Project Overiew

Problem Overview

Being a freshman in college is an intimidating thing. Students are expected to quickly become accustomed to the new campus, be able to find their way around academic buildings to the proper classes, and remember a collection of important phone numbers, office hours, and addresses. Much of this information, while online, is not quickly accessible and certainly is not on the same website. Students must attempt to navigate complex and confusing website menus, often resulting in failure. Useful information, such a complete list of offices and resources or a map of buildings with confusing layouts, is not readily available through existing resources. For students who live in a city, there is an additional challenge of navigating the city. Students want to know the best places to eat off campus, how to get to different parts of the city, and how to navigate the broader transportation system to other major cities. Even with Intro to University Life classes, navigating both a new campus and a new city can be intimidating. 

Design Constraints

As smartphones become more common, mobile applications are becoming more and more important. Mobile apps are used for everything from looking at email messages and keeping up with social networking to transforming the phone into a GPS device or tracking a to-do list. A mobile application would be the most useful platform in order to reach the largest audience. It would also be the most readily accessible to that audience, as most people have their phones on all day.

The design of the application would be limited by the programming software for the chosen platform. Independent of the software development, the project scope will be limited by the short time frame of less than ten weeks. Most of the information should not be too difficult to find, but some aspects, such as floor plans for academic buildings, could be difficult to gather. Circumstances such as this will need to be addressed early on in the research phase.

The two major platforms for smartphones are iOS by Apple and Android by Google. iOS applications are programmed using Objective-C. According to the Apple Developer Website [1], Objective-C is fairly easy to learn and even easier if the programmer has experience in Java or C++. However, Android applications are written using Java [2] and several team members already knew how to program in Java.  Therefore, it makes the most sense to program for the Android platform to minimize developmental time. A series on online Android video tutorials [3] will be used to assist team members in understanding how to use the software and how to program for Android.

Pre-Existing Solutions

One solution currently in existence is the Drexel One app [4]. This solution works well for assisting current students in connecting to the Drexel One website via mobile phone. While it does connect the user to their Drexel email, class information, and GPA status, it is lacking in other areas. It is not helpful for finding the locations of classes or even general information such as hours of operation of a building or office telephone numbers. It contains no information about the city of Philadelphia or dining venues off campus. Most of the features are only accessible by current students or faculty, not prospective students or incoming freshmen.

Another application provides a partial solution. It provides interactive campus maps, campus directories, information about the college, and information for nearby lodging and dining. However, this application does not give any information about the settings surrounding campus and it is specific for Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania [5]. It is designed for prospective students and their families to use when visiting the college, not for a wider range of current students, prospective students, and alumni.

Design Goal

The Drexel Guidebook would create a central repository of information Drexel students look up on a frequent basis. It would not only be a guide for current students but it would also be useful for prospective students, incoming freshmen who do not yet have access to Drexel One, visiting parents, faculty members, and alumni who may not be familiar with the newest configuration of buildings. It would be divided into five main sections: General Information, Drexel 101, Freshmen 101, How to Get to…, and Campus Maps.

Project Deliverables

Each section of the app will be developed independently and then all five will be combined upon completion. The General Information section would include a variety of information such as the academic calendar, health services, building hours, and addresses. There would also be a list of phone numbers for administrative departments, public safety, and other local services.

The Drexel 101 section will contain a general guide to Drexel’s campus. Information in this section will range from information that can be learned on a campus tour to information any student should know by the end of freshman year.

The Freshman 101 section will have three subsections. One will be information students should know before they arrive on campus, such as reminders to register for housing and orientation and a list of things to or to not bring when moving into the dorms. Another section will address things to do during the first week after moving in, such as floor bonding, activities fairs, and reminders to check out events that matter most to college freshmen – those with free food! The third section will contain a list of things to do during freshman year, such tips for class registration, annual CAB events and traditions, and the best places to take advantage of the Drexel Passport in Philadelphia.

The How to Get to… section will be less Drexel-specific and more helpful to users unfamiliar with navigating Philadelphia. It will include directions to places of interest such as sports stadiums, South Street, other colleges, the Kimmel Center, and the Zoo. The destinations will be grouped into sections by topic, such as Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Food.

The Maps section will be helpful for navigating Drexel itself. There will be general campus maps with topic specific overlays, such as Academic Buildings, Dorm Buildings, Social, Food, and Convenience Stores. There will also be floorplans for each of the academic buildings to help students locate classrooms.

In addition to the application itself, the final round of testing will require the user to write an evaluation of the application.

Project Schedule

The list of tasks outlined in Figure 1 will be completed by the beginning of class each week. Figure 1 is the proposed project timeline in visual form.

Figure 1: This is a visual representation of the proposed project timeline from Weeks 3 to 10.

By week 3, all group members will have installed Android SDK and confirmed that it works. All group members will have watched Android SDK Introduction Videos. Preliminary research will also be done for each student’s respective section.

By week 4, group members will be familiar with Android SDK. All information necessary for content will be present and ready to be integrated via code. Each section should have a rough outline written in code.

By week 5, the sections will be further coded. All information should be coded by this point.

By week 6, each section will begin to be integrated into the overall app design. Initial testing will begin.

In week 7, testing will continue. Any bugs that are found will be noted and fixed.

In week 8, debugging and testing will continue. The interface for the sections will be completed.

Final testing will take place in week 9. Users who test the application will be asked to fill out an evaluation form so that any final improvements can be made.

In week 10, final improvements will be finished and preparations will be made for the final presentation.

Projected Budget

Since the Android SDK is a free development software and this project is a collaborative mobile app, it will not cost any money. The overall budget will be $0.00.