Course Overview
This course teaches techniques to measure and improve usability, accessibility, performance and scalability of mobile applications. Tools available through IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) such as the Android Studio are utilized or repurposed to setup testbeds to measure these quality attributes. Impact of modalities, in addition to multitouch, in improving user interaction with the mobile applications is studied. Development of custom layouts, UI components and animation are explored to enhance usability and accessibility. Mobile applications that record, transport, stream and playback rich media, render 2D/3D graphics/animation and augmented reality, store and process large quantities of data locally and schedule tasks with strict deadlines are developed and executed on Android smartphones and tablets with varying form factors as well as wireless networks with varying channel conditions to locate performance and scalability bottlenecks. Strategies to alleviate identified performance and scalability bottlenecks are implemented. These include fine tuning data Input/Output, rendering pipelines and storage structures; exploring opportunities for parallel processing that take advantage of multicore CPUs available on mobile platforms; and adaptive GUI design.
Prerequisite(s)
- 60% in COMP 7031
Credits
3.0
Domestic fees
$870.52
International fees are typically 3.4 times the domestic tuition. Exact cost will be calculated upon completion of registration.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Setup testbeds to assess usability and accessibility of a mobile application.
- Setup testbeds to benchmark performance of a mobile application.
- Setup testbeds to load test a mobile application to model its scalability.
- Improve user interaction with the mobile app by incorporating multimodality and adding custom layouts, UI components and animation.
- Fine tune network I/O to scale throughput of mobile applications that transport rich media content to varying network conditions.
- Create scalable data storage in mobile applications by fine tune data I/O, data models and storage structures.
- Introduce parallel processing in mobile applications to take advantage of multicore CPUs available on smartphone platforms to schedule tasks with tight deadlines and timely completion of CPU intensive processing.
- Fine tune rendering pipelines in mobile applications to meet the performance requirements of playback of rich media, 2D/3D graphics and animation, and Augmented Reality.
Effective as of Fall 2023
Related Programs
Interactive and Responsive Mobile Applications (COMP 8031) is offered as a part of the following programs:
- Indicates programs accepting international students.
- Indicates programs eligible for students to apply for Post-graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
School of Computing and Academic Studies
- Applied Computer Science (Human Computer Interface Option)
Bachelor of Science Part-time
- Applied Computer Science (Network Security Administration Option)
Bachelor of Science Part-time
- Applied Computer Science (Wireless and Mobile Applications Development Option)
Bachelor of Science Part-time
Course Offerings
Winter 2027
Below is one offering of COMP 8031 for the Winter 2027 term.
CRN 71575
Dates
Jan 07 - Mar 25 Loading
- CRN 71575
- $870.52 Domestic fees
Class meeting times
| Dates | Days | Times | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 07 - Mar 25 | Thu | 18:30 - 22:15 | Downtown DTC Rm. 370 |
Duration
12 weeks
Instructor
Tejinder Randhawa
Course outline
Course outline TBD — see Learning Outcomes in the interim.
Registration requirements
Departmental approval is required to register for this course offering. You must have approval from the department to register. Students accepted into a program can register directly.
Important information
- 1. Please email compBSc@bcit.ca for departmental approval. Include your full name, student number (A0#), course number (COMP__), and CRN #. 2. This is a BScACS course. BScACS courses are also open to non-bachelor program students, if approval is granted by the BScACS Program Head. 3. BScACS program students have up to seven (7) years to complete the program starting from the date of their first technical degree-level course or the date of acceptance to the BScACS program, whichever comes first.
Confirmation
Required
To proceed with registration and add this course to the cart, please confirm:
No approval yet? Request approval You must have approval from the department to register. Students accepted into a program can register directly.
Status
If you have any questions about this course, please contact us.
Programs and courses are subject to change without notice. Find out more about BCIT course cancellations.