Oi agente!
Week seven has come to a close and Paula and I are in the final stretch. This past week was spent explicitly on refining our dental app for Dr Deny. In addition to combining both my code and the code Paula had produced for logging into our app we have added a signout feature, a navigation bar, the ability to reset one’s password whether logged in or not, email verification, and created an app symbol. I will go a little further in depth into why we chose to include each of these features and then I will outline what we plan on finishing this week so that we may complete the first iteration of the app.
At the beginning of the week the main focus was on combining the code Paula and I had both created so that patients could register and have their own profiles within the app. Combining the code we had developed proved to be slightly difficult at first due to the need for renaming certain variables at all reference points throughout. I eventually learned how to rename a variable and all its dependent constituents thus making the process go much faster. While I was combining the code Paula was working on the messaging platform. It was once the code was combined that there were two main areas of focus which needed to be addressed, the login/registration pages (code independent of a login identity) and the homescreen/interior pages (code dependent on a login identity).
Several necessary additions for the login and registration pages were made apparent once the code was combined. Beyond minor adjustments in animations and colors in both of the pages there were some necessary adjustments which needed to be made to help with the security of the app. One such adjustment was the addition of email verification. We wanted patients to have to confirm their email before entering the app. Email verification is important as one’s email is the username used for login and it is the main way to communicate with a patient outside of the application environment. With the addition of email verification we then also changed the app so that it does not let one login before they have verified their email. This means that now upon completion of registration a patient must go to their email to verify and then login rather than before where a patient would register and immediately be let into the app. The email verification is managed through the Firebase platform and it is also how we choose to manage a password reset.
It is understandable that a patient may forget their login password and therefore may need to reset it. Initially we had intended to use Firebase and then have a manager from the backend, such as Dr. Deny, manually go in and send a password reset email. Upon further reflection though we found that this solution may be tedious and unscalable. Thus we created a reset password page on the login screen. All a patient would have to do is enter their email and press send. If there is a corresponding email in Firebase then a reset link will be sent to the patient. If there is not a corresponding email then the patient will be informed to either check the email spelling or make an account. With the completion of these code adjustments independent of a login identity I began to move into the interior of the app.
Within the interior of the app we knew we wanted to include the ability to sign out and also reset one’s password. To not over clutter the main informational page (which had also been redesigned for simplicity), we chose to include a slide out menu panel. This slide out menu panel includes a signout button, a home button, and a button which redirects one to a page where they can follow the same previously described steps to reset their account password. At the top of the panel a patient would also be able to see their account information which includes their profile photo, email and name. Bellow is a video detailing all of the current functions the app can perform.
Looking forward to our final week Paula and I have a final meeting with the hospital board of directors on Thursday where we will be displaying our app and presenting our work in Portuguese. We intend to have all components of the app completed by Tuesday providing us with ample time to prepare for the presentation and compile the app. I intend to make the most out of our final week here in Barretos and can’t wait to share the completed app!
Até logo!