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Inspiration
As a group of young software engineers, our team is critically aware of the need for a sustainable future and also our role in creating this world. We were inspired by the CBRE challenge for its cross-application between cutting-edge software development, relevant business applications, and critical awareness of our environment. Additionally, the Veolia challenge motivated us to think about broader sustainability issues such as energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, and smart water conservation. These challenges pushed us to design a solution that could contribute meaningfully to sustainability efforts in property management. We realized, however, that we needed a solution that remained centered on financial organization for our users, but also revealed important information on operational behavior. Here is where the challenge and brilliant fun came into play.
What it does
Quaint is a property management app that features a dashboard displaying quarterly spending data from the past year with detailed graphs for managers to review. The key innovation of Quaint lies in its seamless fusion of qualitative and quantitative data. The graph dynamically moves with the data of each financial quarter, highlighting changes in energy costs. Furthermore, the graph displays "notes" or occurrences that happened around the given data point. This display not only offers the manager when and where spending was different, but possibly even why in one visual experience. There are also three tabs at the bottom, including a financial tracking tab that provides a dynamic list of all transactions in a given month regarding the property. This can include payments from tenants, bills, and even government incentive payments for increased environmental awareness. At its core, Quaint seeks to keep relevant financial information at the forefront of itself, and instead of avoiding critical conversations about sustainability, Quaint highlights how sustainability and cost-effectiveness are not mutually exclusive. Quaint is the future of financial tracking and sustainable responsibility.
How we built it
We began with a brainstorming session in FigJam, where we mapped out our ideas and research for the app. After experimenting with several concepts, we decided on a three-tab design for simplicity and usability, creating a complete Figma prototype. Using React Native and Expo, we built the app to function on both web and mobile platforms. Firebase was an integral aspect of the project, directly interacting and dynamically affecting our front-end and data visualization.
Challenges we ran into
Our team was unfamiliar with React Native or Expo before this hackathon, so adapting to these tools was challenging. We also faced technical difficulties with cloning repositories and working simultaneously across different operating systems, which required creative problem-solving.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We successfully integrated Firebase to retrieve information and connected it seamlessly with our front-end code. This allowed us to view the app both through the web version and an iPhone emulator program. Additionally, we overcame our initial challenges with React Native and concentrated on improving data visualization to enhance user experience.
What we learned
We learned how to use React Native and Expo to develop a cross-platform app that works on both web and mobile. Additionally, we gained valuable experience in team collaboration, version control, and troubleshooting technical issues.
What's next for Quaint
We plan to continue developing Quaint by refining its features, adding more pages, and enhancing the overall user experience for our specific users. We understand that for our product to work well, it takes a lot of user input - we want a way to bypass this completely by leveraging generative AI, web scraping, and greater relationships with databases. Overall, we seek to create a future that is truly efficient, cutting costs, waste, and, most importantly, emphasizing sustainability.
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