CS2001 Task 5 Report

Level 2 Group Project

3/26/2015
1238860
James Nehme

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this technical report is to reflect back on the group project that
we have been doing though the year. I will be discussing the technology and
organisation of this group. This report will also contain a research topic which
will also be discussed in detail. Our group came up with the idea of Kew
Gardens, which is a popular attraction. The purpose of this app was to allow
people navigate around Kew Gardens easily using the app to help them around.
The first process was to design the app and develop at least 3 screens for it.
After this, we had to connect our app to the database. This year was quite
challenging but together as group we were able to come through this and work
together. I have learnt a lot about android development, database, Jetty, UNIX,
MYSQL and servers which I think will be very useful for the future.

SECTION 1 TECHNOLOGY
What have you learnt about the technologies used?
In this project, I gained knowledge in how to use various technologies, such as
Java and XML, which I used to develop the app. I also learnt to create UML and
ER diagrams using Visio, and implementing the database with MySQL and
Jetty. Visio is a very useful application in creating these diagrams and no doubt
I learnt a lot from it. Before this project, I had no previous understanding in
how to create an application of my own. Nevertheless, through this project, I
have learnt to utilise these technologies as building blocks in the construction
of my app. When designing an app, it is important to first create UML and ER
diagrams so that they act as like a sort of blueprint to building the project.
Using this, I was able to develop the code using Java and XML. Once the app
was done, I had to implement tables into UNIX server. I used both MySQL and
Jetty to work with the server where MySQL was used to implement the tables
and Jetty was used to run the servlets. I learnt these technologies play a great
role in databases and that they are very key to today society. The technologies
that I have learnt about will be very useful for me in the future and will no
doubt benefit me greatly.

How did you connect your Android App to the server?

After the group created the servlets and tables, these were implemented into
the database server. Then I had to connect the Android app to the server. To do
this, I used a simple web view where I set the URL of a servlet to
183.62.91.3:8742/DB, which enabled the indicated servlet to load up. I believe
this was an easy and quick method. Though, I think another way to go about
this would be to use Http Client. This is because it is more secure and enables
you to connect with the servlets in a more direct way. I intend to experiment
with this method in the future.

What data did you generate and/or use? How was it used to support your
application?
I generated data such as the number of times a button is clicked. This is useful
as it tells me what the most popular feature is and how I can further develop
that part.

How would you develop you the project differently if you had to attempt a
similar project?
If I were to attempt a similar project again, I would implement a few changes
to my approach. First, to create the Android app, I would rather use JQuery
Mobile since it is much easier to use. The fact that many Android devices come
in different sizes and shapes with a range of different screen resolutions, it
would be better to use JQuery Mobile in making the app look more presentable
than using Java and XML. I would also create more diagrams, such as flow
charts to achieve a better understanding of what app I should create. This will
make the process of developing the app much simpler as I can look back at
these diagrams whenever I get stuck.

How did you use models and design patterns in your work? If you didnt,
could they have been used in any way?
I did not use design patterns in my report. Design patterns are general reusable
solution to a commonly occurring problem within a given context in software
design. They would have been very beneficial as I would have had a good idea
of how to better develop the. It would have also greatly speeded up the
development process and helped me to solve more problems.

What usability concerns do you have with respect to your target user type>
The main usability concerns I have regarding my app was whether it is easy to
use and navigate, as well as the overall design. My target user type is disabled
people. I believe that the app should allow these users to navigate with ease
and simplicity. Through my app, visitors to Kew Gardens will be able to easily
identify and locate events, facilities and shops. The user can select the required
location which automatically generates a map displaying the directions guiding
them to their respective location. During the design of a mobile application,
McCrickard (2012) argued that users with cognitive disadvantages preferred
applications that had larger interactive features, such as buttons, rather than
numerous options appearing on the screen [1]. Colour blindness is also a
concern of mine when developing my application as colour contrast of
backgrounds, texts and images have an effect on the users experience on the
application [2]. As a consequence these functions (larger buttons, attention to
colour) were implemented into the application.

