Element E

Science and Engineering Principles

Profectly's planned design is to be an app that helps users minimize the effects of procrastination. In this regard, in order to develop and complete prototypes, the team will need to explore techniques and skills regarding both design for front-end prototypes and, more importantly, software engineering skills with coding and understanding of the development software/engine for the creation of the app. In addition to this, for the app to have a complete back-end, a thorough understanding of cloud storage will be required to optimally store user information (settings, custom options, etc.). Moreover, being an app, will require accurate configuration and development to allow the app to run on Android devices (in the case of the back-end designs).

Design Stage

In terms of design, the app needs to be branded and designed in such a way as to be encouraging and compelling for users. Research conducted by the team suggests that motivating the users is essential to help minimize procrastination. This is planned to be done through self-paced tasks and goals that will reward the user upon completion. Additionally, a possible social menu/system would further allow competitiveness amongst peers. The main examples of engineering principles that will evident in this section are the creation of wireframe designs both on paper, and digitally to optimally plan the app development. The team's engineering notebooks were especially crucial in the process of documenting and brainstorming various ideas regarding

Engineering Stage

As planned, the main design and front-end mechanics will be constructed in one set of prototypes. This will be done through Figma which requires learning not only for their prototyping system but also their design system in regards to measurements and calibration with IOS and Android Devices. For the backend, the design will be far smaller in scale compared to that of the front-end but will still have thorough functionality using software engineering principles. Using Kodular, a web-based coding engine, the team will be able to create a To-Do list that users can add to, interact with, and alter. This will be done using a combination of design, coding techniques to optimize efficiency, and cloud storage with Firebase to store data. Accurate and optimal use of logic and mathematics will be crucial to development as a lot revolves around time calculations, and other factors such as text limits, numerical point system for rewards, etc.

Testing Stage

Testing software is more abstract than that of a physically engineered prototype. The plan for testing the Profectly app is to compare the prototypes created to both user stories and other possible functionalities that are essential to the app's success. In regards to the user stories, these will be sourced from those mentioned in previous elements and recently devised ones. This testing will be done by meticulously evaluating various aspects of a given prototype and addressing the degree to which it completes the user story and its criteria if it does at all.

Data Collection

Data collection is planned to be sourced from surveying user experiences for given prototypes. More specifically, a survey will be created by the team that requests users to complete a set of tasks. Their performance on these tasks will help illustrate potential weak points in design whether it be in the front-end or back-end. With this, users will be able to give feedback on their experience and provide criticisms for the prototype, which will be essential for further improvements. Furthermore, this survey data/feedback provided by the user will be essential for the creation of new Profectly prototypes in regards to both design on the front-end level with visuals, but also functionality on the back-end with code.

Kanban Board

Above are some examples of the Kanban board for Profectly. Over time the team learned to use Trello (our Kanban board) to plan and organize our efforts at our own pace. When a new project would be assigned to our group, the team would add said project to the "To Do" section of Trello, along with a description of the project (if required) and a label, describing it as a user story, portfolio, testing, feedback, or etc. If required, a due date would be added to remind us if we forgot said project for too long. However, the team would each choose a new project in "To Do" when our previous project was finished and work towards the completion of the project until the team felt finished, then the team would move the project into our review section for our teammates to review it. Then, after review, the team could place the project into our "Done" section feeling accomplished.

For almost all of the tasks, the work was done as a team. There were a few exceptions such as that with Prototype #3 in Kodular, in which only one team member could work on the project, but other team members were able to help in various ways by fixing bugs with specific parts of the code. For portfolio work, the team would split elements amongst one another and, if one fell behind, then the others would help fill in.

Expert 1: Mr. Weaver

"Very confused, needs to title/name everything. Geotracking? Remind users to repeat tasks at a similar time. Need to title icons or change icons with designs that are easier to guess their purpose."

Expert 2: Ms. Mason

"Very comprehensive interface that allows for an easily traversal app. Editable schedules and tasks are essential."

Expert Review

Profectly expert reviewers both agree that our premise is promising for this app and that our interface is promising. What we could improve on is consistent reminders that always remind the user of weekly habits and of having our app be compatible with google classroom to remind students of their homework.

Tools and Software

The team plans to use a combination of Figma and Kodular to create both prototypes for both the design of the front-end and UI as well as the back-end with more focus on functionality. For the back-end prototype, there will also be a database (w/ Google Firebase) used to store user settings and customizations to allow for a more streamlined experience.

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