ivy

An app that aimed to revitalize student experience on post-secondary campuses. Tailored to each university, users could see events happening at their university and could connect easily with others through a set of intuitive features. It was the product of a start-up I started and lead, along with two fellow students, at the University of Calgary.

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Role

  • Lead Developer (Android Studio, XCode, Firebase), CTO, Project Manager, and UX/UI Designer

 

Contribution​

  • Engineered the software architecture of, and lead development on the Android version and the iOS version of the app

  • Designed and set up a No-SQL database structure (Firebase) to support several hundred users

  • Maintained a large codebase spanning several platforms (iOS, Android)

  • Integrated other developers' code to set up interacting systems

  • Learned new skills (Android & iOS development patterns and components) in parallel with ongoing work

  • Deployed several app versions to both iOS App Store and Google Play Store

  • Mentored and onboarded other developers to get familiar with and maximize contributions

  • Translated artistic and design goals and goals to technical requirements

  • Facilitated communication & collaboration between technical and non-technical (business, marketing) departments

  • Made start-up related decisions under pressure and contributed to the business side (market fit, competitive research, business plan, etc.)

  • Designed the UX and the UI for all app versions, as well as the start-up's website

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Takeaways​

  • Developed stronger relationships with my team (transparency, clear communication, seeing things from other people's perspective)

  • Improved my team & leadership contributions by adopting a mindset of proactivity and service

  • Built native, networked applications for iOS and Android

  • Learned how to translate requirements to software architecture & robust systems

  • Understanding of how a digital product is built, deployed, and maintained

  • Fundamental insights into the business side of digital products