Reflective Essay

Introduction

In the present times, there has been an explosive progress in the field of communications. Day after day, new technologies and innovative methods are being deployed to make the media more effective. We have designed and developed our project 'The Anchor' which further adds value in the course to make media more effective. The Anchor is a new accumulating mobile application that combines the use of social media for users to share news stories and information. It also allows users convenience in case of pay walls, by the usage of Google wallet. Hence, the users can easily pay for the premium news sources that require payment.

We have developed this application to overcome obstructions to effective journalism. The most significant obstruction that we have aimed to overcome is that of the difficulty of sharing news on a global scale owing to the existence of pay walls. Our objective is to develop the application for iPhone and iPad devices and to fully implement the Google Wallet for the convenience of users. At present, our application is available online and on Android mobile devices.

Our project team is comprised of six members: Aaisha Rashid Al Zidi, Bridget Campbell, Cybil Zhi-Ying Tan, Mohammad Gazza Azhari, Jacob Klein and Nathaniel Rogers. The documentation is divided among the whole team and would be conducted under the supervision of Bridgette and Cybil. Aaisha, Gazza and Jacob are responsible for the development of the application and for providing assistance to other team members. My responsibility includes assistance in the designing of the project. I had regularly attended the meetings and presented diverse opinions regarding the task of others. My responsibilities also included room reservations and scheduling of suitable timings for the meeting. There are certain important areas of the project for which each member is responsible. Jacob has the responsibility for the overall design of the project. Our project will require the use of API, which has been created by Jacob.

Performance and team management was carried out by Nathaniel, for his role as the team leader. In case of a conflict, there would be discussion in the group regarding its resolution, but the final decision would rest with the team leader.

Discussion

Mobile Design

Development and designing of application are not sufficient unless a compatible mobile design is there for the convenience of users. The mobile interactions must be user driven. It has to be highly personal in nature. An app needs to have a minor correlation with the previous model as users are likely to compare it with what they have experienced in the past (Brown, B. and Randel 2004). The mobile design should be easy to use. This can be done if desktop interactions can have fewer choices, for example guiding navigation etc. The mobile should be designed in a way that it alerts the user only when the information is necessary as unnecessary disruptions can be frustrating. Mobile interactions can extend beyond the device. A device may link one person living in a different part of the world to ...