ICS Scheduling

Class scheduling in the ICS department combines many complex and often confusing systems, involving three main parties: the instructors, the scheduling staff, and the department administrators. Altogether, multiple inefficiencies in the scheduling process has lead to unnecessary mistakes, a reduction to productivity, and further frustration from all involved parties.

Our team was given the opportunity to develop a software solution, in the form of a scheduling hub that would encompass the convoluted scheduling process by all involved parties.

Team and Sponsor Collaboration

Due to the large scope of the deliverable, our team collectively divided into two sub-teams, each focusing on the development of the application from different perspectives: one focused on the development of the visual frontend, and the other on the data-driven backend. While separate, every member collaborated with the team as a whole through task-driven development, adhering to traditional Agile methodology.

Alongside regular inner-team communication between members, our team established weekly meetings with our stakeholder to disclose any and all work developments, and to initiate feedback conversations. These conversations looked to address any concerns between the parties, and for the stakeholder to exercise agency within decision making. Through the use of Slack, our team was able to maintain a reliable communication pathway to the stakeholder, and a method for them to continue conversations post-weekly meetings. 

Challenges Faced

1. Cross Platform Development

Required strategic teamwork, division of labor, and effective team communication

2. Team/Stakeholder Collaboration

Information overload required us to negotiate with the stakeholder to create a

singular truth.

3. Project Scope/Ballooning

Excess information quickly scaled our requirements for the project, minimizing 

effective work

Negotiation helped trim priorities, correcting development

4. Learning Tech Stack

Different experiences lead to division, requiring more personalized workflows and 

increased peer-collaboration 

Making Design & Implementation Decisions

Working closely with our sponsor, our team successfully narrowed the project's scope to focus on the most essential features for the duration of the project. Based on suggestions from our sponsor, professor, and UI/UX evaluators, we implemented and adjusted the core components of the system accordingly. 

Using various technologies, we created supplementary material that will help developers and stakeholders understand the requirements, constraints, and functionality of our current system at a high level. This will ensure that future development can continue with ease.

Ultimately, to satisfy stakeholder expectations, our team developed the foundation for the ICS Scheduling Hub. The web-based application allows Instructors to input schedule preference information that would then be stored and managed for the ICS scheduling staff to use. The current build focuses on the Instructor side of the hub, but provided adequate tools for future wings of the site to be developed, utilizing instructor-sided information.