Town Guide Android Application Student Name Submission Date

Town Guide Android Application Student Namesubmission Datecover Lett

Town-Guide Android Application Student Name Submission Date Cover Letter This project involved design and requirements gathering for an Android application called Town-guide application. The following is the list of people who engaged in the requirements gathering and the design study: The Study Team Members Name Organization Role Asker Jones City Guide Inc. Database administrator Peter Smith City Guide Inc. Mobile App Developer Miss. Jayne Wang City Guide Inc. Requirements analyst Alex Sigh City Guide Inc. System Designer Study Objectives The general objective of the study is to introduce a new android application for visitors at the end of next month to help lower their travelling costs by 50% and reduce the time for finding places and services to one minute. The project also aims to help visitors find category of services in a region by one click with details such as directions, ratings, costs and security. Through this study, the major deliverables are to gain understanding of the Town-guide system’s requirements and design through analysis of the market and the existing application in the same market. Executive Summary The Town-Guide Android app is intended to help users who are majorly visitors in a city to find locations, services and other products. The major objective of the project is to help people adopt to new places. Though there are various applications in the market with a near same purpose, the design and inclusion of features will allow the Town-Guide app have the desired breakthrough in the market. O understand the design and user requirements, it is essential to gather data on the available similar applications, their features and aspects that their users find challenging. The study team will conduct a system analysis process where the mobile app developers will identify similar applications in the market. Specifically, the team will identify the application that help international visitors find their directions in the local places (Koutroumanis, 2011). The business analysist will identify all the business requirements of these systems and the way the requirements are implemented. The analysis of the existing system will take one week where the analyst and the application developers will document the existing systems, issues in the current market and possible solutions or system alternatives that will solve the issues. This major method of analysis of the current system will be through peer reviews on the play store. The researchers will develop a list of questions that will help them go through the application reviews of existing customers. These questions and guidelines include the rating of the current applications, security challenges, application features, and application limitations, design of the application and ease-of-use of the application. The recommendation of the system analysis is that the system is to integrate several functionalities from other system to enhance efficiency and solve the identified problems. The system is also to avoid complex designs in terms of user experience design because visitors need to arrive at the information they are looking for within a short time. System Study The system analysts and business requirement analyst used an action research methodology to arrive at the study recommendations, gather data and make conclusions. In this type of research, the study team engaged in the project by joining the other teams in the community to solve the problem that guests had. The methodology involve an iterative process that involve five major steps; planning, action, results and reflection. For every iteration, the team will plan, take action, obtain results and then reflect on the implementation of the iteration. The iterations will be requirements gathering and development of the system design. During requirements gathering, the team used questionnaires to collect data from the users. The team sent a link to a questionnaire developed on Google forms and then received the data in a common email. Thereafter, the team fed the data into a data analysis tool called MS Excel where the system requirements were prioritized and recommendations made. System Study Results Existing Systems: Google Maps is one of the popular applications that users know. This application is however, limited in functionality when it comes to helping users adopt to new location. Google Maps is both an Android and a web application that provides users with locations and directions of places based on a global positional system. The application allows the users to find places, locate buildings and view the available routes in a given region (Koutroumanis, 2011). AroundMe android app is also another application that allows users to locate gas stations, bars, guest rooms, restaurants, hospitals and other regions that the users may need. Similar to this app is Places Android app and Near Me applications. These Near Me and AroundMe app help users locate places around them and regions. System requirements: the study also revealed that there is need to have a system that covers comprehensive requirements to help the visitors become comfortable in their new places. Therefore, the following system requirements were found necessary: · System availability is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year (99.9% uptime). · Reporting Requirements: Weekly traffic report should be auto-generated and sent to the business owner of the application. · Data requirements: interfacing the system with geolocation data, and other regional databases in terms infrastructure, security and services. · Business requirements: after approval of the system’s database requirements, there should be five weeks of implementation of the project. · Security requirements: need to secure the system through two level user authentication. The problem with the current systems revealed include poor security as evident in the lack of authentication, complexity in design, lack of awareness, inadequate features, unreliable, and unavailable. System Alternatives Combination of all possible features in one application: The first alternative solution is that the new android application will be unique through combining variety of features across the current applications. However, unique features will include real time chats with receptionists at hotels and various destinations, comparison of prices price range for services, integration with weather monitoring subsystem, booking of taxicabs and mobile payment for advance booking through the app (Koutroumanis, 2011). The cost implication of the alternative are as follows: Component Item Estimated cost Software costs Additional APIs for system development (e.g. Google maps API, Yahoo weather, Payment gateways, and SMS gateways for notifications) $3000 Human Resource Additional need for Google developers, Mobile money specialists, and system security experts $2000 Cost Benefits Addition of mobile payment to the system The benefits include: · Increase efficiency to facilitate payment · Reduced transaction costs for smaller expenses like taxicab payment. Expected savings: · About $2 for every service booked. Selecting only a few important feature and using third party services: this alterbative involves changing the application features of similar apps and integrating the other features with external parties like google, ATMs, PayPal among others. I will change the design of Town-Guide application to include some features from the Google Maps, AroundMe and Near Me applications. This will help develop the application in a way that users will find the app easier to use due to familiarity of the design hence eliminating sharp learning curves. Component Item Estimated cost Software costs Third party licenses $500 Human Resource Subscription to system support $200 Cost Benefits Integrated external systems The benefits include: · Reduced cost of maintenance and software update. Possible risks include: · Loss of information privacy and security. Expected savings: · About $3000 during the design and development of the app. Possible financial loss: · Loss of Millions of dollar if the attackers got hold of sensitive information through external service providers like PayPal. System Analyst Recommendation The most efficient and cost effective alternative is to have an in-built comprehensive features in the system and avoid links to external services. the system will have maximum security and avoid loss of information and confidentiality due to unauthorized sharing of information through third party providers. the new android application will be unique through combining variety of features across the current applications. However, unique features will include real time chats with receptionists at hotels and various destinations, comparison of prices price range for services, integration with weather monitoring subsystem, booking of taxicabs and mobile payment for advance booking through the app (Koutroumanis, 2011). All of these feature will be designed by the project team members. Though the costs may be higher, the solution eliminates huge financial losses that the owners may encounter when attackers exploit the system’s vulnerability through external systems. Summary In conclusion, the study revealed that the optimum solution is to combine a variety os features in the Town-guide application by outsourcing and insourcing the human resoruces at additional costs to create the features as part of the system. this solution will reduce the unseen losses due to attacks at the application layer. The general objective of the study is to introduce a new android application for visitors at the end of next month to help lower their travelling costs by 50% and reduce the time for finding places and services to one minute. The project also aims to help visitors find category of services in a region by one click with details such as directions, ratings, costs and security. Therefore, this project is important as it helps reduce the costs of adopting in a new environment. References Koutroumanis, D. a. (2011). Technology’s Effect on Hotels and Restaurants: Building a Strategic Competitive Advantage. The Journal of Applied Business and Economics , ), 72–80.

