Our project is an Android app, called Handshake, that lets you transfer contact info and connect social media accounts between two people with a single bump of two phones. In-order for this to work, both users need to have the Handshake app installed prior to the bumping information. This is a very useful app for people who like to network, or meet a lot of people all the time. This application is very interesting as it solves a common problem of two people finding the other interesting enough to want to stay in touch but soon forgetting to keep in touch. This app aims to make losing connections you make in the physical world by connecting in the online world through multiple methods. Once you install Handshake, the user edits the settings to their likings. For instance, the user can connect their Facebook profile, Linkedin profile, Gmail address, Ymail address, Uwaterloo Email, Phone Number, Picture, Personal Website, Twitter Account, Dribbble Account, Youtube Channel etc. So after the user loads the information/accounts they want to connect to Handshake, they can start bumping. If Sara and Bob just met at a tech info-session and don’t have much time to make connections to each other virtually, but are interested in each other, they can simply “bump” their phones to automatically make these online connections. If Sara wants to share her Linkedin profile and Gmail address only, with Bob, she can open the Handshake app on her phone and check Linkedin and Gmail and leave all other information unchecked before bumping Bob’s phone. Bob on the other hand can also select exactly which information he wants to share with Sara. This will result in Bob and Sara only connecting on platforms that they both have checked on their devices. This project makes sense in a mobile form factor because the vast majority of the population has a phone on their person at all times. They also typically are connected to all their media/social accounts on their phones which makes it easy to simply take advantage of near field communication (NFC) or bluetooth functions of the phone to connect these people online. Handshake app will make use of NFC technology to transfer contact info & social media accounts quickly.
##Functional Properties: Users need to be able to connect to various social media accounts i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Gmail etc. in the application. For instance, the app needs to be able to use third party APIs and get access to share those account information when the user bumps to another phone using NFC. When Handshake is active on both phones and the phone come together with a proximity less than 10 cm, both phones need to make the connections that both phones have selected in common. The user needs to be able to select which accounts he wants to share with the second user when they bump their phones. For instance, there needs to be a UI like radio buttons, where the user can select all or select different social media account information individually.
###Use Scenario 1: Business Encounters Kelvin is a Business Informatics & Computer Science Double Major at the University of Toronto. He hears about the Facebook’s F8 Conference and books tickets and hopes to make important tech connections while he is there. When he arrives to Menlo Park, he first meets a very interesting candidate, Vincent. Vincent happens to be the Director of Engineering at Google. They talk about a lot of business & engineering potential in the tech-world. Vincent was really impressed by Kelvin’s knowledge of the latest tech and mentions an opening for Technical Coordinator on his team at Google. Kelvin was really excited and wanted to share contact information before they part ways. Unfortunately Vincent gets an important call and needs to leave immediately. So Vincent says, “Kelvin, do you Handshake?” “Oh yes! Yes I do,” replies Kelvin, while he quickly grabs his phone from his pocket and opens Handshake. They both bump their phones together and Vincent runs off to attend his call. Thanks to handshake Kelvin was able to make a very valuable connection in such a short time successfully.
###Use Scenario 2: Informal Connections Shelly is tired of being single and working too hard. So, she decides to go to Provocateur Exclusive nightclub in NYC. She books tickets with her best friends Nikki and Spike. On April 1st, 2015 as they enter Provocateur in a Black Porsche, they see the most magnificent lighting designs and alluring men. From the chaotic dancers a shadow appears, which turns into a sophisticated halo of a male. He reaches out to Spike and says “Hey, I think you need a drink” Spike smiles and leaves with him. They talk for hours, and find that they have a lot in common. They try to exchange contact info, mainly number and Facebook. But they were both too drunk to type. Both of them happen to have Handshake installed on their phones. So instead of going through the painful process of drunk-type a phone number, Spike selects Facebook and Phone Number on Handshake and touches her phone to his. That’s it. Five years later, they are still together and peruse their life together at MIT Grad School. Without Handshake, ‘they’ would have never happened. When they have kids, they can tell them how they first met, using Handshake. Heck, Handshake, the APP ended being the Bridesmaid for their marriage.
##Non Functional Properties: This APP needs to be able to work without internet while bumping. So initially while a user edits settings to establish connection and access to their social media accounts like Facebook, YouTube etc., you need internet. However, while bumping the phones together to share information, you should not need internet. It will exchange contact/account information and when the user gets internet back on his phone, the Facebook friend requests, YouTube subscription request, and LinkedIn contact requests will be sent.
The User Experience should be fast and easy. The flow of application settings to edit preferences and select which accounts to share need to be so simple and intuitive that the user does not require instructions to learn to use the application.
This app should be able to run as a background application so that the user is allowed to multi-task or have their screen turned off while bumping. The user should have an option to make the application automatic. Which means, as long as the phone is switched on, even if you didn’t even open Handshake APP, even if the screen is turned off, the user must be able to bump their phone to another phone that contains Handshake and be able to exchange information successfully.