Leyton Bostre

Tippy County Connect

Tippy County Connect list page
Map screen
Individual resource page

Overview

Problem

Homeless individuals in Tippecanoe County struggle to access reliable information about available shelters, food pantries, and essential resources.

S

lution

A mobile app and website that provides the homeless community with accessible, real-time information on shelters, food pantries, and other essential services.

My Role

Project Manager and Developer

Scope

January 2025 - May 2025

Team: 7 members

Experience as Project Manager

As the project manager, I took on the responsibility of keeping the team on track by setting clear goals, assigning tasks, and regularly reviewing pull requests to ensure quality and consistency. I served as a reference point for team members who were newer to coding, guiding them through challenges and offering support when needed. Managing a team of six who were focused on the website version of the project, I made team decisions by facilitating discussions and encouraging collaboration. Throughout this process, I balanced my own solo development on the mobile app, ensuring both aspects of the project progressed smoothly and efficiently.

Video Demo's

Map screen: This screen displays the user's location in relation to all local resources. You are able to filter by resource type as well as search for a specific resource by name or keyword.

List screen: This screen displays all the available resources in a list format. You are able to filter by resource type as well as search for a specific resource by name or keyword. You can also tap on a resource to view more information about it. By clicking on the map icon in the top right corner, you can shortcut to the map screen.

Filter screen: This screen allows the user to find a resource open on a specific day and time. The user can select a day of the week and a time, and the app will display all resources that are open at that time.

Resource screen: This screen displays all information about an individual resource. The user can view the name, address, phone number, email, and hours of operation. Each contact item on the screen is a shortcut to the user's phone, allowing them to call or email the resource directly. The user can also view general information about the resource and the services it provides.

User Testing

We conducted user testing with a group of five homeless volunteers from LTHC Homeless Services. The goal was to collect feedback for the app and website and to learn more about our real users. For our testing, we assigned each user a set of tasks to complete. We then observed them as they completed the tasks and took notes on their feedback. An example of a task would be to find the phone number for a given resource. The users were very receptive to the app and website, and they provided us with valuable feedback that we used to improve the project. We also learned a lot about our users and their needs, which helped us to better understand how to design the app and website for them. Below are pictures from our team visit.

IMS Team in front of LTHC Homeless Services
Testing in action

Hosting

The Tippy County Connect app is hosted on Google Play. There were plans to host the app on the Apple App Store, but we found that our user group uses mostly Android phones. Therefore, we decided to focus on the Android version of the app. Below is a photo of the app on Google Play.

IMS Team in front of LTHC Homeless Services

Prototyping

During the design phase, I used Figma to create high-fidelity prototypes for both the app and website. I developed initial concepts and presented them to the team for feedback, which I then incorporated in an iterative process. I drew inspiration from existing solutions while integrating elements from our current website. These prototypes allowed me to refine the designs before moving into development. Below is an image of the Figma prototypes.

IMS Team in front of LTHC Homeless Services