Paper For Above instruction

The rapid advancement of mobile technology has transformed the landscape of urban navigation and local services, especially for visitors in unfamiliar environments. The development of a comprehensive and user-friendly Android application, Town-Guide, aims to significantly enhance the tourism experience by reducing travel costs and time spent searching for services. This paper explores the system design, requirements gathering, competitor analysis, and strategic alternatives considered for the development of the Town-Guide application, emphasizing the importance of security, usability, and functional integration in creating a competitive market solution.

Introduction

Urban tourists and visitors often face challenges in quickly locating services and navigating new environments. Existing solutions like Google Maps and AroundMe have been instrumental in addressing some of these issues; however, they also present limitations concerning security, user experience, and completeness of services. The goal of the Town-Guide project is to develop an application tailored to the needs of international visitors, minimizing their travel expenditure and improving efficiency in locating essential services.

Requirements Gathering and Market Analysis

The initial phase involved understanding current market offerings through systematic analysis of competing applications. Google Maps, AroundMe, and Near Me were identified as primary competitors. While Google Maps provides extensive geographic data, its primary limitation lies in ease of use for new users and limited integration of localized service categories. Apps such as AroundMe and Near Me focus on locating nearby services but lack comprehensive security measures, integrated payment options, and real-time communication capabilities. Data collection strategies included user reviews, peer evaluations, and structured questionnaires distributed via Google Forms, analyzed with MS Excel to derive user needs, feature gaps, and pain points.

System Design and Requirements

The system’s core requirements encompass 24/7 availability, secure user authentication mechanisms (dual-level authentication), and real-time geolocation services. Additional features include automatic weekly traffic reports for business owners, integration with regional databases, and an infrastructure capable of supporting high uptime (99.9%). These requirements aim to ensure reliability, security, and responsiveness, addressing deficiencies such as poor security, incomplete features, and slow loading times identified in existing applications.

Alternatives and Strategic Recommendations

Two primary development alternatives were considered. The first involved integrating multiple features from existing applications, enriched with real-time chat support, price comparison tools, weather tracking, hotel booking, and mobile payments. Costs associated with this approach included approximately $3,000 for API integrations and an additional $2,000 for specialized human resources like security experts and developers, promising significant improvements in efficiency and usability. The second alternative proposed a redesigned application incorporating external services like Google Maps, Near Me, and AroundMe, to leverage familiar interfaces and reduce development costs (~$3,200), but with increased security risks, notably data breaches through external providers.

Upon evaluating these options, the study favored developing an in-house, integrated system that prioritizes maximum security and complete feature control. This approach involves designing a comprehensive application within the corporation’s infrastructure, avoiding reliance on third-party external systems that may compromise user data privacy or incur higher maintenance costs. Incorporating features such as real-time communication, price comparison, weather updates, and taxi booking, the system aims to provide an all-in-one solution, dramatically improving user experience and security.

Implementation and Expected Outcomes

The implementation plan involves an iterative development process utilizing an action research methodology. Requirements gathering, prototype testing, and continuous feedback cycles will shape the system's evolution. The anticipated benefits include a 50% reduction in travel costs, decreased search time to one minute, and higher user satisfaction due to integrated services and enhanced security. The project timeline aims for deployment within a month, aligning with the primary objective to assist visitors rapidly adapt to new environments.

Security Considerations

Security is a fundamental aspect in the project’s design. By implementing dual-level authentication, encrypted data transmission, and secure payment gateways, the application aims to prevent unauthorized access and protect sensitive data. Avoiding reliance on third-party external providers for core functionalities reduces the risk of data breaches and financial losses, which could reach millions if attackers exploit weak points in external systems, such as compromised PayPal or SMS gateways (Koutroumanis, 2011). Ensuring data integrity and confidentiality is paramount for user trust and compliance with security standards.

Conclusion

The study underscores the importance of an all-in-one, secure, and user-centric mobile application for enhancing urban tourism experiences. The proposed in-house development approach, with comprehensive features and robust security measures, presents the optimal solution for addressing current market deficiencies. By doing so, the Town-Guide app can achieve its objectives of reducing costs, minimizing search times, and fostering a safer, more efficient tourist environment, ultimately gaining a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving mobile applications market.

References

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