Before work on the BBC Events application could begin, a framework was required that would provide the team with a foundation on which to build a robust, memory-efficient app that could be re-skinned for future events.
I completed the majority of the work in an intensive 3 days which allowed the rest of the team to begin work on the app itself. Embellishments were applied over the remainder of the week.
The core framework is designed around the BBC’s One Service UI which is a drive to use a consistent UX across all current and future products.
It allows for efficient use of specialised components which are created and destroyed at runtime based on what the application requires to render each feed. Components are owned by sections, sections are owned by scenes and a component can both be shared across- or destroyed between- sections as required for maximum efficiency.
The components themselves are based on an MVC pattern and are encapsulated by a component class and interface through which they communicate with the main application. This design enforces a consistent approach to developing additional components – as well as application structure as a whole – and means it will be straightforward to add new components to the framework in the future.
Halo allowed us to create the Events app in record time – less than 4 months from start to finish which is approximately 30% less time than was spent on the Sports app last year.