Week 9 Updates

Monday 5/23:
         Today, the group has been in contact through cell phones, making sure everyone is finishing up everything they can by tomorrow's class. Luke is finishing up combining all the individual pages into one. Katie has been working on the presentation. Mercedes has been trying to figure out how to get the timer page to send out a notification when completed, but was unable to get it working. If none of the other team members can figure this out by the final presentation, this will just be addressed as a feature that can come out with a later software update. Applications are always improving, the first version of the application always has minor issues and missing features. Other than that, Mercedes has also been finalizing the final report and working on the presentation. The group will meet and finish all last touches tomorrow in class.

Tuesday 5/24:
        In lab today Luke finished working on the app.  He combined all the pieces together and made sure that the app would run correctly.  Each piece works individually, and the combination was the last part to go in place.  The app stores prescription information including dosage and time that it will be taken.  The main screen now has a list of the pills that are entered in the device, and it has their dosages listed.  Mercedes and Katie worked on the final presentation.  They started creating slides for the PowerPoint and outlining what would be covered in the final presentation.

Week 8 Updates

Tuesday 5/17:

       Today in class, we are working together to combine all of our files.  The goal is to get everything together, even if each individual piece is not working. This way we will have an app that functions and we can spend the last week before the final project fixing the little issues.  This is the last piece that needs to be completed in order for the app to function, so it is our main focus today.  We did run into some trouble getting little pieces to work. It was a struggle to make sure that the homepage was running correctly, but we are working to debug and have the code done by the end of  the week.

Wednesday 5/18:
       We have begun to work on our final presentation.  The power point slides that we are making are based on the final report we have written.  After getting the final report draft back yesterday, Dr. Knight gave us specific changes that needed to be made.  We are looking to make those changes, but all of the changes were things  that we knew we would do in the future after completing the app.  We are looking ahead to the final report because that is the next big deliverable that is left.

Thursday 5/19:
        Luke is continuing to combine all of the files together.  We have given him all of the files that we have, and he is making sure that the app will be able to run.  Mercedes and I are beginning to work on the final presentation slides.  We have divided up the work.

Friday 5/20:
         We did not work on the project today.

Saturday 5/21:
        Due to everyone's busy schedules, we did not meet tonight.  However, we were still able to discuss what needed to be done.  Luke will be done combining the app by Monday night, so we will be able to test it in class on Tuesday.  By having it done this week, we will better be able to create the final presentation.

Week 7 Updates

Tuesday 5/10:

        This week, the final report draft was due.  We submitted that before lab, and writing the report shed some light on what things still needed to be done.  Katie worked to get the homepage set up.  This will be the last thing that will be put into place, but the basic framework can be laid out so that we can get all of the buttons on the homepage to be ready to use.  She also did research on how to add in notifications so that the app will notify the user when it is time to take a pill.   Luke worked on the main screen that will be used to add and edit prescription information.  He has that working almost all the way, and it will be ready to go by next week.  Mercedes continued to work to debug the timer so that it would countdown correctly and run as it is intended. The plan was to finish the app this week and debug for the next two weeks, so we are not completely on track.  However, we have been debugging throughout the entire process, so there is not an issue in pushing back the completion of the app.  It should not be difficult to get running after all the pieces are in place.

Wednesday 5/11:

         Everyone is continuing to code on their own and research each individual piece.  Katie has begun to look into how to put the whole app together so that we can compile it into a single file and run it as a program together.  Although this is difficult and slightly confusing, we are confident that the app will run smoothly wen it is all done.

Thursday 5/12:
         Luke worked to add a feature that changes the number of add time buttons based on the number of doses taken.  This is so that you can only input times for the number of doses that you need to take.  He also created six different time pickers that work independently.  This fixed an issue where all the timers could only be set once.  Then he created a call to a CSV (Comma Separated Values File) which stores the data for each prescription on the app itself to be called by a list view which was coded by Katie.  Once it has been called by the list view, you can click on the item in the list to edit the prescription.  

Friday 5/13:

        Due to the fact that it is Friday the thirteenth, the group took a day off for fear of bad luck.  

Sunday 5/15:

        The group did not meet today, but will likely make up for it by meeting tomorrow.  The weekend was a little bit hectic schedule wise, so it is easier for everyone to meet on Monday this week. 

Week 6 Updates

Tuesday 5/2:

        This week in lab, we continued to work on coding.  The blog check was also today so we spent some time creating the FAQ and tutorial pages.  We started to discuss writing the draft of the final report that is due during week 7.  The coding work is beginning to slow down as we are starting to hit road blocks while trying to put it together.  For example, I (Katie) am beginning to work on coding the homepage so that it links to all the other pages with the use of buttons.  However, this is difficult without having all the files for the different activities coded and in one place.  The week will be dedicated to creating a library with all the different activities in it so that the home page will be able to call these activities.  

Wednesday 5/3:

         The group has neglected the project today in favor of exams and other homework.

Friday 5/5:

          The final report draft is due on Tuesday so today we divided up the sections of the report.  The report is divided pretty evenly so that we are all pulling an equal amount of weight to get it done.  It is difficult to write this report as we are not finished the work yet, so the majority of the report will still be in the future tense.

Sunday 5/8:
          The group met today to discuss the progress of the final report draft.  We then completed and compiled the draft so that it could be turned in by the Tuesday deadline.  Many of the sections were difficult to write because we are not quite finished the app yet.  It was hard to discuss tangible results and deliverables without the app being completed, so the final draft of the final report will be much more comprehensive.

