Design Guidelines

When designing mobile apps for various platforms and devices in Rwanda, it is important to consider the following to ensure a good user experience:

Adopt platform design guidelines[Mandatory]

Adhere to design guidelines and principles provided by each platform such as the Material Design for Android and Human Interface Guidelines for iOS

Multi Language support[Mandatory]

Consider support for local languages particularly Kinyarwanda when designing citizen facing mobile applications to increase accessibility.

Responsive design[Mandatory]

Adopt a responsive design approach to allow your application to adapt to different screen orientations. Use fluid layouts and scalable UI components that can adjust seamlessly to landscape and portrait modes.

Accessibility[Recommended]

Aim to ensure your app is accessible to users with disabilities. Implement features such as adjustable font sizes, support for screen readers, color contrast options, and alternative text for images. Follow RISA software accessibility guidelines to make mobile applications inclusive for all users.

Platform conventions[Recommended]

Consider the navigation patterns and gestures familiar to users on each platform. For example, use bottom navigation bars for Android and tab bars for iOS. Follow platform-specific conventions for swipe gestures, back buttons, and other navigational elements

Availability across platforms[Recommended]

To ensure availability across different platforms, mobile applications should at the very least be available on both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS platforms, with priority for Android, which is the majority in Rwanda.

Official app stores[Mandatory]

To ensure safe and secure distribution of apps, official app stores should be used for public app distribution. Enterprise mobile apps, developed or purchased for internal use of the Government institution and not provision of public facing services should not be distributed publicly using an app store.

Device testing[Mandatory]

Test mobile applications on real devices representing the popular platforms and models used in Rwanda. This helps identify and address any device-specific issues, such as layout inconsistencies, performance bottlenecks, or compatibility problems.

Performance optimisation[Mandatory]

Optimise an app's performance by minimizing loading times, optimizing image sizes, and implementing efficient caching strategies. Test the app's performance on devices with varying capabilities and network conditions.

Offline access[Recommendation]

The mobile app should be developed in a way to cater for offline activity and reduce wherever possible frustration for the customer being outside a mobile coverage area. For example, if a customer completes a form within the mobile app without network connectivity they should be able to submit the form as soon as they return to network coverage.

User involvement[Mandatory]

Gather feedback from users in Rwanda during the design and testing phases. Incorporate user insights to improve usability, address pain points, and align the app's design with local preferences.

Open standards[Mandatory]

Open standards shall be adopted for mobile applications for ensuring the interoperability of applications across various operating systems and devices.

Branding[Mandatory]

Adhere to Government of Rwanda branding guidelines when designing mobile applications

Monitoring analytics[Recommended]

Apply appropriate analytics for monitoring the mobile app to gauge engagement and customer behaviour and to identify opportunities to improve the app