SECTION 2 ORGANISATION
Did the project idea chosen work well for the group?
At the beginning of the project, the group had to gather in order to agree upon
a project idea. Each person within the group proposed an idea and then a final
vote was casted upon the most approved idea. A wide range of suggestions
were brainstormed, such as museums, theme parks, tourist sites. Eventually,
the final one approved upon was a popular touristic attraction, Kew Gardens.
Currently, Kew Gardens lacks any existing app that we know of. For such a
world famous garden, we thought it would be interesting to create an app that
serves as a helpful navigation tool, as well as comprising of important facts of
this particular venue. Within our group, we initially had a clash of opinions in
deciding a project idea. For example, an app for Thorpe Park was discussed, but
this did not suit each individuals taste in the group and it already had a large
number of apps developed for it. We finally settled on doing tourism.
Specifically, Kew Gardens was chosen as our venue, since everyone in the group
was familiar with the place and felt it would be exciting to develop an app
based on one of Englands most touristic attractions. One benefit of choosing
Kew Gardens was that it gave us the opportunity, as a team to spend the day
at the venue and learn what the app should consist of by experiencing the place
first-hand. We also were able to get good feedback from individuals that were
given short surveys which is discussed further in section 4.

How did the team meetings evolve over the course of the module (and were
they useful)?
At the beginning of the project, my group came together twice a week. This
included meeting at the library or during the lab sessions, and once with our
personal tutor. Initially, we had two meetings, where we needed to decide upon
our project idea and discuss our approach that we would undertake in the
development of the app. All of our meetings were organised well with each
member well informed about what was to be discussed. Meeting at the library
or during the lab sessions enabled us to discuss together as a group our ideas,

as well as resolving any issues one had. It was important that everyone was
able to contribute and was able to voice his or her opinion improving
communication within the group. Furthermore, it allowed us to learn from one
another, as well as learning what was required of the project. Additionally,
meeting up with our personal tutor allowed us to check whether we were on
the right track or not and gave us good feedback on how to improve and go
about our project.
However, over the course of the module, our meetings reduced in number, as
less group input was needed and it became more individually work oriented.
Everything had been discussed during the first few weeks of the project and
each individual within the group knew what the task comprised of.
Consequently, our meetings were quick consisting of us simply updating each
other and seeing whether anyone was experiencing any difficulties in the
project. From my point of view, it was good that we didnt spend a lot of time in
meetings as this was not necessary with the majority of the discussion having
taken place during the first few weeks of the project. Everyone was already
familiar with the projects tasks, and was designing and applying the features
and functionalities to the apps interface. Moreover, our meetings with the
tutor were not essentially done each week since there was not always a need
for them. Although the project became more independent, it still relied on us
working together as a team to accomplish final goals.
In general, meeting with the group and the tutor played a significant role in the
project. Meeting with the group presented me with many advantages, such as
improved communication. Increased communication within the group meant
meetings was effective in discussing ideas and planning our project. Group
meetings also gave me opportunity to hear other peoples views that
otherwise, I would not of thought of by myself and allowed everyone to
contribute towards the project. If I ran into any difficulties, I was also able to
ask one of my group members or tutor for assistance.

What were the benefits of using the group Wiki/Web collaboration tools?
The group Wiki/Web collaboration tools had many advantages for my group. In
my group, we set up a web collaboration tool using a free website called Trello.
Having a web tool helped make it easy for the team members to keep track of
the progress of the project. Through a web collaboration tool, we were able to
schedule meetings on a board, and highlight important information on the
project. Members could also share images of the screen they had designed and
gather feedback and ideas from the group. As well as this, we had a To do List
where certain tasks were listed and appointed to members. When a task was
completed, we could then check it off. Having this web tool played an
important role in allowing each member to access the project in a single place
online. As a result, this reduced our reliance on email as a communication tool
and this way a team member did not have to save work on a USB and the
chance of important documents getting lost was very low. Moreover, it reduced
the need to arrange meetings every time to discuss our project since it was
easier to review the work online. This was convenient for me as it was
sometimes difficult to organise a time that suits everyone. However, one
limitation was that we could become too reliant on it and not have enough face
to face meetings which were much needed after a long absence.
Overall, I would definitely use it in the future for team project as it enabled us
to keep well organised and steady in the project with team members allowed
contributing when regarded necessary.

