During the group meeting with our project manager, the group gave me feedback on my first draft. The classes I had created were not in line with the current code, therefore, I was told to pull down the written code from the gitlab repository and take a look at the present classes. I did this, then made changes to my draft, which now more accurately reflects the work done so far. This process took me about an hour to do.

I was assigned to the task of writing up a first draft of the Decomposition description for the Design Specification. I spent around three hours on this draft. The first part of the section was focused on the programs within the system, which in the case of the group project were the Mobile and Desktop apps respectively. The Desktop app is more focused on the technical side: organising data and administration; conversely the Mobile app is aimed at clients and so must have a simple and attractive layout with user friendly features.

When writing my draft, I stated the function of each program and how they work together. In this case, a user sorts the data of the pubs into tables and said tables are uploaded to the mobile app. For the next part, I had to think of the classes that would make up the programs. I feel that the classes I designed were mostly good, however the feedback I will receive for my team will be essential to improving the overall design, as I feel some of my variables were not up to standard.

The next part involved mapping requirements onto the classes. I thought about what kind of requirements were needed for both programs, and drafted requirements that I thought were logical and made sense for each type of program. Overall, I am happy with my first draft.

For this week, I have been assigned the task of looking into commands for the database. We have decided on using SQLite as it is the most appropriate form of database software for the creation of android bases databases. I have been researching SQLite commands that pertain to the geolocation of the pubs, pulling towns and pubs from their respective lists and being able to view separate images. So far, I have created a rough schema of how the database should look and the various values inside of it. I have been looking into ways of pulling the pubs/towns, such as using the cosine law to sort by longitude and latitude. So far, I am finding some good sources on SQLite, which will be useful as the database is developed.

We had our weekly group meeting today at 15:00, which lasted for an hour. This was our first review session, where we planned to review the User Interface designs – Mobile and Desktop respectively, and make sure they fit the specifications outlined by the course. The mobile UI design fit the specification, with advice to label what features fit which part of the specification. When my desktop UI was reviewed, we decided that my design needed to be redone as to fit the specification and to show a more technical design, as mine was too ‘client’ orientated, when it was supposed to be aimed at Pub owners. Therefore, I will spend time re-designing my UI design, in preparation for Thursday’s deadline.

Upon feedback from my group members, and self reflection, it was decided that my initial UI design did not fit the specifications outlined by the course. I also thought that the design was too focused on the user and less on the technical aspect that it should have been. Therefore, I spent three hours re-designing the UI; I decided to switch programs from Fluidui to Moqups, as the latter had more design options and was much more technically focused. After I had finished with the re-design, I spent an hour compiling it into a PowerPoint presentation, labelling which specific design corresponded to each specification. I also made sure to include my old designs to show the evolution and progression of the design. I was pleased with how my work turned out, and I believe it was an improvement over the original design.

This morning we met up at 11:00 to discuss what point we are at for our respective task. Izabela discussed her progress with converting the document to Latex, and the testing for JavaFX alongside Leena and Sam. Alex presented a flowchart of app functionality, along with an improved design of the graphic screens for the mobile app. We discussed how we could randomise the pub tour to make the app more interesting and intuitive and suggested ways of improving the designs. I let my group know of my progress and that I will be carrying on with the designs for the desktop app UI . Sam discussed with us the desktop manipulation of data and presented us with prints of the JavaFX screens on the desktop app. We then discussed the possible interface implementations. Megan shared a spreadsheet that documented the longitude and latitude of the Pubs along with carious amenities that would be ticked off for each pub, and asked us to fill in the vacancies with any pubs we could find around the town. The data gathered would be used for the Android studio implementation. Leena shared with us instructions on the proper usage of GitLab and asked us to use the GitLab that is hosted by Aberystwyth University. To conclude our meeting, we outlined possible ideas on the JavaFX implementation of graphics and our outstanding tasks.

Today I worked three hours on the final design of the desktop app. Despite using GIMP when creating the prototype design, I decided to switch to Fluidui, a software specifically designed for website and app design. This made my work process more intuitive and more alike to a proper app with clear widgets. I spent time outlining the feature of the app and how they work, mainly focusing on how owners would register their pubs and the layout of the UI as they would see it. Overall I am pleased with how the design is progressing and the app design should be finalised by next week. I will present it to my team using PowerPoint, which allows me to add extra annotations if needed.

Alex and I presented our preliminary app designs to our group, notifying suggested features and how to incorporate them into the finalised design. We received excellent feedback from our group and will continue to work on our app design. Sam has created a prototype desktop app within JavaFX, which we provided feedback for. Mariusz and Megan have been working on the architectural design, and have provided us with UML diagrams for the Mobile and Desktop app. Izabela and Leena the presented their table of test cases which covered all functional requirements of the apps. Finally, Stefani provided us with simplified versions of SE.QA.01, 02 and 03. To conclude our group meeting, we outlined our current tasks and when they were expected to be completed.

I spent a couple of hours on some initial desktop app design, focusing on a welcome page and the “map” page. I worked on these using a software design program, and I was happy with the outcome, although there are some improvements to be made before the design is finalised. I will look over the designs with my group before proceeding.

We met up for an hour to discuss our thoughts and our roles in this project. We also talked about allocating a time in the week where we would all be available to meet and discuss our progress in our separate tasks. The meeting went well, and we were all clear on the tasks we had been set.