CS2001 Group Project Report

8/18/2019 CS2001 Group Project Report

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CS2001 Group project report

Hugh Matthews, Group 11

Introduction:

My group’s idea was a location based app we called FadedLondon, where you would find various

locations in London based on a blurred image. With this idea my group members and I worked on

our own interpretations of that idea, focusing on different types of location as well as their target

user type. The purpose of this report is to critically reflect on the development process of the group

project that my group and I made through four aspects, technology, design, teamwork and the

research topic. I cover what happened, what worked, what did not work, and what could be

improved on if a similar project were to arise.

Section 1: Technology

The rest of the group and I used the same programs to develop each of our versions.

Initially I tried to make a prototype using a software program called DroidDraw, but found it is

easier to make initial prototypes by drawing on paper, and then transferring and refining the

design on Android studio, the main software used in this project. Android Studio utilises two

main languages, the scripting language XML for designing the interface and Java for making code

to switch between screens using buttons as well as detect where the user using GPS. I also used

a free software program I found online called Fotor which allows graphical effects to be applied

to pictures. This how I created the blurred images I used for this app, and it was very easy to useand understand.

Although I was familiar with java before using Android studio, I still did not find it intuitive to use.

While I still had to learn some new functions to create the code which I did eventually

understand, there was always a feeling that an error would pop up at random or that the app

would crash without me doing anything. Even when I was with a group member looking through

my code, we were finding and fixing errors and problems that either android studio could not

find or could not describe adequately enough to be helpful, which to me stressed the

importance of asking for help from people who are experienced in the subject.I found xml easier

to use than java in android studio, especially since you can add elements such as textboxes andbuttons by just dragging them on to the phone template as well as alter properties without

having to look at or change the actual xml code that much.

I realised when implementing new features to the app that the best method was to create new

projects solely for testing and improving those features. This allowed me to keep the main code

intact while being able to test new features such as gps tracking, the directional arrow, and

receiving data from a database and eventually add them into the main project, keeping it more

organised.


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To create the database and servlet, I used a program called Putty, which allows creating

databases or programs and storing them on a server. Putty uses a Linux environment and this

was my first time navigating Linux. This meant having to learn various commands in order to

navigate through and find the files I was looking for. However I have used the windows

command prompt in the past, meaning that a lot of the commands such as cd were very familiar

to me. However, there were some commands such as vi and nano, that took me a while to get

the hang of. The main problem that I had with Putty was how to use it to connect to the server

off campus, as it took me a very long time to realise that I had to connect to the Brunel

AnyConnect vpn in order to access the server. This is also the reason why I think I struggled with

this software the most and had to rely on the other group members, because I could not use and

experiment with putty outside of the labs.

The only data that is generated and used by the app is the gathering of the user’s coordinates via

GPS, to determine how far away they are from the location and what direction they need to go

in to reach it.

MySql which was used to create the database is a language that I learnt in the previous year to

navigate through and create databases. I had to learn to not only create a database but also how

to create primary and foreign keys, as well adding, deleting and altering data. This was not too

hard, as was already familiar with most of the content being taught, with the only exception of

learning how to alter existing data. Java was also used to create the servlet that accesses the

database and presents its data on a webpage.

From a technical perspective, I would develop the project in roughly the same way if I were to

attempt it again. The only thing I would change is to better plan out my time in order to flesh out

the intended features, as the final product did not turn out as polished or complete as I would

have liked it to be.

I do not have any particular usability concerns for the target user type, mainly because with

families the app will be handled by an adult parent, so if a child has trouble with using or

understanding the app, the parent will be there to help them or use the app in their place.

Considering the app also does not have much complexity to navigating its contents and is mainly

about observing visualised information, the only true usability concern comes in making sure

that the information being visualised is clear and non-vague.

Section 2: Design

Using Visio, I created a UML class diagram with entity relationships to show the relationships

between the different data entities in the database, as well as a use case to show how my


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app would work when in the hands of a user. The other members of the group also used

Visio to create a number of different diagrams, including object, sequence, state machine

and deployment diagrams. I chose to do a class diagram because I could place entity

relationships on the diagram in order to more easily demonstrate how the classes interact

with each other.

When designing the screens I tried to take the concept of “flow” into account to achieve one

particular goal which was to get the user to a destination without them relying on a map or

specific, detailed instructions to get there. To achieve a balance between the user knowing

exactly how to get a destination and getting completely lost, I decided to include an arrow

into the app that points them in the basic direction of the destination, meaning that they will

not get lost but they will still have to navigate the streets of London in order to get there.

While I was looking into how to engage my demographic, I looked into tourist motivation

and how older tourists are motivated by a desire to learn more about the culture and

heritage of the location they are visiting. In order to appeal to this, I decided to incorporate a

system where as the user gets closer, facts about the location will appear, keeping the user

engaged in finding the location. I also researched a psychological concept called epistemic

curiosity, looking into e-type curiosity and how children are motivated more by novelty

rather than a desire to learn.

I did not use the design diagrams that were produced with the group for designing the visual

and technical aspects of the app. They were produced mainly for the database that we

created in task 2. A design pattern that I did use was to constantly create new projects to

experiment with new features and then discussing how to improve the app with the other

group members, later adding them to the main project. This is similar to the rapid

prototyping methodology that is popular with many software developers.