Week 5 Updates:

Tuesday 4/26:

        This week in lab we continue to work on coding.  Each of us has been working on a set piece for the last week or so, and now we are trying to finalize each piece so that we can begin to put them all together.  Mercedes is working on the timer, and she is trying to make sure that it counts down the way that we want it to so that it can be implemented into the app correctly.  Luke is finishing up the log in system as well as compiling the code all together.  I have been working to code the calendar so that the pills will show up as events.  All of these tasks have come with minor snags that we are working to fix.  Every time that we code something we use the Android Studio software to generate a test phone that attempts to run the code.  Sometimes the code is written with no syntax errors, but it will still not run on the phone.  That has been the most frustrating part because it becomes difficult to define the problem.  Without being able to define the issues, they become difficult to fix.  The process is long, but it is better that we are testing as we go.  This way we know that each individual piece works when we put it together.  Most of the pieces we are coding have a basic structure that we need to tweak so that they work the way we want them to in the app.

Wednesday 4/27:
       Each team member continues to work on their current project. We are beginning to really make some progress and hope to continue with this success.

Friday 4/29:
      Update on the Countdown Timer page of the app:
-The goal is to have two different timer options. One will be a preset 30 minute countdown, since this seems like a common amount of time for sometime to take medication before/after a meal. The other timer will be able to have user-input so the user can set it to any time to count down from.
-So far, Mercedes has almost finalized the 30 minute timer. Below are some screenshots of the page so far.
-The rest of the week, Mercedes will be working on the other user-input timer along with the following features that are still needed for this timer.
  -Display in minutes & seconds, rather than just seconds
  -Alarm/notification when timer is finished
  -Ability for timer to run in background while app is not open.

Sunday 5/1:

The group could not meet up this Sunday as a group, but individually we all kept working. We communicate through our group chat to keep in touch and make sure everyone stays on task. We are continuing to make progress on each individual page of the application. Hopefully, between the next two weeks we will be creating the home screen which connects all of this individual pages together. 

Week 4 Update

Tuesday 4/19:

        Today in lab the group continued to work on coding for the app.  Luke worked on finalizing the log in and registration screens so that the user could put their information into the data base.  He found trouble because his code could not locate necessary files to put the users information in the data base, but he worked to resolve those issues.  Mercedes coded a timer that will be used to count down the time after a meal.  As of right now it works more like a stopwatch, but she is working to make it count down so it will function as a timer.  I worked on code for the calendar display so that the pills would look like appointments in a regular calendar.  This is more challenging than I thought because it is hard to find tutorials online where people make calendars that have the same function that we need for our app.  The webpage that I used to research coding the calendar is http://www.viralandroid.com/2015/11/android-calendarview-example.html.   After much struggling, I was able to create a calendar that will hopefully be able to be hooked to a database.  This database will be linked to the list that I created last week so the users information will be displayed in a list format when the open up the app.  Overall, the app is coming along pretty nicely, as we continue to chip away at these large coding tasks.

Wednesday 4/20:

         The group is continually working on coding and learning the software still.  This is a very complex process, so there is not that much to report.

Thursday 4/21:
          After deciding not to meet last week, the group has decided that we will definitely meet on Sunday to check progress.


Friday 4/22:
         The group did not work on coding for the app today.  Now have to begin thinking about our final presentation, and make sure app is fully functioning or just about by week 7.

Saturday 4/23:
         No progress was made on the project today.

Sunday 4/24:
           Today the group met to discuss the progression of the app.  Many of the individual pieces are done, so we are going to begin working together to bring things together.  This way we will be able to have a basic structure to start completing the app.  This week in lab, the goal is to get all of the files we have coded onto one computer so that we can start this process.

Week 3 Update

Tuesday 4/12:

      Today was our lab day.  The group worked on coding the app.  Luke made a home screen for registration that will be used for people to register themselves in the data base that will be created.  This was a difficult task, but he was able to run it on the coding software so we know it works.  Mercedes focused her efforts on trying to create a wheel that could be used for setting a timer for when a pill needs to be taken before or after a meal at a certain time.  I concentrated on creating a list view that we will be able to convert to a calendar list so that the user can see a list of their medications when they open the app.  

      Since none of us really have any experience coding in java, which is what Android Studio uses, we have been coding by watching videos.  It has been difficult to learn the different type of coding software, so the use of YouTube and the Internet has been extremely useful.  We are continuing to work outside of class, and our plan is to be finished coding the app by week 7 so that we can spend  the remaining weeks debugging the app so that it actually works.

Wednesday 4/13:
       The group continues to work individually on coding. 

Thursday 4/14:
      Today, each group member worked individually on some coding, continuing the projects that were started in class on Tuesday. Many YouTube videos have been watched and the coding is starting to make progress.

Friday 4/15:
       The Fusion 360 assignment is due today, so the group members are focusing on finalizing the designs for the fifteen part assembly.

Sunday 4/17:
       Sundays are usually the meet-up day, but the group was unable to get together this week. This does not mean we have not been working, though. The different pages of the app are continuously being designed and coded. Everyday may seem like similar work, as it is, because learning how to and actually coding is a very long and strenuous process. Each member continues to work on each of our pages and when together, we will combine them all together getting closer to the full app.