DPS924 Projects Winter 2015

Overview

• Learning Objectives.
  • Build a useful and interesting Android app by the end of the semester.
  • Have a sense of achievement after building an operational Android app with feedback from end users.
  • Develop your applied research skills as you need to search for additional knowledge in order to complete the project.
    • use Android packages not covered by this course
    • integrate with another API (e.g. a Web API, Twitter API, Facebook API, Flickr API,...)
  • Demonstrate your potentials, creativity, and technical skills.
  • Use GitHub to build an Android app.
  • Use agile software development approach.
    • user stories(from the perspective of end users)
    • sprints (i.e. iterations)
    • weekly standup meetings
• Be innovative.
  • market research
  • start-up companies and career opportunities
    • seven Canadian tech startups (2014) [1]
    • 1000 startups [2]
    • startup companies in Toronto [3]
  • startup career in Toronto [4]
  • entrepreneurs and start-ups (Ontario Centers of Excellence) [5]
• Team size: 1-2 persons.

Gallery of Projects

Author(s)	App Name	Description	Links (similar apps)
Elsi Nushaj & Hyungryu Chun	RWG (Random Workout Generator)	App creates workouts for you and lets you track exercise times to improve and compare against others	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.workout.generator
Vasil Rimar & Norbert Curiciac	AdPulse	This application allows advertisement agencies throughout the GTA, who currently rely on paper based methods to keep track of and organize information.	???
Kevin Kofler & Petr Bouianov	Pupillary Distance Meter	An application which measures pupillary distance, i.e. the distance between the pupils of your eyes. This metric is needed while purchasing prescription eye wear.	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.PupilMeterAnd&hl=en
Jordan Wieb	Mobile Tactics	A turn-based, tile-based, multiplayer strategy RPG with no server between two devices.	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mangobile.kingturn&hl=en
Albert Kim	Marvel Tracker	Downloads Marvel Event information and displays details about them including characters involved and reading order.	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.marvel.comics&hl=en
Shianne Lee	Hello Healthy!	Keeps track of weight, gives tips on fitness, diet, and all around health and tracks daily food intake.	https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fitnow.loseit&hl=en

Project Milestones

• Milestone 0.0: Exploration of Project Ideas. [Week 1 - Week 3]
  • Identify an application domain for your Android project.
  • Gather information from end users (i.e. people who will use your app).
  • Do market research (e.g. Google Play Store) if needed.
• Milestone 1.0: Submission of a Project Proposal. [Week 4 - Week 5]
  • date of submission: February 15, 2015
  • Watch the video (approx. 7 minutes) about creating user stories. [6]
  • Create a business statement.
    • key questions
      • What kind of Android app are you going to build?
      • Have you found similar apps on the market (e.g. Google Play Store)? If so, please include some links in your proposal.
      • How does your app differentiate from other similar apps on the market?
    • focus: application domain, end-user needs, business values
  • Create user stories (or use cases).
    • key question
      • How is a user going to use your app?
    • SCRUM User Stories (from the perspective of an end-user) [7] [8]
    • an example from a CDOT project [9]
  • Create a list of features on your app.
  • Create a sketch of your design.
    • Note: The design may change as your project goes through the iterations.
  • Create a system diagram of your app.
    • identify the key components (e.g. UI, database, Web API, server)
      • an example:
  • Create a tentative timeline.
    • based on the priorities of user stories/use-cases
    • identify checkpoints/milestones
  • Your proposal must include the name of your app, names of team members, and the date of submission.
• Milestone 2.0: Design and Implementation. [Week 7 - Week 12 (February 15 - March 31); 6 weeks]
  • Submit
    • the REVISED project proposal 2.0
    • the Design Report 2.0
      • Read the design requirements below.
  • WeeklyGitHub activities
  • Weekly standup meetings on Fridays [10]
    1. What have I done since the last Scrum meeting (yesterday)?
    2. What will I do before the next Scrum meeting (tomorrow)?
    3. What prevents me from performing my work as efficiently as possible?
  • Sprints (i.e. iterations) [11]
• Milestone 3.0: Project Presentation and Final Report. [Week 14]
  • April 13, 2015 (Monday)

Design Requirements

• Create detailed system diagrams.
  • UI mockups
  • interaction between back-end components and the UI screens
  • the flow of data between the UI screens and data stores such as database and Android file system
  • the flow of data between the UI screens and Web API servers (URLs) or other devices, if applicable
• Apply Material Design Guidelines OR Android Design Patterns.
  • Note: If your project is UI-intensive, you are expected to apply Material Design Guidelines as much as possible. If your project is data-intensive (e.g. use of database and graphics)or back-end intensive (e.g. use of networking and Wifi connectivity), you may apply Material Design guidelines at the minimum (e.g. toolbar vs action bar) or adopt Android design patterns.
  • Android design patterns: interaction design solutions for developers by Greg Nudelman. Wiley, 2013. (available as ebook at Seneca Libraries)
  • Material Design Guidelines
    • Material Design (Android Developer website) [12]
    • Google Design Guidelines - Material Design [13]
  • Examples
    • Develop android weather app with Material Design (November 3, 2014) [14]
    • Google Play Books for Android gets Material Design, skimming and browsing features (October 31, 2014) [15]
  • Android 5.0 Lollipop Material Design in pictures and video (October 17, 2014) [16]
  • UI Regions and Guidance [17]
  • Visual Guide to Android L Material Design - 7 Insights [18]
• Create the Testing Environment.
  • Android versions (API levels)
  • configurations of emulators and/or Android devices
  • screen orientations (portrait and landscape)
• Compatibility Issues