Computing students redesign Laker Mobile app

Two graduate students in the School of Computing and Information Systems spent the winter semester redesigning Grand Valley's official iOS mobile application, Laker Mobile. 

Camila Peñaloza and Roland Heusser worked with Jonathan Engelsma, associate professor of computing, in the Mobile Applications and Services Lab to update the app, which launched in 2010.  

The app was completely rewritten and now includes a new design and structure. It boasts six sections including news, weather information, campus cameras, safety information, People Finder and bus routes. 

"The goal of the redesign was to give the app an identity and a brand, which it has lacked," said Heusser, from Eschlikon, Switzerland. 

Heusser and Peñaloza asked fellow students for feedback on the older version and looked at analytics to see what functions users accessed most often. They found that the campus camera section was popular, so they made it more prominent in the new version.

Peñaloza, a native of Medellin, Colombia, said the experience taught her how to move forward despite challenges they experienced, such as managing the scope of the project in one semester and working to get it approved internally and with the app store. 

"Not everyone can say that they have a finished project that people can use at the end of the semester. It makes us feel very proud," said Peñaloza. 

Both students will graduate in December and will complete internships this summer. Peñaloza will work at Cvent in Austin, Texas and received a scholarship to attend Apple's World Wide Developer Conference in June. Heusser will work at SRI International in California. 

The new version is available to download on iOS devices at https://appsto.re/i6Yb6wy.