How would you organise the team differently if you had to undertake a
similar project?
If I were to organise the team differently for a similar project, I would not
change it a lot and keep it very similar. With my teams organisation for this
project, I felt we worked well together and were able to get things done with
good time management. However, one thing that I would change would be to
split the team into two sub-groups and have each group work on a task, rather
than have every member on the same task. One example where this can be
implemented is the people who were strong at UMLs and Entity Relationship

diagrams could focus on completing and explaining that aspect of the project
to the rest of the group. Similarly, those who were stronger in coding could
work on the functionality of servlets and databases and do the same for the
rest of the group.
Another thing I would organise differently would be to have the leader assign
different roles to each member at the beginning of the project, rather than
having individuals volunteering as we progressed. This would add more
structure and organisation to the group if each member had clear targets and
knew what he or she was doing from the start. In addition, it would be more
beneficial to have roles appointed according to ones ability so fewer issues
would arise while a member was doing a role.

SECTION 3 PEOPLE
Was your team efficient and effective?
The team was effective and efficient throughout the year in working on the
group project. The attendance rate at our meetings was very high and the
communication was also strong. Meeting regularly allowed us to function
effectively as a group and allowed each member to express their idea and be
active in discussion. When choosing a good idea for our app, we brainstormed
ideas and chose an idea that we were all had common ground on. Having a
leader in the group also enabled us to make final decisions and not lose time by
taking too long to decide. Moreover, I thought having a team leader was
beneficial since our team objectives were well defined and we able to complete
the tasks on time. Additionally, my team was efficient, especially during
meetings where time was not wasted and each member came prepared with
ideas and what problems they wanted to address. When each member was
developing their Android screens, my team members assisted each other when
problems arose and helped guide each other in the development. As a result,

the project comprised of fairly high quality work showing how the team
performed efficiently.

How were tasks allocated?

Tasks were allocated based on who was willing to do what. For the first task,
the group had to decide what we are going to develop our app on. To do this
each group member wrote a list of his or her own idea. We then met as a group
and picked the best idea. When writing the minutes for our meetings, we
allowed a different member of the group to write it each time. This prevents
anyone being left out and allows everyone to actively engage in the group.
When it came to the database work, this was split accordingly to whoever
volunteers to pick what task. Some members was given the servlets parts while
others had to create the diagrams of the project. However, I didnt really think
that this was the perfect choice as it ended up with some people doing more
work than others. If I had to repeat this again, I would actively make everyone
have an equal amount of work to.

Did you have specific roles?

At the beginning of the project, there wasnt any specific role appointed to each
member, but over time we adapted to have certain roles. In me group, we had
a leader who would organise the team meetings and made the final decisions. I
thought this was good because this allowed our team to be organised and
more efficient. Over time, each person would volunteer for a specific task. One
member within the group was in charge of collecting the graphs and tables
together, as well as organising meetings with the personal tutor. My role in the
team, along with another member was to create the diagrams for task 2.
However, members in the group would assist in the tasks and help each other
making it more team work oriented at times.

What communication mechanisms were used?

A range of communication mechanisms were utilised by the group that we
found to be really effective. Developing a Facebook group was one method of
communication we used where we added each other on Facebook. Since its
very popular and most people are on Facebook, this was an effective method
for our group to communicate. Furthermore, we also exchanged phone
numbers, which is a standard way of communication. However, the most
effective communication method that we found to be was Whatsapp
Messenger. Creating a group conversation on Whatsapp Messenger where
each member was added enabled us to communicate as a group on our mobile
phones at any time and place. Also, being free and easy to use, I thought it was
the best communication mechanism. There is also no hassle in forwarding
messages to one another and the message always got to everyone. However,
internet access was not always available and this could cause communication
problems at urgent times. Overall, in this group we were all able to
communicate with each other very quickly and efficiently.

