The purpose of the Lake Area Technical College App is to provide help to all students in an apprenticeship program with Lake Area Technical College. The app allows apprentices, students, the college, and the apprentice’s high school to track competencies to be completed for certification, hours invested into the apprenticeship, track logs of tasks completed, and more.
Mobile App Planning
When we’re given the opportunity to take on a new project, our first step is an initial meeting to go over the project and discuss what the client wants. Previously to building Lake Area Technical College’s app we built Trident Technical College’s Apprentice App. When given the opportunity to build Lake Area Tech’s app, they wanted some of the same layout and features as Trident Tech’s app. In addition to the layout and features, they wanted to add wage data and the ability for apprentices and teachers to see how they have progressed through the program. Lake Area also wanted students to start out at a wage and increase based on the competencies they completed.
Building the Prototype
The next step after the onboarding process was to start building a prototype of the app. This work is done by our app designer, Kym Swanger. When building a prototype, we are providing a visual mockup of how the app will look with the company’s branding, features, and the current app design to ensure that there is no confusion or issues when coding the app begins.
App Development
Once the app prototype was approved, the coding process began. This process takes hundreds of hours to complete. All of the programming and development are completed during this phase. This is when all of the visual aspects of the prototype are built into a physical working app. Our team goes through a significant review process with the client’s key personnel and intense internal testing to ensure the app will meet Apple & Google’s strict development requirements and that users will be able to enjoy the app without any frustration.
App Features
Interface and Navigation is a key aspect of any app. Making sure the app not only has the necessary content but is also easy to navigate for users. The app starts with users signing in or creating an account if needed. The app then asks about your relationship to the app – if you are an apprentice, an employer, a faculty/staff member, a high school teacher, or an app admin. Through the use of automation, GPS tracking, and push notifications, the app significantly enhances the quality of the Apprenticeship program for Lake Area Technical College. It allows for automated time tracking, logging of training completed, tracking of wages and training progression, and a visual roadmap for apprentices to understand what their goals are and how close they are to be awarded their national credentials. This app reduces hundreds of hours per year of manual labor, thus saving the college thousands of dollars annually.
Check out their app at:
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lake-area-technical-college/id1589377500
