Running head: LAB 1 – LOCALLINK PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 1

LAB 1 - LocalLink Product Description

Jason Dominguez

Old Dominion University

CS 411W

Professor James Brunelle

26 January 2020

Version 2

LAB 1 – LOCALLINK PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 2

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. LocalLink Product Description 4

2.1 Key Product Features and Capabilities 5

2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software) 7

3. Identification of Case Study 7

4. LocalLink Product Prototype Description 8

4.1 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software) 8

4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities 9

4.3 Prototype Development Challenges 10

Glossary 11

References 12

List of Figures

Figure 1 - Major Functional component Diagram 6

List of Tables

Table 1 - Competition Matrix 5

Table 2 - RWP vs Prototype 9

LAB 1 – LOCALLINK PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 3

Lab 1 - LocalLink Product Description

1 Introduction

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying the famous quote “Time is money.”

Whether he was the first to come up this idea or not, there is truth in these words. Most

of us spend our lives trying to find ways to trade one for the other. Unfortunately, there

is not always an easy way to do this. For example, someone trying to save time on their

simple household chores may want to hire someone else to do them. To do this they

must first find a worker, evaluate their capability, and hope they are reliable enough to

show up and complete the work. Likewise, someone with some free time looking to earn

extra income doing odd jobs has a similar struggle. They must find someone who needs

work done and hope they get paid once the job is complete. Both sides of this example

lack an efficient way to get linked up with each other and verify each other’s credibility.

For some people, getting help with household tasks may be done out of

convenience. Our busy modern lives make it difficult to complete all the chores at home.

According to a 2018 study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we spend around 70

hours a month on household activities (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). These

activities include everything from yard work and general maintenance to furniture

assembly and dog walking. For those who are disabled or otherwise unable to complete

these tasks, finding help becomes a necessity.

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There is no shortage of workers wanting to help either. According to a 2019 study

conducted by Bankrate, 45% of Americans want to earn extra money though side jobs

(Dixon, 2019). Even though the desire is there on both sides, there is currently no

efficient means of connecting these people.

The solution to this problem is LocalLink. LocalLink is an application that

connects people with small jobs they need done with people willing to do them. It allows

guest users to browse public users anonymously before logging in and connecting.

Once they are logged in, they can make connections securely with people in the same

communities and neighborhoods. These users benefit from the familiarity and sense of

community when working for those in their neighborhood leading to a higher sense of

job satisfaction (Hoogerbrugge, 2017). Once connected users have a secure platform

for communications and transactions, it should produce quality work and quality

connections.

2 LocalLink Product Description

LocalLink is a traditional 2-sided market based on the idea of connecting

neighbors to neighbors in order to get small jobs completed in exchange for

compensation. This will encourage neighborhood interactions while helping both users

involved. The platform will be available as a web or mobile application that provides a

secure platform for payment and communication.

The users of the application will be job posters and job workers. The job poster

uses the app to post small jobs they need done around their homes. The job worker

uses the app to find posted jobs to complete for compensation.

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The process of finding small jobs to complete or workers to do them is

challenging and time consuming. LocalLink make this process easier, more private, and

more secure. LocalLink allows reviews for both job posters and job workers so it easy

for users of the application to accurately assess who they are working with. The job

price cap and the limited matching radius creates an emphasis on small local jobs.

LocalLink will also offer encrypted chat for secure communication. Table 1 below shows

how these components of our application compare to our direct and indirect

competition.

Table 1 - Competition Matrix

2.1 Key Product Features and Capabilities

The LocalLink platform is focused on connecting job posters and job workers in

the same communities and providing them with a secure form of communication and

payment. Both job posters and job workers will log into the app through the same GUI.

Once logged in, users will be able to input and update information on their profile that is

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stored on the application’s database server. Browsing for jobs and workers can be done

by both logged in and guest users. The LocalLink matching algorithms will show users

public job listings and public worker profiles. The platform limits payment for jobs to

$150. The goal of this feature is to discourage large contractors from using the platform.

Once a match is found between a poster and a worker, secure communication is

accomplished through encrypted direct messaging. Secure payment is done through

offering 3rd party payment options (PayPal and Venmo) securely though the app. The

platform will allow workers to be directed to their jobs through the use of Google Maps

navigation API.

The LocalLink database server will store job poster and worker information. It will

contain all job history, encrypted chat logs, reviews for both parties, and transactional

records. Profile photos and job completion photos will not be directly stored on the

database but the address of their location elsewhere will be. The major software and

hardware components outlined above can be seen Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Major Functional Component Diagram

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Through an administrative interface, the team behind LocalLink will be able to

remove jobs and users as needed. Jobs, workers, and profiles may be flagged and

noted through this interface. Complete user history may also be viewed. The

administrative interface will allow administrators to manually create accounts.

