Applications Development

Unit title: Computing: Applications Development (SCQF level 6)

Unit purpose

The purpose of this Unit is to enable learners to develop skills in applications development. Learners will learn how to design and create applications using their chosen development environment, before developing an application.

In the process they will develop their programming, problem solving and computational thinking skills, as well as a knowledge and understanding of design concepts.

Learners will also develop knowledge and understanding of the different methodologies and approaches for testing and evaluation as they test their application and critically evaluate the process, their application and their own performance.

This Unit is a mandatory Unit within the National Certificate in Computing with Digital Media at SCQF level 6.

Outcomes

Learners who complete this Unit will be able to:

  1. Create a design document for the development of an application.
  2. Create an application using a suitable development environment.
  3. Test an application.
  4. Evaluate an application, the development process and personal performance.

Outcomes and assessment standards

Outcome 1

The learner will:

Create a design document for the development of an application.

(a) Propose a suitable application for development.

(b) Identify and justify the resources required, including the development environment, for developing the application.

(c) Create appropriate design instructions and diagrams.

(d) Create an action plan with key tasks and milestones identified, including timescales.

Outcome 2

The learner will:

Create an application using a suitable development environment.

(a) Create an application using the chosen development environment, which is based on the design document.

(b) Maintain a concise record of the development process.

 

Outcome 3

The learner will:

Test an application.

(a) Carry out testing using an appropriate test strategy.

(b) Rectify errors identified and track any changes.

(c) Demonstrate the application.

Outcome 4

The learner will:

Evaluate an application, the development process and personal performance.

(a) Identify strengths and areas for improvement in the design document.

(b) Identify strengths and areas for improvement in the development process.

(c) Identify strengths and areas for improvement in the application produced.

(d) Identify action points to improve the process of future applications development.

(e) Critically evaluate personal performance throughout the whole process.

Project Brief

You have been commissioned by local government to create a mobile app to promote healthy living amongst schoolchildren. The app should be a multimedia educational app on healthy living. It is your responsibility to plan, develop, test and evaluate the product.

  • The information/multimedia app should have at least six separate pages, three types of media (text, images, animation, audio or video) and it should be possible to easily navigate between those pages.

Task 1

Taking into account the above brief, create a design document proposing an application for development. This should include a brief outline of the application which must include the application name, application type, application purpose and the target audience. Also identify and justify the resources required, including the hardware required, software needed including the development environment you have selected to create your app and all the media required. A suitable approach for the media requirements would be to create a table to list them.

  • The evidence for this task can be a typed report, submitted digitally or by printing, of at least 300 words and should include at least two annotated diagrams or sketches of how the application will look or in the case of a game, of how the levels will be laid out. The diagrams or sketches could be presented as storyboards.
  • The evidence could also take the form of a scripted oral presentation illustrated with a presentation document created in a package such as PowerPoint or Prezi, which again should include at least two diagrams or sketches. In the case of a presentation the script word count can be less than 300 words and could instead take the form of bullet points. Whichever form you choose for your presentation, you must give the same amount of detail as in a written report, by means of an oral presentation which should expand on the bullet points.

 

Task 2

Create an action plan or project plan which includes:

  • The key tasks and milestones involved in creating the proposed application.
  • Realistic timescales assigned for each task. This could take the form of a simple action plan, project plan or Gantt chart created using project planning software such as Microsoft Project.