Unit Outline
KIT721
Mobile Application Development
Semester 1, 2024
Lindsay Wells
School of Information and Communication Technology
College of Sciences and Engineering
CRICOS Provider Code: 00586B

Unit Coordinator
Lindsay Wells
Email: Lindsay.Wells@utas.edu.au
What is the Unit About?
Unit Description
 

This unit is concerned with the development of applications for mobile and ubiquitous computing platforms. Android, iOS, and cross-platform apps will be used as a basis for teaching programming techniques and design patterns related to the development of mobile and ubiquitous applications. Emphasis is placed on the processes, tools, and frameworks required to develop applications for current mobile devices. Students will work at all stages of the software development life-cycle from inception through to implementation and testing. Students will be required to consider the impact of usability, device capabilities, networking infrastructure and the deployment environment, in order to develop applications that suit the requirements of users and industry.
Intended Learning Outcomes
As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.
On completion of this unit, you will be able to:
1.
Justify the design and development decision-making process by explaining the individual characteristics of mobile and ubiquitous computing.
2.
Develop device-specific and cross-platform mobile applications by applying industry standard mobile and ubiquitous computing concepts and principles.
3.
Design and evaluate user interfaces to adapt them to emerging demands of mobile and ubiquitous computing systems.
Requisites
REQUISITE TYPE
REQUISITES
Pre-requisite
KIT506 or KIT519
Alterations as a result of student feedback
Nil.
 
 

Teaching arrangements
ATTENDANCE MODE
TEACHING TYPE
LEARNING ACTIVITY
CONTACT HOURS
FREQUENCY
On Campus
Lecture (Online)
A real-time (i.e. synchronous) interactive activity involving the whole class whose primary purpose is the presentation and structuring of information/ideas/skills to facilitate student learning. All students are expected to attend.
2
Weekly
Computer Laboratory
A structured real-time (i.e. synchronous) computer-based activity in a small-group setting where the primary purpose is the clarification, exploration or reinforcement of subject content presented or accessed at another time or place (e.g. lecture, preparatory work). It is teacher supported and may involve student-teacher and/or student-student interaction and dialogue for achievement of its learning outcomes. The students enrolled in the class are expected to attend.
2
StudyPeriod 12 times
Independent Learning
Involving reading, listening to audio, watching video, and/or completing exercises and/or quizzes, self-study is individual work undertaken when the student chooses (i.e. asynchronous), most likely through engagement with MyLO. The content is examinable, and may need to be completed prior to attending classes and/or attempting assessment tasks.
1
Weekly
Attendance / engagement expectations
If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.
 
 
 
 

How will I be Assessed?
 
For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.
Assessment schedule
ASSESSMENT TASK #
ASSESSMENT TASK NAME
DATE DUE
WEIGHT
LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:
Assignment
Week 3
15 %
LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 2:
Assignment
Week 8
20 %
LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:
Assignment
Week 12
20 %
LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 4:
Test
Week 13
15 %
LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 5:
Assignment
Week 15
20 %
LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 6:
Tutorial Participataion
Refer to Assessment Description
10 %
LO1, LO2, LO3
 
Assessment details
    
Assessment Task 1: Assignment
Task Description:
Prototype Application
Using appropriate low-cost prototyping techniques, students are tasked with developing a prototype which communicates the design and user interaction flow of an application of a given them (examples in the past: Shopping List, Journal, Raffle Manager). Students will be required to apply knowledge of basic mobile design principles in their prototype.

A report component of this assignment will require students to do basic research on the given problem space, explain and reflect on their design process, and to justify the design decisions made in their prototype.

Assignment will serve as an opportunity to receive feedback on design, and as a blueprint for the fully-realized application developed in later assignments. Assignment will be released in week 1 of semester, with basic prototyping started in tutorials, before completing finalized design and report in own time.

