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Post by Nathan on Feb 22, 2016 13:35:54 GMT
Sorry for the (month) late update, guys. I've been busy with other pieces of uni work here and there (as well as being ill for a while). Anyway, I created some screenshots of what the app will look like. Please let me know what you guys think of it so far. Critique my designs! Link: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/520TvpIt looks a little basic compared to one or two apps I've used. Not sure if you have London Bus Checker on Android but check that one out - I use that a lot and the looks of the app are really nice. Indeed, it does look quite basic. These are only mock up images to illustrate how the app will look. Initially the app will look like this, then later on down the line I will try to customize it a little bit (by adding colour, icons etc). Sorry for the (month) late update, guys. I've been busy with other pieces of uni work here and there (as well as being ill for a while). Anyway, I created some screenshots of what the app will look like. Please let me know what you guys think of it so far. Critique my designs! Link: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/520TvpThere seems to be a presumption that the operator of a route or a vehicle is known. On only one screen shot was the operator's name shown. That feels slightly odd to me and assumes that there is nowhere in London where the same vehicle code could be used by two operators. Not sure that's true. The other comment is similar to vjaska's. The screens look a bit basic and bland. I'm not saying they need to glow like a late 80s/early 90s rave music video  but a little bit of colour or lining to separate entries or highlight a key field of info relative to the others might add a little verve to the presentation. Ah, I see. So do you think it would be better to always display the operator name next to the route/vehicle? I hear you on the 'bland and basic' point you and VJ raised. I think I might add some colour to the designs and post them on here again later this week. I like the simplicity and fluidity of the layout in each screen, although a bit of colour and interaction would help to create a better user experience. I'm assuming your target audience are enthusiasts as fleet info is also provided, however you could make the app more user friendly by highlighting each bit of information with helpful captions, informing users who are unfamiliar with what 'WVL302' is for example. You could also add navigational buttons on each page rather than hitting the 'back' all the time. And of course, good luck with the project! I know how it feels having recently completed one but the end result is certainly a great feeling  Yes, the target audience are bus enthusiasts, given the amount of information given. What kind of 'helpful captions' were you thinking of exactly? To be honest, I'm assuming the user has a basic understanding of the different fleet codes and bus types (similar LVF). But I'll be more than happy to include something that will help the user. Perhaps I can make it so the user can copy the vehicle registration from the app to Google for example to search up an image of it? It'd like to hear your thoughts. Regarding the back button: The normal convention for Android apps are for them to have the 'up' button (usually something like this in the top-left corner of the screen). The screens I made displaying the bus stop times and the vehicle location both have this already. I have now just realised that I forgot to add it to the search screens, which I shall do soon. Essentially both the 'up' button and normal 'back' button do the same thing. Hope this explains everything.
For the new screens I'll be making next week, what colour theme should I go for? I was thinking red because...well, you know. And thanks for the good luck, guys! I think I'll be needing it! |
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Post by rmz19 on Feb 23, 2016 12:03:56 GMT
I like the simplicity and fluidity of the layout in each screen, although a bit of colour and interaction would help to create a better user experience. I'm assuming your target audience are enthusiasts as fleet info is also provided, however you could make the app more user friendly by highlighting each bit of information with helpful captions, informing users who are unfamiliar with what 'WVL302' is for example. You could also add navigational buttons on each page rather than hitting the 'back' all the time. And of course, good luck with the project! I know how it feels having recently completed one but the end result is certainly a great feeling Yes, the target audience are bus enthusiasts, given the amount of information given. What kind of 'helpful captions' were you thinking of exactly? To be honest, I'm assuming the user has a basic understanding of the different fleet codes and bus types (similar LVF). But I'll be more than happy to include something that will help the user. Perhaps I can make it so the user can copy the vehicle registration from the app to Google for example to search up an image of it? It'd like to hear your thoughts. Regarding the back button: The normal convention for Android apps are for them to have the 'up' button (usually something like this in the top-left corner of the screen). The screens I made displaying the bus stop times and the vehicle location both have this already. I have now just realised that I forgot to add it to the search screens, which I shall do soon. Essentially both the 'up' button and normal 'back' button do the same thing. Hope this explains everything. Adding a hint by each bit of information informing users what they are would help, like the words 'Fleet Code' next to the actual fleet code and 'Registration Number' next to the reg. It may be self explanatory but I was always told to never base your knowledge on assumptions even if it means stating the obvious, too much help is better than little help I suppose the Android navigational buttons would be OK as they are conventions users would already know about. The Google search tool you are talking about is a good idea, a means of actually seeing the vehicle itself would be a great addition and would boost user interaction. |
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Post by Nathan on Feb 23, 2016 16:47:59 GMT
