cfinister / closercom

CMSI401/402 Group Project (Closer Communications)

CloserCom

CMSI401/402 Group Project (Closer Communications)

Project Proposal

Project Description

“CloserCom," short for "Closer Communications," is to be a social networking service company. Its goal is to create an application that will provide a medium for registered users to support and volunteer time to one another in today's progressive and constantly changing community. The primary goal is to facilitate deeper interactions and connections between diverse groups of people from all different backgrounds with no agenda but to provide support.

While these interactions will not be a paid for service, this service will be a more accessible approach for students or people apart of the LMU community to get more involved in service by compiling interactions and services in one place for access. CloserCom matches members to provide services such as mentoring, babysitting, small chores, checking on the elderly, or connecting to find a friend. The aim is to build a community where volunteers can gain hours for their services or courses, as well as possibly earning course credit at some point in the future of this application.

Target Audience

Our Target audience for our project will be toward LMU students and organizations. Organizations will be able to post events of service where students will be able to contribute their time to help with the volunteering. This will allow students to give back to society whenever they can without having to struggle with the hardships of not knowing where to sign up or not having enough time for joining organizations. With the right safety measure implemented in the application, our targeted end users would be in schools and universities.

Technical Section

Important features included in the application will be a database of information about what volunteers are available to do what jobs, connecting people to others who fit the roles they are looking for, and a community of individuals who are not only getting credit for the jobs they are doing but also collecting hours. This application will feature a volunteer hour log for volunteers to collect hours worked, signatures from who they worked with, along with pairing the volunteers to jobs they are specifically looking for.

This will be a web-based application first before pushed into a mobile app. Both of which will be used to form more positive interactions between people, however, it will require certain functionality. To ensure this functionality is tailored to it’s audience, we will be collecting and analyzing research. With this information, we would like to create a full stack project consisting of a Website, an API, a Database, and both a back and front-end. To ensure the system is maintained and updated regularly, we would designate a team of programmers as our "Quality Insurance," whose goal would be to provide proper application and website functionality at all times. Finally, in reference to program comparison, comparable applications include care.com, sitter, handshake, indeed, OfferUp, HQ, etc.… We chose these applications because our application is a social network where users will be registering with a specific and common goal.

Request For References

LMU organizations, such as the Academic Resource Center, Facility Management, Associated Students of LMU, Resident Hall Association, and many more. The application can also have possible benefits for various clubs and Greek life. Last but not least, the Jesuit Community is always welcoming of volunteers with open arms.

Justification

The CloserCom project is appropriate for a 401 project because it requires several functionalities that software engineers have to face in the workplace. For example, in our project, we will gain experience with research, front-end, back-end, and the UX/UI design for users. This project will allow us to work with a client and consumers to tackle these in a real-world setting. Which will strengthen our communication skills, presentation, and writing abilities. All of these align with the flags needed for this course, such as written and oral skill flags. Furthermore, LMU's core values of commitment to students, community, and service to others align with CloserCom, justifying it even further to be appropriate for a final project, at the same time, pursuing LMU’s core values.

LMU Core Values

Submit Proposal To

Dr. B.J.Johnson 1 Loyola Marymount University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90045

For Additional Information or Clarification, Contact

Marissa Alvarez Email: [email protected] Cherrell Finister Email: [email protected] Simon Wroblewski Email: [email protected] Elham Ghashghai