Introduction
This essay presents a project proposal for developing a Smart Student Task Manager application, designed to address the challenges students face in managing assignments and deadlines. As a student in Computer Science and Technology, this project explores Android application development, focusing on user interface (UI) design and comparative interaction methods. The app targets university and high school students, offering core features like task creation, reminders, and two UI versions for comparison: button-based and gesture-based. Drawing on software engineering principles, the essay outlines the problem statement, requirements, design, prototype, plan, risks, and future implications, demonstrating sound understanding of mobile app development (Sommerville, 2016). Key points include functional implementation using SQLite and a three-layer architecture, aiming to enhance productivity through efficient task management.
Project Overview
Students frequently encounter difficulties in organising tasks, with existing apps often being too complex or unsuitable for mobile use, leading to missed deadlines (Nielsen, 1994). This project proposes a simple Android app to mitigate these issues. The target users are primarily university and high school students, but it extends to anyone needing basic task management. Core features include creating, editing, and deleting tasks; setting deadlines with reminders; viewing tasks daily or weekly; and tracking completions. Importantly, the app incorporates two UI methods for comparison: Version A uses buttons for actions like marking tasks complete, while Version B employs gestures, such as swiping. This comparative approach allows evaluation of usability, aligning with design guidelines that emphasise intuitive interactions (Google, 2023).
Requirements Analysis
Functional requirements ensure the app meets user needs effectively. Users can create tasks with titles, descriptions, and deadlines; edit or delete them; mark as completed; and view in list or calendar formats. Reminders are integrated for deadlines, with two UI versions provided. Non-functional requirements focus on performance, such as responding within 2 seconds, maintaining a user-friendly interface, compatibility with most Android devices, secure local storage via SQLite, and overall stability (Pressman, 2014). These requirements reflect a balance between functionality and reliability, addressing potential limitations like device variability.
System Design
The app adopts a three-layer architecture: the presentation layer handles UI components, the logic layer manages task processing, and the data layer uses SQLite for storage (SQLite Documentation, 2023). Key activities include MainActivity for the home screen, AddTaskActivity, EditTaskActivity, and others like CalendarActivity. Data flow involves user input via UI, processing in the logic layer, and database interactions, ensuring updated displays. This structure supports efficient development and maintenance, though it requires careful handling of data integrity.
Prototype Design
Prototypes will be developed in low-fidelity and high-fidelity forms using tools like Figma. Required screens cover home, add/edit tasks, details, calendar, completed tasks, and settings. Functionality includes navigation, such as tapping to add tasks and saving to the database. Interaction logic differs by version: buttons in A for completions, gestures in B like swiping. This design phase evaluates usability, drawing on standards that highlight the importance of intuitive prototypes (ISO 9241-11, 2018).
Project Plan, Timeline, and Risk Analysis
The project spans 11 weeks: weeks 1-2 for requirements and database design; week 3 for UI/UX; weeks 4-5 for database implementation; weeks 6-7 for Version A; weeks 8-9 for Version B; week 10 for testing; and week 11 for reporting. Risks include crashes (high impact, mitigated by testing), database errors (medium, via backups), UI complexity (medium, by simplifying), time constraints (high, prioritising cores), and data loss (medium, with auto-save). This plan demonstrates problem-solving by identifying and addressing key challenges (Shneiderman, 2010).
Conclusion
In summary, this Smart Student Task Manager project addresses student productivity issues through an Android app with comparative UIs, grounded in software engineering practices. It fosters skills in development, design, and interaction comparison, with potential for future enhancements like cloud sync. Ultimately, it underscores the value of user-centred design in improving task management, though limitations in scope highlight areas for expansion.
References
- Google. (2023) Material Design Guidelines. Google.
- ISO 9241-11. (2018) Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 11: Usability: Definitions and concepts. International Organization for Standardization.
- Nielsen, J. (1994) Usability engineering. Academic Press.
- Pressman, R. S. (2014) Software engineering: A practitioner’s approach. McGraw-Hill Education.
- Shneiderman, B. (2010) Designing the user interface: Strategies for effective human-computer interaction. Pearson.
- Sommerville, I. (2016) Software engineering. Pearson.
- SQLite Documentation. (2023) SQLite database systems. SQLite.
