands Embassy Receives Makeover

Mobomo recently launched the new website NLintheUSA (Netherlands in the USA). The Embassy of Netherlands was looking to improve the cosmetic appearance of their site. They were seeking to make it user friendly and more appealing to the eye, they were hoping these changes would improve the relations between the two countries as well as foster cultural exchange, business opportunities and promote Holland’s leading role in the scientific and technology fields.

There are many aspects that stand out on this site. The colorful palette is probably one of the first things that you notice, we wanted to incorporate vibrant colors as it speaks of the diversity of the Dutch community and their cheerful and polite manner. But the most remarkable feature on their new site is the high-quality custom made infographics and illustrations that accompany the different sections. Aside from adding a creative to appeal to the eye, each infographic specifically illustrates the content that is on the site, making the reading pleasant and swift, and ensuring high memorability of the content.

We created over 54 infographics, and for those of you who are not designers, each infographic could take anywhere from 1-16 hours to create depending on the complexity. Each infographic was tailored to Holland’s landmarks, architectural structures and cities. In the process some infographics were left aside because the client decided to highlight a different aspect of the text, other times new pieces of content replaced old ones. The infographics that we created that aren’t currently on their website are stored in a library resource so that they can be used in the future whenever the site needs to be updated. For now, they can be used in collateral pieces such as brochures, posters, postcards, etc.

Our design team worked closely with Netherlands team every step of the way, through the creation of the infographics to the revisions and now to the launch, we were all committed to the end goal. 

Learn more about our web design & development services!

• Read more about Agile Project Management with Scrum

Agile, sprints, scrum - all these words are thrown around endlessly in software development. So, what are they and how do they work? Before embarking on a 10 hour passenger ride to Georgia, I picked up Microsoft’s Agile Project Management with Scrum from our Mobomo library to give a better perspective.

What is Agile and why should I use it?

No secrets here, agile is what it says - agile. Agile is a type of project management different from the traditional waterfall style in which company X is obligated to produce a product for customer Y by a set deadline. Unlike Agile, the waterfall method doesn’t allow much, if any, room for changes within the dedicated timeline. As a Project Manager, I know that customer and business needs change with no regard for your timeline. At Mobomo, we understand that change isn’t bad, it’s awesome so we should make room for it. Agile helps your development team balance changes with your customer and business needs.

Ok, cool - now I know that agile is flexible, but why is it good for business?

Agile saves you time and money. Software development is complex, but it’s predictable in itself. People, on the other hand, are not. Agile allows for this margin of unpredictability with a defined, empirical process called Scrum. Using Scrum, your product can be built with a focus on a minimum viable product. Creating a product with a minimum set of features provides value by testing your business’s concept before continuing development. This iterative approach builds on your highest priority features (i.e. sprints) and saves you time and money by building a product that people want to use and pay for over a product filled with excessive, unvalidated features.

I particularly enjoyed Schaber’s book because it describes real, lessons-learned use cases without having to experience failure first hand.

Tell me more about Scrum!

I love Scrum because it’s intuitive and fact-based. It’s foundation empowers the development team while also putting customers first. Managers love it because its style is rooted in helping others achieve their goals in a common-sense learning process.

Here at Mobomo, we’re always employing Scrum in our Agile Methodology to get our clients the best product possible with value in mind. I could go on and on about Scrum and Agile, but I hope this a valuable insight to our goals and processes at Mobomo!

• Read more about Section 508 Comprehensive Compliance Checklist

We love working with government agencies, with doing so we always abide by the U.S. Government website regulations. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires all federal electronic data to be accessible, this section was added in 1998 to articulate those standards. The law (29 U.S.C. § 794 (d) applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to access available to others.

The following is our checklist of standards that we must check the box on while developing a product for the government:

Sub-Section I – Images

Sub-Section II – Video

Sub-Section III – Visual Contrast

Sub-Section IV – CSS

Sub-Section V – Links

Sub-Section VI - Imagemaps

Sub-Section VII – Tables

Sub-Section VIII – Advanced Tables

Sub-Section IX – Frames/iFrames

Sub-Section X – Flicker/Refresh Rates

Sub-Section XI – Text-only Options

Sub-Section XII – Javascript

Sub-Section XIII - Screen Readers

Sub-Section XIV - Forms

Sub-Section XV – “Skip Links”

Sub-Section XVI - Dynamic Content