The Concept
In this group project, I took part in developing a functional app for providing and requesting services. Think of it as an uber for services provided by self-employed individuals (such as babysitting, dog walking, cleaning services, etc), with both a customer and service provider interface. It gives service providers the ability to choose when and what area they want to work in, and the customers the ability to choose specific people for specific services at specific times.
What Was Implemented & How
To make it fully work we used Firebase as our database, which stores user data separated by providers and customers. Within each, the bookings/services requested are stored by address, date and time, cost, service type, both the provider and customer id and the booking status.
The app features menu navigation, login options straight from the app or by using external login methods (google), dynamically generated pages from the firebase data, and partially completed interfaces for both types of user. For the customer, the ability to choose available services, a marketplace with services and the ability to make bookings with specific users and view them. For the service provider the ability to specify the services provided and their associated rates, edit their info and view their bookings. The app was created using Android Studio.
Availability
This is still a prototype, so many necessary features aren't implemented. Such as more robust hiring procedures, rating systems, verification systems, search bars, filters, chat services, etc. For that reason the app is not available, but the git repository can be seen here.
For a showcase video look here:
Conclusion
This was another fun project to develop, and one which could have been taken further. I learned more about Firebase and Android Studio, and making generated content from database data. Looking back at it, it is somewhat rudimentary, but it gave me much needed skills for app programming and Firebase implementation for other projects.