Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE LAS3008

 
TITLE iOS Development

 
UM LEVEL H - Higher Level

 
MQF LEVEL 6

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Centre for the Liberal Arts and Sciences

 
DESCRIPTION DESIGN

The design part of this Unit will first give an introduction to user experience (UX) and user interface (UI). The three pillars of UX will be highlighted mainly: what type of problem will the mobile application solve; who are the users; and development of user stories. The second part will focus on UI were the student will receive hands-on-training in the utilisation of “Sketch” and “Illustrator” which are industry standard tools. The basics of creating wireframe and visual mockups; designing icons; applying good use of typography; showcasing and user testing prototypes using software such as Invision. The graphical requirements for App Store submission will be highlighted.

1. UX
What problem your app will solve?
Who are the users?
Putting yourself in the user’s shoes - creating user stories
Getting to a solution

2. UI
Sketch vs Photoshop
Sketch Intro
Creating wireframe mockups
Gathering Inspiration
Creating visual mockups
Typography
Designing navigation icons
Live previewing your designs
Presenting the designs to users or stakeholders
Building flows and user testing using Invision
Correctly preparing UI graphics and documenting your design for developers

3. Submitting the App
Creating an iOS compliant app icon
Creating good app store images

DEVELOPMENT

This part of the Unit will set you on your way to becoming an iOS Developer, where you will establish a basic understanding of the iOS ecosystem.

This Unit assumes prior programming experience. You should have a good understanding of OOP principles. You will also need a Mac computer running OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) or later. The Unit is designed that you don't need a physical device to build your application since we will be using the simulator on your mac. In order to start submitting apps to the app store you will also need a developer license provided by Apple.

Syllabus:

- XCode IDE Familiarisation
- Introduction to UIKit & MVC architecture
- AutoLayout, Storyboards, Segues
- Understanding Delegation in iOS
- Use of Camera, Location Services, Local Notifications
- Understanding of Remote Push Notifications
- Cocoa Pods & Integrating 3rd Party Libraries
- Building App Step by Step with the intention of submitting it to Apple.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding:
By the end of the Unit the student will be able to:

Design
- Describe basic UI/UX principles.
- Highlight the importance of preparing user journeys.
- Understand the different use cases for Photoshop and Sketch.

Development
- Illustrate the iOS development Process in Objective-C.
- Understand some of the core frameworks in iOS SDK.
- Explain the basics of the Model View Controller architecture.
- Basic Debugging and troubleshooting.
- Understand the process required to publish and submit an iOS application.
- Design, develop, create and present a significant final iOS app.

2. Skills:
By the end of the Unit the student will be able to:

Design
- Create wireframes for mapping user journeys.
- Create App prototypes.
- Prepare graphical assets.

Development
- Build iOS Apps using XCode

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Handouts from instructors.

 
ADDITIONAL NOTES Pre-requisite knowledge, skills and competences: Basic understanding of any programming language such as C, C# or Java

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture and Practical

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Project Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit