The shop owner and the app
Mr Khan has a small shop. He says: "I want an app so people can order milk."
That is the whole request. What do you do now?
You do not open your laptop and write code. You ask questions and you read. Good developers learn about the problem first.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Client | The person or company who asks for the software. | Mr Khan |
| Project brief | A short document that says what the client wants. | one page from Mr Khan |
| Context | The place and the situation where the software will be used. | a small shop in a busy street |
| Market | The people who might buy or use the software, and the other products they can choose. | shoppers and other shop apps |
| Existing solution | A product that already tries to solve the same problem. | a supermarket app |
| Regulation | A rule that the law or an industry makes you follow. | rules for selling age-limited items |
| Skills gap | Something you need to know for the project but do not know yet. | how to take card payments |
| Personal data | Facts about a real person, such as a name or an address. | a home address |
| Test plan | A list of how and when you will check that the software works. | try the order screen with five users |
| Licence | Permission, with rules, to use something that somebody else made. | free to use, but you must say who made it |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: good questions
Have a go
Quick check: good questions
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Read a brief carefully
A brief is often short and unclear. Read it and look for five things.
What must it do? Who will use it? When is it needed? How much can the client spend? What limits are there?
Where the brief does not say, write a question for the client.
Six kinds of research
| Research area | Ask this | Small shop example |
|---|---|---|
| Common problems and risks | What usually goes wrong? | Orders get lost. Items are out of stock. |
| Hardware and software in use | What do people use now? | Paper lists and a cash desk. Customers have phones. |
| New technology | What is new and useful? | Card readers on a phone. Voice ordering. |
| Existing solutions | What already exists? Does it fit our users? | Big shop apps are too complex for a small shop. |
| Rules and guidelines | Which laws or standards apply? | Data law for names and addresses. Age rules. |
| Your own skills | What do I not know yet? | Card payments. Making an app for two phone types. |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Learn from others, do not copy
data-callouts.warning.label
Look at other products to see what users like and what they do not like. Do not copy their code or their design. That can break the law. You will learn about copying and licences in a later lesson.