PeCare

PeCare LOGO
Our Web's Home Page Design

Inspiration

Australia is home to almost 29 million pets, making it one of the countries with the highest rates of pet ownership globally. Almost 69% of Australians own at least one pet. (Australian Dog Lover) However, the trend of returning to work post-COVID leads to a high demand for day-care, sitting and overnight boarding services for pets. Moreover, under the high pet-keeping rates, there’s no doubt the pet services industry is experiencing rapid growth. (Grand View Research). However, pets are like little children to the owner, every pet has their own habits, but pet stores can’t customise everything to suit every pet. Sometimes, lack of personalised attention and change in routine may lead to separation anxiety and stress even increasing injury risk. Even worse, many pets staying in cages and living together may cause infectious disease risk. Our website aims to help all pet owners find the most suitable volunteer who can take care of their pets with personalised attention in their familiar environment. Our help project leads to mutual benefit for both volunteers and pets. It leads to improving the mental health of volunteers through companionship, providing the chance to reduce stress and loneliness for people who want but can’t raise a pet (eg: international students). From the pet’s point of view, they get special care during the leaving of their owner and even the chance to interact with different people in their comfort zone. Also, for pet owners, can get the caring service for free and choose the people who love pets, and care pets to look after pets with 100% love.

What it does

PeCare is the website that helps pet owners post their caring requirements and match the suitable volunteers on our website. We sign up the pets’ owner and volunteer separately. Pet owners get their own files to store the information of their pets and can post a caring requirement with a specific time and location. Volunteers must pass their certification of caring ability improvement (eg: company certification). They can take the caring requirements according to their availability and get the rating score based on their performance during the caring case. The app will provide the matching system and track the whole order.

How we built it

FRONTEND: For UI and UX, we utilised Figma to design our website. This tool helped us visualize the overall layout and flow of our frontend, including the logic and navigation between pages. We then used Anima to automatically generate the initial HTML and CSS code. Finally, we implemented the website using Vue 3.

In terms of design, we opted for yellow as the primary colour and created our own logo featuring a cute yellow dog. Our goal was to ensure the entire webpage is clear, user-friendly, and optimised for quick navigation and search ability.

BACKEND: Our backend is constructed using Java and Spring Boot, hosted on AWS Cloud for web services. This setup capitalises on AWS's swift deployment and secure environment. Leveraging AWS services like API Gateway and Lambda streamlines traffic management and request handling, ensuring scalability and cost-efficiency through pay-as-you-go billing. Interfacing with a managed database on AWS RDS simplifies database operations, enhancing data storage and retrieval efficiency.

To facilitate development, our team utilises CI/CD pipelines to connect GitHub with our backend. This automated deployment process ensures seamless updates and deployment directly from the repository to AWS Cloud, optimising our development cycle.

The standout feature of our backend design lies in leveraging AWS Cloud and Lambda. Compared to traditional manual server setup and deployment, AWS Cloud and Lambda offer several advantages. Firstly, they enable rapid deployment and updates, facilitated by our CI/CD scripts. This automation accelerates our development cycle, saving time and effort. Secondly, they provide cost-effectiveness through Lambda's pay-as-you-go billing model, reducing idle server costs. Moreover, AWS's robust security standards and compliance certifications offer peace of mind, while its integrated services and APIs support various use cases. This seamless integration allows our team to build complex, multi-layered backend architectures without compatibility concerns.

Challenges we ran into

Scalability of Backend Architecture: Initially, we underestimated the scale of our project and did not adequately consider the requirements for a large-scale backend architecture. As the project progressed, we realised the need for a more robust and scalable architecture to support the anticipated growth and demands of the application. This led to some inefficiencies and scalability issues that we had to address during development.

User Privacy Protection: While we prioritised security measures, we encountered challenges in fully implementing user privacy protection features. Despite our efforts, we identified areas where we could enhance data encryption, access controls, and privacy policies to better safeguard user information. Addressing these challenges required additional time and resources to ensure compliance with privacy regulations and user expectations.

Time Constraints Impacting Frontend Implementation: Due to project deadlines and time constraints, we faced difficulties in fully implementing frontend features and user interface enhancements. This limitation hindered our ability to deliver certain frontend functionalities as initially envisioned. As a result, we had to prioritise essential features and make trade-offs to meet project milestones within the given timeframe.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our backend successfully implemented features such as user authentication (login/logout), post creation, and updating functionalities. These crucial backend functionalities were meticulously designed and tested to ensure seamless user experiences. Additionally, we achieved successful deployment of the backend, seamlessly integrating it with the frontend.

On the frontend, we accomplished significant milestones by effectively handling user requests and displaying dynamic content. Users can now interact with the application through intuitive interfaces, navigating effortlessly between post pages and account profiles. This achievement signifies our dedication to delivering a user-friendly experience and meeting user expectations.

Moreover, our successful deployment of both frontend and backend components on AWS marks a significant milestone for our team. It represents our inaugural foray into cloud computing, demonstrating our ability to leverage modern technologies effectively. This successful deployment underscores our adaptability and readiness to embrace innovative solutions to deliver robust and scalable applications.

What we learned

AWS Deployment and Backend Framework: We gained hands-on experience in deploying backend frameworks using AWS services. This involved setting up servers, configuring API Gateways, and integrating Lambda functions, enabling seamless communication between the frontend and backend. Learning to navigate and utilise AWS effectively has broadened our understanding of cloud computing and infrastructure management.
Efficient Team Collaboration and Organisation: Throughout the project, we learned the importance of efficient teamwork and organisation. Collaborating effectively within the team allowed us to streamline tasks, allocate resources efficiently, and meet project deadlines. Emphasising clear communication channels, task delegation, and accountability fostered a collaborative environment conducive to success.
Frontend Architecture and Implementation: Delving into frontend development, we acquired knowledge of fundamental frontend architectures and implementation techniques. Understanding the principles of user interface design, component-based architecture, and client-server interaction enabled us to develop responsive and user-friendly interfaces. Learning to implement frontend features such as post rendering and user profile management enhanced our proficiency in frontend development.

What's next for PeCare

Community System Integration: We plan to introduce a community system, providing pet enthusiasts with social networking opportunities. This feature will allow users to connect, share experiences, exchange tips, and even organise events related to pet care. By fostering a sense of community, we aim to enrich the user experience and create a vibrant platform for pet lovers.

Enhanced Privacy and Backend Infrastructure: Addressing user privacy concerns is a top priority. We intend to implement robust privacy measures, including advanced encryption techniques and strict access controls, to safeguard user data effectively. Additionally, we will upgrade our database infrastructure and backend framework to enhance scalability, reliability, and performance, ensuring a seamless and secure user experience.

Improved Frontend Design and Usability: We are committed to enhancing the aesthetics and usability of our frontend web pages. By refining the user interface design, optimising page layouts, and incorporating intuitive navigation features, we aim to create a visually appealing and user-friendly experience for our users. Our goal is to make the website more engaging, accessible, and enjoyable to use.