Students

COMP3130 – Mobile Application Development

2021 – Session 1, Special circumstances

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Charanya Ramakrishnan
Lecturer
Matthew Roberts
Tutor
Mahdieh Rezaeian
Tutor
Cameron Pappas
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
COMP229 or COMP2000 or COMP249 or COMP2110
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit covers the design and development of mobile applications from a technical and user experience perspective. The underlying environments made available by mobile devices will be reviewed and the relative merits of different implementation technologies will be evaluated. The relationship between mobile applications and the web will be discussed as well as the requirements for providing an effective user-experience for offline and intermittently connected devices. The unit will also cover the design of the user experience for mobile applications and develop students' ability to critically evaluate the usability of a mobile design.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Implement a transactional mobile application as an interface to a web service.
  • ULO2: Critically evaluate mobile implementation platforms and technologies relative to the needs of a project.
  • ULO3: Apply a knowledge of mobile application technology to the design of an effective user experience.
  • ULO4: Explain the security and privacy issues inherent in web-based mobile applications.
  • ULO5: Evaluate a mobile application with respect to usability and accessibility.
  • ULO6: Describe the options for deployment and monetisation of mobile applications.

General Assessment Information

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session.  By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments.  Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. You can check the supplementary exam information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

Late Submission

No extensions will be granted without an approved application for Special Consideration. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late. For example, 25 hours late in submission for an assignment worth 10 marks – 20% penalty or 2 marks deducted from the total. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Quizzes 20% No Weeks 5 and 8
Mobile Application Development 40% No Study Break Week-2 and Week-10
Peer Review of the Major Work 10% No Week 8
Mobile Security Challenges 10% No Week 12
User Experience Report 20% No Week 14

Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Weeks 5 and 8
Weighting: 20%

 

Quizzes to assess students individual strengths, weaknesses, knowledge and skills to develop a baseline of what students know about the topic.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Implement a transactional mobile application as an interface to a web service.
  • Critically evaluate mobile implementation platforms and technologies relative to the needs of a project.
  • Apply a knowledge of mobile application technology to the design of an effective user experience.
  • Explain the security and privacy issues inherent in web-based mobile applications.
  • Evaluate a mobile application with respect to usability and accessibility.
  • Describe the options for deployment and monetisation of mobile applications.

Mobile Application Development

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Study Break Week-2 and Week-10
Weighting: 40%

 

Major Work project to assess students' skills on design, implementation, testing and deployment for a Mobile Application.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Implement a transactional mobile application as an interface to a web service.
  • Apply a knowledge of mobile application technology to the design of an effective user experience.
  • Describe the options for deployment and monetisation of mobile applications.

Peer Review of the Major Work

Assessment Type 1: Qualitative analysis task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 8
Weighting: 10%

 

Peer Review of the Major Project to be able to assess students' ability to critically evaluate the application based on the given case study

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically evaluate mobile implementation platforms and technologies relative to the needs of a project.

Mobile Security Challenges

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 10%

 

A group presentation to assess students' ability to clearly assess, understand and communicate the security challenges in a mobile application environment

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain the security and privacy issues inherent in web-based mobile applications.

User Experience Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 14
Weighting: 20%

 

This assessment is to assess students' ability to create a user experience questionnaire and write a report based on its feedback

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically evaluate mobile implementation platforms and technologies relative to the needs of a project.
  • Evaluate a mobile application with respect to usability and accessibility.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

CLASSES

COMP3130 is taught via lectures and SGTAs (Small Group Teaching Activities)/ Practical Classes

Lectures:

  • Lectures are used to introduce new material (mostly in video format), provide motivation and context for your study, guide you in what is important to learn and explain more difficult concepts.
  • There are 2 hours of lectures per week.

SGTAs/ Practical Classes:

  • Note: Practical classes commence in Week-1
  • These small group classes which allow you to interact with your peers and with a tutor who has a sound knowledge of the subject. This also gives you a chance to practice your technology skills. The content of these classes may overlap or sometimes be ahead of the lecture content.
  • You will need to enrol and attend the class that you've enrolled in. 
  • If your class falls on a public holiday, you are expected to attend & participate in another class as a makeup class to catch-up over the content for that lesson
  • For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND/OR MATERIALS

Textbook

There are no required textbooks for this unit. However, every week you will be provided with resources to obtain a solid understanding of the concept 

UNIT WEBPAGE AND RESOURCES TO ASSIST YOUR LEARNING

Websites

The web page for this unit can be found at: here

echo360

Digital recordings of lectures are available and will be accessible through echo360 found on your iLearn home page

Discussion Boards

The unit makes use of discussion boards hosted within iLearn. Please post questions of general interest there (for example, about assessment tasks), they are monitored by the unit staff but students may also provide answers. 

Feedback

You have many opportunities to seek and to receive feedback. During live lectures/consultation, you are encouraged to ask the lecturer questions to clarify anything you might not be sure of. You may also arrange to meet with your tutor or the lecturer or attend the consultation hours of any tutor. Each week, you will be given activities and problems to solve in workshops. It is important that you keep up with these problems every week. 

Each week you should:

  • Attend lectures, ask questions, practice tasks
  • Attend your SGTA/practical and seek feedback from your tutor on your work
  • Read/Watch assigned reading material (ideally before the lecture), add to your notes and prepare questions for your lecturer or tutor
  • Start working on any assignments immediately after they have been released. 

Technology

React Native with Expo, Android Studio, LucidCharts

Unit Schedule

In the table below, for each week, the lecturer, the topics to be covered and the textbook references are given. 

Week

Lecturer

Topic

Ramakrishnan

Introduction to the unit and React Native

2

Ramakrishnan

Application Design and Development

Ramakrishnan

Application Design and Development

Ramakrishnan

Application Design and Development

Ramakrishnan

Application Design and Development

Ramakrishnan

Application Design and Development

Roberts

Testing and Deployment

Roberts

Testing and Deployment + User Experience (UX)

Roberts

User Experience (UX)

10 

Roberts

Security

11 

Roberts

Security

12 

Roberts  

13 

Ramakrishnan & Roberts

Overview of the unit

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

This is the first offering for this unit. 


Unit information based on version 2021.03 of the Handbook