SECTION 4 RESEARCH TOPIC

Human Centred Design (HCD) is a design method that improves the usability of
the application for the user. It focuses on making the application as easiest to
use as possible for the user. This can work in favour and against the
application. The benefit of this is the user spends less time figuring out
functions and more time experiencing the application. However it ignores the
technology part of the application which makes it less innovative, causing a
counter balance within the application.
I assessed the usability of the HCD of my application with a survey. There are a
lot of benefits of questionnaires, such as the information can easily be
quantified and used to help me determine the most successful answers as
suggested by S.Ackroyd [5]. The results of my survey was successful and has
supported the ideas that were discussed, such as making larger buttons and
adding a voice-to-text feature. As Hugh Coolican suggests [3], only ask

questions that you want the answers for should be included. This is why I took
care in choosing what questions I want to ask and made sure they are
necessary. A set of questions were asked and the results were displayed in bar
charts or pie charts as they are easiest to understand (Hugh Coolican). The best
type of survey to conduct is one which has one dimensional answers and simple
questions as suggested by Lesley Andres [6].
Question: Do you prefer the application to have larger buttons on the screen?

Do you prefer the application to have larger buttons?

14
12
10

No.of
people

8
6
4
2
0
1

Likert
scale

Figure 2
Most users appear to prefer having larger buttons on their app which
supports McCrickard suggestion. 12 out of 15 people strongly supported the
suggestion which is 80% of the vote, while 3 out of 15 people supported it
which is 20% of the vote. The mean for this table is 4.8, while the mode is 5,
and the median is 5. Hence, this proves that making the buttons on my app
was important.

Question: Would you find adding a voice to text feature to the app useful?
Would you find adding a voice to text feature to the app
useful?
Yes = 10
No = 2
I don't know =
3

2
10

Yes

No

I dont know

Figure 3
In this question, the majority seem to support adding a voice- to-text
feature. Out of 15 people, 10 people said yes which is 66.66%, 2 said no
which is 13.33%, while rest said I dont know which is 20%. These results
meant that adding a voice- to-text feature to my app necessary as it seems
the majority do want it. Likert questionnaires are beneficial as it allows you
to see how strongly people feel about the question (Likert, Rensis) [4].

Question: How likely are you to use an app when visiting an attraction?
How likely are you to use an app when visiting an attraction?
Strongly Likely = 9
Likely = 3
Uncertain = 1
Disagree = 1
Strongly disagree =
1

1
1
1

Strongly likely

Likely

Uncertain

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Figure 4
In this question, the results show that the majority are very likely to use an
app when travelling. Out of 15 people, 9 people answered strongly likely
which is 60%, 3 said likely which is 20%, while the other choices had 1
person each which is 6.67% for each. The mean for pie chart is 4.2, the
median 5 and the mode is 5. These results show that a lot of people do use
an app whilst travelling.
Question: How many apps do you have on your phone?

How many apps do you have on your phone?

0

"1 - 3" = 1
"3 - 6" = 2
"6 - 9" = 4
">10" = 8

1
2

8
4

1 -- 3

3 -- 6

6 -- 9

>10

Figure 5
In this question, the majority seem to have lots of apps installed on their phone.
Out of 15 people, 8 people said they have more than 10 apps installed which is
53.33%, 4 said they have between 6 and 9 apps installed which is 26.67%, while
2 said they have between 3 and 6 apps installed which is 13.33%. Moreover,
one person stated they have between 1 and 3 apps installed which is 6.67%.
These results show that people do use apps a lot and that they are very
important in todays society.

Furthermore, in applying HCD (Human centered design) to the theory and

design of my application, this has enabled me to connect with the user for their

specific needs and develop an effective prototype app. The application was a
prototype, but it can be further developed by physically implementing it,
designing and refining it. This will result in giving the application a much more
novel feel. Research used from literature helped identify what can and should
be focused on, whilst looking to design an application for a certain user type,
such as disabled people. Whether physically or cognitively; features have been
added and based on both cases.
During the process of creating the app, I have learnt several key factors
that are central to the design. Factors, such as the colour used and text size can
play an important role in impacting the experience of my specific user type,
disabled people. Enlarging the text and including the right colour combination
can improve the app allowing for a more coherent and clear message to be
communicated. I have also learnt that mixed media is a very efficient way of
enhancing the functionality of my app. Mixed media, such as videos and
pictures helps the user to understand the app more and allows greater insight
into Kew gardens itself. All this was key to developing a user friendly app.

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