Android App - Case Study

OR Scrub

Client Requirements

The client wanted to make an Android mobile app based on the clients existing iPhone app OR Scrub. The client's requirements were:

• Same basic look and functionality as iPhone OR Scrub.
• Contents should update frequently using online source.
• Online data source should be generally easy to update.
• Online data source should be hosted in a static text file.
• The user should be required to accept an End User License Agreement before using the app.
• App should be completed within 20 days from agreement.

Project Proposal

A framework was developed and proposed to the client that included these features:

• The look and operation of the app would appear very similar to the look and operation of the iPhone OR Scrub. Very minor alterations would be made to allow for the differences in the operating environment, namely the Android operating environment.
• The data source for the app would be served by an XML file hosted on the clients web server. The schema for the XML file would be developed to allow quick and efficient maintenance.
• The completion time of the app would be 20 days from the date of agreement. This would include testing, debugging and submission to the Android Market.

Implementation

The look and functionality of the application was fairly strait forward to implement as the client's existing iPhone OR Scrub did not have custom controls or special formatting. The Android implementation of the app used simple listviews and textviews. The detail activity used Linkify on the textview to show links for addresses, phone numbers and web addresses. As can be seen from the following screen shot, the Android version has a very similar look to the iPhone version.

Category or main view after start-up.

When a category is selected, a list of relevant articles is shown to the user. The details view is then shown after the article is selected. As can be seen from the following screen shot, the view looks very similar to the iPhone version of OR Scrub.

Article view.

The main difference in the apps functionality is the requirement for the user to accept the End User Licence Agreement(EULA). The iPhone version of the app had the EULA available to read, but not requiring the user to accept. The Android version prompts the user to accept the EULA on first run of the app. If the agreement is rejected, the user can not use the app. The following screen shot illustrates the differences in the two versions of OR Scrub.

EULA agreement is required by the Android version on first run.

The final change in the look of the app was made in the 'Surgical Videos' view. In the iPhone version the videos were listed with the name and web address of the YouTube video in a details view just like the articles. In the Android version, the videos are shown in a listview with a YouTube icon. The screen shot below illustrates these changes.

Videos are listed in a listview in the Android version.

The app was compiled with an initial XML data file in cases in which the online data source was not available to the phone. Such as when the network has lost connection, or a WiFi connection is not available. The app would  function properly in the absence of such connections.

As the data source would not be experiencing daily updates, a system to update the app was used to periodically retrieve the online data source. The XML data source is first parsed into a Java serialized object, and saved to a file to be retrieved by the app as needed.

Summary

The completed Android version of OR Scrub was completed on schedule and was received well by the client. The client expressed interest in porting other iPhone apps to the Android platform.