If I was to design a similar app again I would still use a design pattern that includes some sort

of constant iteration. I found that this was a more efficient approach to not only developing

the project but also to what furthering my programming knowledge.

Section 3: Teamwork

I feel that the idea that the project group chose worked very well for the group. It allowed us

to not only target a wide variety of demographics but also allowed us to have our own

iterations on the basic idea of finding a location based on a blurred image.

Before the end of the first term, we did have occasional meetings, but the weekly meeting

with the tutor was when the most progress was made; clarifying any doubts we had about

task briefs, as well as helping us develop the concept of the app. During later tasks the

number of meetings increased to make up for time spent on other modules and work.

Despite this, organising meetings was rather difficult since we had to plan around our own

schedules as well as taking travel times for members living outside the university into


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account, making it difficult to be efficient. However, we still managed to have effective

meetings that made progress.

Our main communication mechanism was a WhatsApp group were we would ask questions

about parts of a task we were struggling on, organise meetings and socialise. One main

benefit to this is that, since all of the group could see our messages it made us more open to

asking for help. For example, if one group member asked for help with a problem, another

person who also has the same problem but does not want to ask for help could see the

discussion in the group and get help indirectly from that. This means that in the future, that

person would be more willing to ask for help.

We mainly used our WhatsApp group rather than the tools on Blackboard. However, we did

use the file exchange tool. This was useful for posting files of diagrams and code that the

whole group could look at and take inspiration from.

Despite this, one thing that I would have done differently is to try and do more work andresearch independently of the group. This is because more often than not, I felt like I was

just waiting for a person to help me solve a problem that I had instead of me trying to work

on the problem while waiting for someone in the group to be available to help. I think that

this led to a situation in task 2 where one or two people would be in charge of creating

diagrams and tables, while the rest of us would then learn from those members. Although

we did eventually learn what the tables and diagrams meant and represented, I feel that this

placed a bigger burden on the members who had to help us with understanding the content,

especially when it wasn’t exactly clear to anyone how to approach it, leading to us seeking

clarification from the lecturer. The next time a situation like this occurs, I would try to learn

more independently while also not being against help when I feel like I need it.

As I have just explained , our could have been more efficient but overall I do think that we

were effective.

For task 1 we discussed what user types are app could be directed towards and which user

types we would choose to work on. Task 2 was different as the work we would eventually

submit individually was mainly worked as a group, unlike task 1 were we had to develop the

app based on our individual ideas. Therefore, the group was split up into different tasks, half

worked on developing the servlet code, half worked on creating the database structure

where we would individually add our own unique data tables. I helped with creating thedatabase structure, suggesting what types of table were needed and how the data would be

presented in those tables.

Section 4: Research Topic


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The research topic that I have decided to look at and experiment is “Visualising mobile

devices and the internet of things for the L2 project”. This is because to an extent I am

already trying to visualise directional information in the form of an arrow that points the

user to a location. Another reason is that the user’s mobile phone has to interact with other

objects in order get the coordinates of the user’s location and calculate what direction the

user needs to go in, as well as register the qr codes that the user will receive when they

reach the location. With this system you can effectively connect users to businesses using

the internet/GPS.

As I struggled to find a way to implement an arrow that would rotate and point to the

location, I thought that an alternative solution could be to implement a graph instead,

showing a line connecting the user’s location and the destined location. One interesting

opportunity that arose was that the line would get shorter as the user got closer, giving the

user another source of useful visual feedback.

Another prospect I have to consider when trying to visualise information is the limitations of

the mobile platform, the screen size, the limited hardware as well as the variabilities in form

factor. To address potential issues with performance, the arrow will not be constantly

updated in real time, instead the user will have to press a button in order to update the

arrow and orientate themselves towards the location. This has the benefit of allowing the

user to focus on the environment around them, making them able to navigate their way

safely as they will not be too distracted looking at their phone. It becomes more significant

when you take the typical mobile context into account, unlike office environments, mobile

contexts are full of distractions or other activities which are being carried in parallel (i.e.

walking), meaning that cognitive resources are not being fully committed to the device. To

be able present the same information while using less cognitive resources is a big benefit,

especially since the app is targeted towards families with small kids.


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I would recommend trying to further implement this type of visualisation to other areas of

the app, even if they don’t seem like they could be visualised easily. The less cognitive

resources the user has to use to understand the app, the better, especially when the user is

multitasking.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I think that the group and I as a whole managed to come up with a novel

implementation of the “treasure hunt” concept through FadedLondon. Through several

meetings and constantly iterating on the concept while getting feedback from other group

members, the group and I were able to expand the idea and successfully apply it into many

different areas. I think a key improvement would be to plan out meetings better in order to

get more done, as well as make more efficient use of time to make sure that the work is

done not near to a deadline, but more evenly throughout the period of time available.

References:

Csikzentmihalyi,M. (1992) Flow: the psychology of happiness USA: Harper & Row

Chittaro, L. (2006) Visualising Information On Mobile Devices , Computer, Vol 39, no.3, pp40-45


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Valkenburg, P., Litman, J., Pitrowski Taylor J. (2014), Measuring Epistemic Curiosity in Young

Children, Infant and Child Development, Volume 23, no.5, pp 542-553

CORREIA, A., KOZAK, M. & FERRADEIRA, J., (2013) From tourist motivations to tourist

satisfaction. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research. 7 (4) . p. 411-

424.

CS2001 Group Project Report

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