project-proposal-2025

[EcoSort - An all-inclusive waste solution]

Abstract

Have you ever found yourself with hand hovering between the two bins in the kitchen, struck with the pause of indecision wondering if you can recycle? Or maybe it’s time in our day and age to stop trying to remember which bins go out on the road this week. EcoSort aims to provide users with an all-inclusive home recycling experience that can provide information about daily recycling and waste disposal decisions. By providing real-time updates from local infrastructure and community EcoSort strives to bring a world of more mindful recycling.

As our world moves everyday towards a cleaner and greener future the responsibility of consumer choices becomes of greater importance, whether it be through legislation, government and private investment or volunteering efforts each of us have a role to play in the battle to save our planet. By providing the opportunity of knowledge EcoSort will provide the average household with the ability to make smarter recycling choices.

Author

Name: Hayden Elliott

Student number: 47453580

Functionality

Following are the features of the proposed software product:

Checking

• Users should be able to scan or search either products or the recycling information present to check for recyclability level and how to properly handle

Infrastructure

• Information about local infrastructure availability, 10c disposals locations, and council bin collection timetables, notifications bin status

Community

• Community sharing, people organising joint trips/collective dumping. Opportunities for people to add to compost or fill up each other’s bin before collection
• Involve a forum for each community where users can make posts and interact with each other publicly

Account

• Basic Account information, collect minimal user information to lower data barrier of entry, user chooses a community
• Some kind of indication of what an account likes to use application for, recycling or community engagement

Scope

Scope for Minimal Viable Product (MVP) as follows:

Checking:

• Reference table for typical australian recycling symbols
• Search bar to enter waste properties for a recommended action

Infrastructure:

• List of local infrastructure locations in proximity to community
• Timetable of bin collection for next month in community

Community:

• Message forum where members of community can access and share information from Infrastructure

Account:

• Simple account configuration with name and chosen community

Quality Attributes

• Interoperability
  • Interoperability is the potential of a system to easily share and exchange data with software both within the system and from external sources. It makes a key attribute of this system due to its reliance on the information provided by relevant vendors of goverment or council resources. The ability to have a architecture that could also support data back will be highly beneficial in the response to requests from relevant bodies for future functionality. Can be evaluated be ensuring communication with two API’s outside of system, the Waste Management Facilities Database and City Council Bin Collection Calendar. The internal interfaces should be able to share basic information into each community group
• Reliability
  • Reliability refers to the software’s ability to consistently deliver functionality even under unusual conditions. When it comes to integating into people’s daily decisons a trust must be cultivated built from the ability to provide whenever users make a request of the system. If information inaccurate or untimely it makes it difficult for a user to make their desired disposal choices. Examples like missed bin collection notifications or providing inaccurate and vague recycling information detrimental the ability of the app to be accepted. For this system it will be a requirement that information provided is accurate and timely information in greater than 99.5% of occurences. Other points of evaluation include changes in accordance with updated guidelines from any third parties.
• Extensibility
  • Extensibility in a software system is the ability to easily incorporate new functionality into the existing solution with ease. The implication here would be catered towards the quick development of distinct extensions to existing features for developers without large overhead from refactoring or the like. The MVP provides a relatively simple solution that falls short technically of the proposed functionality. Therefore the ability to build on current implementations of a MVP is a key architectural decision especially since accessing information about local infrastructure or real-time changes in community from external vendors may take time and resources. In evaluating the extensibility of the system the definition of each interface will be key in allowing the next building blocks.

Evaluation

• Interoperability
  • Success of the communication with external vendors, regular data pulls and reliability investigations
  • Protocols should be well defined and monitored with sources to ensure continual uptime
  • Internal systems should be able to port basic information into a chat room
• Reliability
  • Monitor and compare uptime of system to a target of 99.5% in step with data accuracy
  • End to end testing to verify data accuracy of information received by user and information pulled from source data. Emphasis on being timely and reliably accurate
  • Conduct basic load testing of system by capturing traffic at peak hours for a community and replicating, such as before a collection day
• Extensibility
  • New features should be able to be planned with changes to less then 15% of the original code
  • Documentation of APIs and interfaces within and without system should be specific and deliberate in the protocols, load and other relevant metrics