This document outlines a proposal for a smartphone/tablet application for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The app would allow students access to email, textbooks, calendars, classes, campus maps and more from their mobile devices. It would facilitate communication between faculty and students. Developing the app is estimated to take 2-3 years and cost over $1 million. It would benefit the university, students and faculty by reducing costs while improving communication and access to resources. Usage statistics would evaluate the success and adoption of the app over time.

1. Table Of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. Leadership Structure
III. User Surveys
IV. Illustration
V. Budget Narrative
VI. Expenses
VII. Narrative Section

2. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Smartphone and Tablet Academic Application
Created for the
University of Whitewater
Whitewater, Wisconsin
Lee J. Goettl
Student, Political Science Major
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
December 15th, 2014

3. Executive Summary
The purpose of this project is to provide a smartphone/tablet application that will
allow the student to have nearly the entire campus and learning experience accessible
from their device, all the while being able to enjoy what the campus has to offer and
learn what’s available from the app, via location sharing technology. Faculty will be able
to communicate with students via the app, the University itself can provide updates,
alerts and other pressing issues by uploading them to the app through a master
program that all high ranking administrators will have access to.

4. Leadership Structure
UW-Whitewater
Administrators
Coders Programmers Web SecurityDesigner
Lee Goettl
(Headof Development)
TechnologyAdviser Project Manager
4
2
1
1
1
App Features Requested
Email
Books
Calendar
Classes
Campus Map

5. Preliminary Mockup of the Academic app

6. Expenses
The initial costs that come with creating the UW-Whitewater app will start with the
infrastructure of the app, the research that will be needed to link the app with the
University and integrate all the systems needed to make the email and campus
correspondence work. This requires coding and programming experts, and will require a
6-12 month research period. To ensure easier coordination, this will be done in the
U.S., as there are a lot of “moving pieces” in this project. Outsourcing may initially save
money, but due to language, custom, and working hours, there’s a much higher risk of
error that would cost us what we’re paying local programmers and coders.
Once the infrastructure is in place, the design of the start page commences.
Hiring of designers that will provide the “look” of the app will occur, and they will work in
coordination with the coders and programmers.
User and performance management are critical, this will ensure the viability of
the app, making sure that it’s easy to use, looks good, has the ability to flow from one
page to the other seamlessly. Translating the programming language into something
the normal app user can understand is obviously necessary. All the steps to get from
point A on the app to point B will be researched and developed here.
Data storage is needed to hold the information that will be coming from various
outlets. Students, faculty will be using documents and sending documents, will need a
place for them to be saved.
Data Access and syncing will ensure that all email and message data will be
current on the user’s phone or tablet.
Internal and data cloud access will be used by faculty and staff, this serves as
the gateway to the app itself. It allows each user to access their data (and others, if
need be) with the proper log in information.
User management post design is used to ensure that after the app has been
assembled, it will be able to effectively be used.
Enterprise data management is used for the University, ensuring the ability to
easily use and send data effectively from the app. Simplicity is key.
Third party cloud data is used for the social features of the app and being able to
securely send data only intended for social use.

7.  Expected development start date:
o February 2015
 Splash screen
o February 2015
 User Management
o March 2015
Performance Management
o April 2015
Data Storage
o July 2015
Security and Distribution
o September 2015
User Experience
o January 2016
User Messaging/Engagement
o January 2016
Social App Integration

8. o March 2016
Location Programming
o April/May 2016
Enterprise Data Access
o August/September 2016
Cloud Data Access
o November 2016
App Page Design
o May 2017
User Management (Backend)
o July 2017
Data Storage
o July 2017
Business Logic Programming
o August 2017
Backend Environment Planning/Programming; Internal Enterprise Data
Build

9. o December 2017
Testing is included within the timeframe, as we will be using one company
for programming, coding and security.
App ready for use:
o Fall Semester 2018
The official rollout date is subject to change depending on the testing of the app.
If the app is found to be free of errors and ready for use, it technically could be used for
Spring Semester 2018; however, I would recommend starting a new school year with
the app instead of interrupting the routine of students mid-year.
There is the potential of delays, of course, that would end up pushing the release
date of the app, but with the project being consolidated within one team, delays should
be minimal.
Benefit & Impact
Narrative Section
The benefit of this project is threefold:

10. The University benefits by cutting costs in textbooks, advertising materials, mail;
increases revenue through awareness of campus events as advertised on the app,
charging for e-books and collecting a larger portion of the profit as opposed to retaining
books and refunding books during the book return period.
Students benefit from having their books, email, campus map/locations/events,
professors and friends literally a button away. Books through the app could be offered
for a discount in addition, reducing stress on the campus library, but still maintaining
profitability through retaining a license for academic textbooks but not having to pay for
as many hard copies of books, and reducing the chance of overstock.
Faculty benefits with a student body that is now easier to manage, easier to
notify, and being able to directly send any messages to a student or students if it’s
urgent, as opposed to sending via email, which is at the mercy of whether the student
logs in or not. With the app, push notifications send alerts to the student/class
immediately, with the option of a “pop-up” on the phone or tablet to notify the person
seconds after the professor sends it.
This project will easily sustain itself, and as incoming students that use the app
become the majority of the student body, while the ones that are integrating in the
middle of their time as UW-Whitewater students leave, it will be the norm to use the
app, not the exception.
As it merits, the app will be updated to reflect the current technologies if the
University so chooses, and will be constantly monitored for security.

11. The app content will continue to be monitored and managed by the Project
Manager (with direction from University administrators), until the University wishes to
put their people in charge of the app.
This program will have a lasting effect on the entire University, moving UW-
Whitewater to the front of the line when it comes to the era where technology, education
and social media meet.
The success of the app will depend on how often it’s used, clearly. The app will
be an essential part of the learning experience due to the textbook integration and the
ability to communicate with fellow students and faculty, but whether the students/faculty
choose to consistently use it will be the deciding factor.
Usage statistics data from the University servers will show how much progress
will be made in regards to usage. Data will be analyzed by myself and the Project
Manager, where I’ll then create a report with the results to send to University
administrators. If needed, once the project is off the ground, my team will be available to
provide such a report quarterly or annually, whichever the University wishes.