Logo designed by Anna Sabin
Food For Good Web Application
The IT Capstone project had a requirement to create an application, including a web application. We should pick a topic and a programming language. I had an idea to develop a web application that allows restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and grocery stores` culinary departments located in Tricities, WA, to connect with customers by offering food surplus for a discount price.
The goal of the “FoodForGood” web application is to provide an opportunity for Tri-cities, WA residents, and its visitors to buy quality food and meals for less and help the Tri-cities reduce food waste. For understanding the opportunity and the necessity of this web application, I conducted the background research of the Tri-Cities area, a market research by comparing available applications, and user research by conducting interviews.
For the project, I follow the Agile approach, Scrum framework, and Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). I set the project requirements in Product Backlog, using Smartsheet. The product backlog includes user stories, which represent a description of any feature or part of the project from a user`s perspective.
I picked the interview survey method for gathering useful information about users’ needs and frustrations. I conducted user interviews with 5 people to better understand how they approach buying food online, how often they order food from the restaurants, and if they are aware of the food waste problem. The goal was to research their behaviors, needs, and current frustrations. The interview is an important fact-finding tool that represents a planned meeting online or in person.
After conducting the research and understanding business needs and users’ expectations, we set the project requirements. Since we follow the Agile approach and Scrum framework, I used Product backlog for setting these requirements. The Product Backlog could be adjusted, and the scope could be reviewed as necessary during the project.
I created a user flow for the project, it`s logic. User flow is a path that a user takes to finish his task. For creating a user flow, I used Figjam. The web application works using a web browser and allows businesses, such as restaurants, grocery stores, farmers, bakeries, etc., to list their offers and the price. They will need to create an account or authenticate themselves to post their offers. Users are able to view current offers, and all offers and search offer by name, address, or business name.
I designed the logo for product recognition and created mockups of the application design in Adobe XD. The design passed contrast and colorblindness tests.
The scope of the project was limited due to the timeframe. I developed “FoodForGood” application using PHP and I used SQL for the database. All tools that I used for development and their purposes are provided in the table below.
