FINSHED!!!

So im finished now besides my presentation :D

Though presentation isnt something to be looked forward to. Oh well, it has been a good journey, long and prosperous. Hopefully i shall get a good result, this will be posted as soon as i know! ^^

10/10 Finished Report!

So even though the report took much longer than planned i got there in the end. Today i am going to the LLC to ask some questions about basic layout etc, so that should be good. I have also sent my report to my supervisor and my sister to have a look at it. I'm thinking of paying someone professional to have a look at the spelling and grammar, but thats yet to be decided as it costs around $100.

End parts taken out of report:

Conclusion

Problems

Self Evaluation

Where to from Here

10/10 Where to from Here

1 Where to From Here

1.1 Application Improvements

1.1.1 Interface

Because the system is only a proof on concept and there were time constraints, there are many improvements that could be made to the application. Grid views were used with one basic data source, this results in a basic data set such as a job record showing only the user id instead of the user name. A better way of doing this would have been to manually loop through and display all of the records with the data needed into a table.

The design and look of the interface was done in a hurry and could have been improved, however this was not part of the core functionality so very little time was spent on this. If more time was given this could have been re-visited and improved, or more time could be spent on other ideas.

1.1.2 Mapping

The mapping works by marking jobs in this design, if the user just wanted to map out only client locations instead of jobs, they cannot do this. Another page could be added just for mapping out clients.

Routing in the proof of concept only shows the street name and the directions (shown in Figure 7.1.1). This is because only the basic function of getting a route is used. It is possible customize the format of the data by looping through the returned route and displaying it. This would allow the job information to be shown under each stop as well as displaying the actual street number.

1.1.3 Searching

The searching of records was one of the original features of the system. By the end of implementation there wasn’t enough time to implement the searching, and a line needed to be drawn for the end of the implementation milestone. Searching was low on the list of important features for functionality. If more time was spent on this application the searching features would be added as it is something that increases the ease of use immensely.

1.2 Mapping Improvements

1.2.1 Sorting of Clients and Jobs

The algorithm programmed for sorting the clients (the whole process is explained in section 6.2) is not the most efficient or reliable way of completing the sorting of clients. This is mainly because of the lack of experience on the author’s behalf as well as time constraints not allowing the re-assessment of how the process works. If this were to be improved there would be performance benefits as well as the mapping being more reliable.

Because the mapping is done by using straight line distances it is not very accurate, however the other option was to use Google maps which wasn’t very good for performance and resources. If there was a way of calculating the driving distance quicker and more efficient than using Google, the routing would be more precise.

1.2.2 Mapping Services

At the moment the main functions online mapping services provide are basic mapping. Some of the mapping services provide different features such as 3D views of cities, round routes, small amounts of traffic reports etc. But none provide high detailed traffic reports for around the world. Ideally, for the best route, details about traffic jams, crashes, road works etc would be needed. Because the application implemented only provides mapping of jobs, not on route GPS directions, the traffic details would only be given when the route is made. In future the routes may be used with a GPS at run time so the information would need to be constantly updated.

There is much more potential with mapping services for the future such as routes could be shown in 3D in 360 degree views or the traffic information could be changed and shown minutes after a crash happens.

10/10 Conclusion

Mapping services offer many advantages for all types of mapping in an application. Using Google Maps with the job tracking system allowed the author to easily integrate mapping into the system only by using a few lines of code, without doing this the project scope would have been to large, and a much harder task. The Application Programming Interface provided by Google for mapping was straight forward and provided all of the features needed. Because the JavaScript needed for the mapping is very small it is easy to integrate Microsoft Live Search Maps or Yahoo! Maps by changing the application key and actual map code.

Because the Google Maps API has been around for a few years now there are vast amounts of documentation. This made the research, eventual implementation and problem solving much easier as most problems have been faced by another developer and posted in the forums.

Google Maps provides all of the features needed for this proof of concept application, however there is much potential for the future with better routing and run time traffic conditions, 3D mapping, faster loading times and more detailed satellite imagery.

Because the proof of concept application was implemented using the back end as a web service, there is a lot of room for future expansion on alternative devices using different platforms and languages.

With more development time the job tracking application could be vastly improved by adding a more efficient algorithm for sorting locations, giving the user more detailed routing information, adding traffic details to a route, designing a more appealing interface, showing more detailed information in the grid views and adding search features for better usability.

There are many improvements that could be made, however the main functionality is provided to make this application a proof of concept. The original goal was to provide:

“A system based on job tracking that incorporates mapping to enhance the usability and ease of finding client/job locations. Not only will the user be able to map out one client/job location, they will also be able to combine a list of jobs for the day and get back a map with the most efficient route to take which will cut down travel time.”

This goal was achieved, and the project a success. As well as the success of the implementation, the personal goals were achieved by the author. Programming skills were increased, experience was gained, management skills were improved, time management skills were improved and a new programming language was learnt.