2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software)

LocalLink will be available on the web, Android, and iOS. The backend of the

LocalLink application will use a cloud based server such as AWS for web hosting as well

as database storage. The database will be running PostgreSQL. Web development will

use HTML, CSS, javascript and NodeJS. Mobile development with NodeJS and Swift

for android and iOS respectively. Within the platform GUI, PayPal will be integrated into

payment buttons for secure payment in the app. Throughout the development process

issue tracking, version control, and workflow will be accomplished using GitHub and

Redmine.

3 Identification of Case Study

The LocalLink platform is being developed for the Ghent Square Community

Association. The Ghent Square Community Association is a local home owners

association consisting of 462 units comprised of single-family homes, town homes, and

two condominium associations. LocalLink will be used to connect residents of this

community who need small household tasks completed to capable workers with the

time and desire to earn extra income. This may also benefit neighboring HOA’s by

promoting a stronger sense of community within the local area.

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4 LocalLink Product Prototype Description

The LocalLink prototype application will exhibit the key features of the full scale

application. These features shall include account creation for both customers and

workers, job post creation, communication between the workers and customers as well

the ability to browse for job posts. To test these features, the prototype will include the

ability to automatically create a number of simulated accounts.

4.1 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software)

The LocalLink prototype will be a web based application capable of being used

on any device that can run a modern web browser. The back end of the LocalLink

prototype will use NodeJS running on the Old Dominion Computer Science Department

(ODU CS Department) Apache Linux servers. The PostgreSQL database as well as the

web hosting for the prototype application will also utilize the ODU CS Department

servers. The font end of the application will be created with HTML, CSS, and

JavaScript. The prototype application shall utilize a Docker container that includes all

the necessary services.

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4.2 Prototype Features and Capabilities

The prototype application for LocalLink will only partially implement or eliminate

all together some of the functional elements of the RWP. A list of what will be fully

implemented compared to the RWP can be seen in Table 2.

Table 2 - RWP vs. Prototype

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4.3 Prototype Development Challenges

The development of the LocalLink prototype application presents challenges that

must be overcome for successful deployment. These challenges include a short

development time and a lack of knowledge in certain areas of software development.

Additionally the development team will also have the added challenge of collaboration

remotely for the entire project. Our team has taken several steps to mitigate the effect of

these challenges. These steps include implementing an Agile development process with

well-defined sprint planning. Stetting up communication channels on Google Hangouts

and Discord, as well as familiarizing the development team with the software systems

that will be utilized.

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Glossary

Job Poster: A user who posts jobs to be by workers, the employer of the job

worker. Also known as a Customer.

Customer: Used synonymously with Job Poster.

Job Worker: A user who does unskilled jobs posted by the job poster, the

employee of the job poster.

GPS check in: Proof metric workers can use to show they were at the job site at

a certain time.

Guest User: A user who has not given created an account with LocalLink or a

user who has not logged in.

Hold Harmless Agreement: A Legal document abstaining a party from liability

for another’s actions. For instance, if a Job Worker falls from a ladder while

providing services to Job Poster, protects the Job Poster from liability for injury or

damage that may result.

Photo Verification: Proof metric workers can use to log a picture of the

completed job.

ID Verification: proof of identity documentation, i.e a Driver’s License

User: A customer. A customer may be a Job Poster and/or Job Worker. They

may also be a Guest User.

Admin: LocalLink Staff responsible for managing the service.

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References

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019, June 19). Retrieved from American Time Use Survey

- 2018 Results.: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf

Dixon, A. (2019, June 05). Survey. Nearly 1 in 3 side hustlers needs the income to stay

afloat. Retrieved from Bankrate: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/

10.1080/02723638.2018.1474609

Ghent Square Community Association. (n.d.). Retrieved from Ghent Square Community

Association: http://www.ghentsquare.org/

Hoogerbrugge, M. M. (2017, April 07). Neighborhood-Based soecial capital and life

satisfaction: the case of Rotterndamn, The Netherlands. Retrieved from Taylor

Francis Online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/

10.1080/02723638.2018.1474609

Hughes, A. (2019, March 11). Mirror. Retrieved from Only half of Brits set a time to clean

their home once a week - and this is why: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-

news/only-half-brits-set-time-14119464

LocalLink. (2019). Retrieved from Team Silver: https://www.cs.odu.edu/~410silver/

index.html