Server-Driven UI for Mobile and Beyond

Server-Driven UI is a broad term that covers many kinds of technologies. In recent years, one application of Server-Driven UI has been to drive full user interfaces on mobile platforms such as iOS and Android, allowing for the updating of these interfaces even after the apps have been submitted and approved by their respective app store gateways.

On the Growth side at Netflix, we have fully embraced this application of Server-Driven UI as a beneficial technology to support our Customer Lifecycle UIs, especially as we generally do not force users to update their mobile apps. In addition to the mobile use case of SDUI, we have extended our use beyond just mobile into our Web and TV platforms as well.

Through our presentation, we hope you can better understand:

  • What problems we were trying to solve with Server-Driven UI
  • How we extend our solution beyond just mobile to our Web and TV platforms
  • What kinds of issues still persist with the new framework
  • Our future outlook as we continue to evolve the framework

What's the focus of your work these days?

My current focus at work is continuing to architect and build out the mobile client implementations of the SDUI framework we designed here at Netflix. I am also working with many of our partners to evangelize and determine the right fit with which to broaden the scope of our SDUI framework.

What's the motivation for your talk at QCon London 2024?

The motivation is to share what has been working and hasn't been working regarding SDUI, including how it relates to non-Mobile platforms. I hope that it helps people understand how a new SDUI approach could be beneficial while also allowing them to avoid the issues and mistakes that we've experienced as we've grown the solution to the point where it is today.

How would you describe your main persona and target audience for this session?

The target audience is anyone interested in SDUI who wants to hear how a problem set would be experienced at scale to warrant an exploration of SDUI, and the kinds of challenges and problems that are experienced at the size of Netflix's scale.

Is there anything specific that you'd like people to walk away with after watching your session?

I want them to walk away with an understanding of one approach to SDUI and a better feeling of how to navigate the kinds of issues that Netflix has faced, in addition to taking away a good idea of how that approach worked to the benefit of impacting hundreds of millions of users. They should walk away with a better grasp of SDUI and its pros and cons.


Speaker

Christopher Luu

Staff Software Engineer @Netflix Specializing in Mobile

Christopher Luu is a Staff Senior Engineer at Netflix, working primarily on the iOS and Android platforms and some of the backends that support them. He's been at Netflix for over 3 years, where he has been helping architect and implement a new Server-Driven UI framework for the Growth team. Before Netflix, he was the CTO for a mobile and digital agency in Brooklyn and has worked on over 30 apps across the Apple and Google ecosystems. He's passionate at finding ways to bridge the platform divide, while also finding scalable solutions that can solve hard problems in service of a delightful user experience.

Read more
Find Christopher Luu at:

Date

Wednesday Apr 10 / 02:45PM BST ( 50 minutes )

Location

Churchill (Ground Fl.)

Topics

SDUI architecture multi-platform mobile

Share

From the same track

Session JavaScript

Unleashing the Potential of VR: Building Immersive Experiences with Familiar Tools

Wednesday Apr 10 / 11:45AM BST

Join us as we delve into the exciting world of wearable devices, the next frontier in personal computing. At Meta, we're harnessing this potential through innovative software like Workrooms, a VR application that transcends the boundaries of traditional collaboration.

Speaker image - Ian Thomas
Ian Thomas

Software Engineer @Meta, QCon London 2024 PC Chair

Session architecture

Lessons Learned in the Financial Market About Performance and Observability in Frontend Projects

Wednesday Apr 10 / 01:35PM BST

Navigate the intricate balance between performance and observability in frontend projects within the financial market. Discover hard-earned lessons, unraveling the challenges of maintaining equilibrium in this delicate dance.

Speaker image - Jessica Felix
Jessica Felix

Software Developer

Session

The Latest in the World of Web Engineering (Featuring AI)

Wednesday Apr 10 / 10:35AM BST

In this talk, we explore web engineering in relation to AI, AI engineering, Intelligent Answering Engines, an update on CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and personal health and productivity.

Speaker image - Tejas Kumar
Tejas Kumar

Chief Developer Advocate, Author of "Fluent React", International Keynote Speaker, Previously at Spotify and Xata.io

Session

Adaptable Innovation: How Microsoft Leverages React Native for Strategic Advantage

Wednesday Apr 10 / 03:55PM BST

Discover how React Native's strategic flexibility plays a key role at Microsoft, powering not just mobile apps but also desktop, Xbox, and AR/VR applications.

Speaker image - Lorenzo Sciandra
Lorenzo Sciandra

Senior Software Engineer @Microsoft, React Native Maintainer Since 2018, OSS and Mental Health Advocate