Yes, the target audience are bus enthusiasts, given the amount of information given. What kind of 'helpful captions' were you thinking of exactly? To be honest, I'm assuming the user has a basic understanding of the different fleet codes and bus types (similar LVF). But I'll be more than happy to include something that will help the user. Perhaps I can make it so the user can copy the vehicle registration from the app to Google for example to search up an image of it? It'd like to hear your thoughts. Regarding the back button: The normal convention for Android apps are for them to have the 'up' button (usually something like this in the top-left corner of the screen). The screens I made displaying the bus stop times and the vehicle location both have this already. I have now just realised that I forgot to add it to the search screens, which I shall do soon. Essentially both the 'up' button and normal 'back' button do the same thing. Hope this explains everything. Adding a hint by each bit of information informing users what they are would help, like the words 'Fleet Code' next to the actual fleet code and 'Registration Number' next to the reg. It may be self explanatory but I was always told to never base your knowledge on assumptions even if it means stating the obvious, too much help is better than little help I suppose the Android navigational buttons would be OK as they are conventions users would already know about. The Google search tool you are talking about is a good idea, a means of actually seeing the vehicle itself would be a great addition and would boost user interaction. Oh, I understand now. I'll make some more changes to the screen designs and post them on this thread again. |
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Post by Nathan on Feb 28, 2016 16:21:26 GMT
As promised, I've uploaded some more user screen designs: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/17C4J2I've added some colour and name labels for fleet codes and operators. Please let me know what you think! |
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Post by vjaska on Feb 28, 2016 17:41:06 GMT
As promised, I've uploaded some more user screen designs: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/17C4J2I've added some colour and name labels for fleet codes and operators. Please let me know what you think! Definitely looks better with some colour  |
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Post by YY13VKP on Feb 28, 2016 20:01:47 GMT
Dear members of The Bus Forum, For my final year project at university, I am developing an Android application that will allow a user to retrieve bus arrival information whilst providing vehicle and fleet information (similar to the London Vehicle Finder). To kick things off, I need your help! I need to get as many responses to my survey as possible. It will only take a few minutes to complete. The link for the survey is here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1-dZkaZpLBJh5fOZNfdf_u6Z6QjNr0tWoiq4PKpdIK4M/viewformiOS users: Please don't be put off completing this questionnaire. If this project is successful, there may be a chance of creating an iOS-based version of the app in the near future. Thank you in advance! P.S. I'll be using this thread regularly to keep everyone up to date on the progress I'll be making. I'll need users for testing, etc so please feel free to subscribe to the thread if interested. How come you can't do the survey if your under 18? Is there something inappropriate in there? Anyways, It looks really good! I hope if successful, it be released on the App Store. Ill definitely download it! |
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Post by Nathan on Feb 28, 2016 20:05:34 GMT
Dear members of The Bus Forum, For my final year project at university, I am developing an Android application that will allow a user to retrieve bus arrival information whilst providing vehicle and fleet information (similar to the London Vehicle Finder). To kick things off, I need your help! I need to get as many responses to my survey as possible. It will only take a few minutes to complete. The link for the survey is here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1-dZkaZpLBJh5fOZNfdf_u6Z6QjNr0tWoiq4PKpdIK4M/viewformiOS users: Please don't be put off completing this questionnaire. If this project is successful, there may be a chance of creating an iOS-based version of the app in the near future. Thank you in advance! P.S. I'll be using this thread regularly to keep everyone up to date on the progress I'll be making. I'll need users for testing, etc so please feel free to subscribe to the thread if interested. How come you can't do the survey if your under 18? Is there something inappropriate in there? Anyways, It looks really good! I hope if successful, it be released on the App Store. Ill definitely download it! Thank you, Zubin. The reason why under 18s aren't allowed is because I have to get parental consent for them to be involved in my project (in order to comply with my university's ethics guidelines) and getting consent via a forum like this isn't exactly easy. |
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Feb 28, 2016 22:29:25 GMT
As promised, I've uploaded some more user screen designs: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/17C4J2I've added some colour and name labels for fleet codes and operators. Please let me know what you think! Looks very good. Is there an expected date or timeline in which it will go on the Google Play Store? |
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Post by Nathan on Feb 28, 2016 23:06:29 GMT
As promised, I've uploaded some more user screen designs: www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/17C4J2I've added some colour and name labels for fleet codes and operators. Please let me know what you think! Looks very good. Is there an expected date or timeline in which it will go on the Google Play Store? Erm...no, not quite. I hope to get most of the functions of the app working by April/May time (as I have other commitments). After I finish uni I plan to continue developing the app so hopefully June time an 'official' release will be made. |
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Post by Nathan on Mar 9, 2016 22:46:08 GMT
PROGRESS UPDATE:I am (very) slowly, but surely getting there. I've been able to connect my app to the TfL API stream to find vehicles on bus routes via a search. www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/3z79p5As you can see, there is still more to be done. Annoyingly the app shows repeating vehicles, which I'm trying to fix right now. I need to link the registration with the fleet codes and operators, add the ability to search bus stops and individual vehicles.