Task Length:
6 page report plus paper app prototype with approximately 6 screens
Due Date:
Week 3
Weight:
15 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Articulate a thorough understanding of the given problem space and the design considerations
LO1
2
Explain the individual characteristics and how they interrelate in the mobile application design
LO1
3
Justify why and how these characteristics should be considered in the design
LO1
4
Design interfaces that comply with industry standards in mobile and ubiquitous computing system design.
LO3
5
Prototype a user interface that makes appropriate use of common mobile application design principles
LO3
 
Assessment Task 2: Assignment
Task Description:
Android Application
Building upon practical knowledge from the Android tutorials, students will be tasked with realizing the application they paper-prototyped in the previous assignment using the Kotlin programming language. The developed application should not only function properly, but follow common Android design principles, and demonstrate the students understanding of usability needs of mobile devices.

 

Task Length:
Android Application with approximately 6 features, depending on assignment theme
Due Date:
Week 8
Weight:
20 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Develop an application in Kotlin which contains the specified functionality, using industry standard Android software development patterns.
LO2
2
Develop an application in Kotlin which applies industry standard Android design principles, and meets the usability demands of mobile devices.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 3: Assignment
Task Description:
iOS Application
Building upon practical knowledge from the iOS tutorials, students will be tasked with realizing the application they paper-prototyped in the previous assignment using the Swift programming language. The developed application should not only function properly, but follow common iOS design principles, and demonstrate the students understanding of usability needs of mobile devices.

Task Length:
iOS Application with approximately 6 features, depending on assignment theme
Due Date:
Week 12
Weight:
20 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Develop an application in Swift which contains the specified functionality, using industry standard iOS software development patterns.
LO2
2
Develop an application in Swift which applies industry standard iOS design principles, and meets the usability demands of mobile devices.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 4: Test
Task Description:
In-semester Quizzes
Quizzes will be delivered at the conclusion of each core component of the unit (Android Development, iOS Development, Cross-Platform Development, and Design Principles). Questions will be of both a practical and theoretical nature and in short-answer format. Questions will assess your ability to apply your knowledge to new problems.

Task Length:
4x quizzes, 60 minutes allowed each (but reasonably expect to complete within 30 minutes)
Due Date:
Week 13
Weight:
15 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Apply theoretical and practical knowledge of Android, iOS, and Cross-Platform development to solve a given problem.
LO2
2
Identify and apply appropriate design and usability testing techniques to solve a given problem.
LO3
3
Justify opinions and choices for application distribution, application development and ubiquitous computing
LO1
 
Assessment Task 5: Assignment
 

Task Description:
Cross-Platform Application
Building upon practical knowledge from the cross-platform tutorials, students will be tasked with realizing the application they paper-prototyped in the previous assignment using the Flutter or Xamarin development environments. The developed application should not only function properly, but follow common design principles, and demonstrate the students understanding of usability needs of mobile devices. Application will further be scrutinized on its capacity to work on both Android and iOS platforms from a single code-base.

Students will be given the choice of developing their application in Flutter or Xamarin.

Task Length:
Flutter Application with approximately 6 features, depending on assignment theme
Due Date:
Week 15
Weight:
20 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Develop an application in Flutter or Xamarin which contains the specified functionality, using industry standard reactive software-development patterns.
LO2
2
Develop an application in Flutter or Xamarin which applies industry standard mobile design principles, and meets the usability demands of mobile devices on both Android and iOS.
LO3
 
Assessment Task 6: Tutorial Participataion
Task Description:
Platform Skill Development – completion of all iOS, Android and Cross-Platform tutorial exercises as well as the usability testing tutorial exercises.

Task Length:
10x 2hr tutorials, with expectation that additional work needed outside of class time
Due Date:
Refer to Assessment Description
Weight:
10 %
 
CRITERION #
CRITERION
MEASURES INTENDED
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
1
Apply industry standard techniques to develop device-specific and cross-platform mobile applications
LO2
2
Apply industry standard design processes to create and evaluate user interfaces
LO3
3
Explain how the individual characteristics of mobile and ubiquitous computing interrelate
LO1
4
Justify why and how the characteristics should be considered in the design, development, and evaluation of computing technologies.
LO1
 
 
 

How your final result is determined
To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.
 
Submission of assignments
Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.
 
Requests for extensions
If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.
 
A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.
 
The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.
Late penalties
Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.
 
Review of results and appeals
You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.