Team Name
/MavRA
Timeline
Fall 2019 – Spring 2020
Students
- Ibukunoluwa Aboderin
- Juan Diego Gonzalez
- Luis Estrada
- Piyush Gupta
- Shubham Gujar
Abstract
Resident Assistants (RA) at the University of Texas at Arlington spend a large amount of time and energy tracking and remembering information needed to perform their duties. The current solutions are geared towards supervisors (Residence Directors) and the leaders of University Housing Offices but there is no software created with RAs in mind to help handle their responsibilities. Whatever software exists is expensive, bloated, and designed for large companies. MavRA aims to solve the problems faced by this target customer by being a unified web-based cloud application where RAs can access the resources they need. They can use our platform as a housing-oriented planner, notebook, and scheduler to store the information they gather about their Residence Halls, the people that live there, and their tasks. The accessibility of a web interface makes it easy to use anywhere by all the staff members and the cloud-based nature of it encourages and simplifies communication and team-work within the application. This system will help cut back on the effort needed to customize other solutions for this type of work, and avoid having to work on this data in a non-digital way.
Background
As of now, UTA, as many universities, provides no software to help RAs with their duties, and it is left to the staff members to address their tasks as they see fit. At UTA, Google Drive, and more recently Microsoft Teams has been used for file sharing. There is currently software that is geared towards University Housing Departments, such as Starez, or the recently UTA-developed Web solution for Summer Conference Housing. However, none exists for the day-to-day operations of RAs within their communities. There are many programs and solutions that address needs to Residence Halls and RAs, but most of them are expensive and geared towards large scale organizations. Thus comes the MavRA that meets the need for an RA-focused, unified solution to the needs of these Housing Units.
Project Requirements
| requirement | description |
| authentication | User email & password is authenticated to gain/decline access to the user based on records in database |
| calendar | View, edit and delete calendar events. the user will be provided with a list of fields to update or create new event |
| resident database | resident assistants can view or edit the resident database. The RA is able to make note on residents like student of concern or community mapping |
| Settings option | the user will find a list of options here like profile, logout, |
| Links | Links to forms the RAs need for day-to-day operations |
| web accessibility | The application is accessible on web |
| Log in/log out | Authentication will give access for user to log in to perform certain actions. |
| Ability to create “concern” objects | the user can create an object that will bundle all residents involve in an issue or conflict that needs to be addressed |
System Overview
The three-layer architecture gives a more simplistic approach to how information is passed and stored among the layers. A top-level logical view of the MavRA design allows the users end an input from presentation layer presents visual information to user, and then the presentation layer calls the application layer to carry out the business operation, and in turn send request to update the database with any new information. In addition, the different layers are highly independent of other layers for example, the database layer deals with everything relating to storing user information like calendar updates, task lists, all things that pertain to user application. The application layer has the JavaScript, NodeJS to interact with the database. Each layer is identified individually and is unique as to its function and purpose within the system.
Results
Video (link)
Future Work
Future plans for the project includes: peer-to-peer connection that allows the user signed in to collaborate with other users on the application, to send event invite on other Ras schedule to further staff integration; detailed customization of the account will allow the user to change the colors, styles and organize the account to best suite their need.
Project Files
Project Charter (link)
System Requirements Specification (link)
Architectural Design Specification (link)
Detailed Design Specification (link)
Poster (link)
References
Focus on what matters most to you.
Housing and Residence Life Mobile Apps | Guidebook.
Microsoft Teams Group Chat software.
Brandon Barile-Swain. Technology and Resident Assistant Training: Utilizing(Likely) Already Available Software to Improve R.A. Training and Cut Costs, 2009.
StarRez Inc. Student Housing Software | Online Roommate Matching and Selection