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Post by ibus246 on Mar 10, 2016 0:39:32 GMT
PROGRESS UPDATE:I am (very) slowly, but surely getting there. I've been able to connect my app to the TfL API stream to find vehicles on bus routes via a search. www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/3z79p5As you can see, there is still more to be done. Annoyingly the app shows repeating vehicles, which I'm trying to fix right now. I need to link the registration with the fleet codes and operators, add the ability to search bus stops and individual vehicles. Progress looks good. Out of interest, who is your target audience and what is this app's USP? |
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Post by Nathan on Mar 10, 2016 10:12:43 GMT
PROGRESS UPDATE:I am (very) slowly, but surely getting there. I've been able to connect my app to the TfL API stream to find vehicles on bus routes via a search. www.flickr.com/gp/125738580@N07/3z79p5As you can see, there is still more to be done. Annoyingly the app shows repeating vehicles, which I'm trying to fix right now. I need to link the registration with the fleet codes and operators, add the ability to search bus stops and individual vehicles. Progress looks good. Out of interest, who is your target audience and what is this app's USP? Essentially it's aimed at bus enthusiasts like you and I who can track buses on the go. Unlike LVF, the app I'm creating offers a more native solution rather than a webpage where you have to zoom in to read the text. Basically, my solution will be better optimised for mobile devices. I also plan to add a feature where you can see where the bus is in a map. |
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Post by Nathan on Mar 24, 2016 21:46:44 GMT
PROGRESS UPDATE:I've managed to add a bit more to the app over the last couple of weeks. Search Bus StopsYou can now search bus stops by bus stop code. You can't search by names yet, but I plan to implement that soon.
View Bus Route VehiclesI've added a bit more detail to the bus route screen. You can now read the location, operator name and fleet code. Most fleet codes and operator names show up as 'UN' (unknown) as I still need to update the database. I'm sure you can figure that this will take a lot of time. I've added a few buses from my local area for testing (and personal) purposes of course. There are still vehicles repeating in the list. I shall get that sorted soon too. But the vehicles are shown in time order now, which helps me a little bit in regards to this. Bus Stop ArrivalsI've added a bus stop screen where you can check the arrival times of buses. Again, because I haven't inserted ALL buses in the database not all routes will show up. But hey, progress is progress. Other notes:- I haven't been able to bring up a map in the app yet sadly. I've been having trouble with the development tools provided by Google. I'm not sure when I'll get round to fixing this. I know without this feature, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of the app. - I'm using the university servers to store the database in right now. This is only a temporary solution as I couldn't connect my app to my virtual server. - Possibly due to the reason above, the response time for fetching results are slow. I'll try and post a link to a small video demo of the app. I'll make another post shortly.
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Post by Nathan on Mar 24, 2016 22:19:08 GMT
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Post by Nathan on Mar 27, 2016 18:43:07 GMT
PROGRESS UPDATE:I managed to get rid of repeating results when you search for a bus ( click here). I had to test it with a route with a low PVR (375 isn't in service, so I chose the 491). If I can get the map view working by tonight, I may post a link to the installation file for early testing. I need to check to see if it doesn't crash on other devices *coughs* (Samsung phones) *coughs*. I'm sure you guys would like that, right? Edit: Since I still have a long way to getting the database up to date, are there any specific batches that people want me to add? Any local routes, etc? It'll help a bit more with the testing.
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but a little bit of colour or lining to separate entries or highlight a key field of info relative to the others might add a little verve to the presentation.
