CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Its Scope

House, by definition, is a building built for habitation where as a home is a place

that one love to live in. Nevertheless, a home is something more special than that. It is a

place, where you feel the most comfortable. A home is built with a family and provides

you with the community that will always be there for you. However owning a home takes

a lot of responsibility. If something breaks down, there is nobody who would come right

away to fix the problem; it is in the owners hand. That means the responsibility of keeping

your home clean and maintained is up to the homeowners.

As time passes, the value of things degrade and a lot of times this may cause them

to get faulty, affect how its supposed to work or even cause more damage to your

household in the future. Some of the most common home inspection problems that we

may experience are plumbing problems, improper ventilation, faulty electrical wirings,

roofing problems, pests problems, structural problems, faulty heating system and over all

maintenance problems. These problems may cause hassle to the home owners, provide

discomfort and frustration especially if there is nobody in the household who is capable

of fixing the problem right away. Unless you are knowledgeable and you have the

experience in fixing these problems, you are more likely to end up causing more harm

than good. The reason why home maintenance is so important it is because it saves you
money. How does that save you money? It is true that maintenance can take quite some

money in our pockets, but in the long run you will save a lot more money than if you did

not do any home maintenance and repairs at all. Why is this so? According to J.D Roth

(2010), for every dollar you spend on preventive maintenance around your house, you

save approximately $100 in future repairs. That is because taking care of the tiny

problems in your household now gives you the convenience, so you dont have the

problem to worsen over time and develop into a much larger issue. Which is also the

reason why, we have these skilled workers or people who are capable of getting these

kinds of job done.

Electrical, roofing repair and maintenance are extremely difficult and dangerous

job. If you are not properly trained on how to perform these kinds of job, you could

seriously injure yourself. By consulting a skilled worker, they will be able to perform all

kinds of maintenance and repairs, all while maintaining proper and safety precautions.

On the other hand, skilled workers can do a great job for a reasonable price, in addition

to this finding a legit skilled worker who has all the qualities needed to get the job done is

considered an issue nowadays. Based on the article published by the Philippine Daily

Inquirer (2017), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said that the

program is in danger of losing its steam due to lack of skilled workers. Skilled labor refers

to work that requires specialized training or a learned skill, example to be cited are

Electrical installation, heavy machine operation and commercial plumbing.

These days one of the most important devices you can use to help with your life is

a smartphone. You can do so much with a smartphone in so many different ways in which

they play a key role in our lives. One of the things that make smartphones so vital in our
daily is because of its efficiency. The speed with which you can do certain tasks on a

smartphone is almost incomparable in fact we consider smartphones as a mini computer.

Aside from smartphones, we also have this popular technology today that we call the

GPS or Global Positioning System. This space-based satellite navigation system provides

location and time information anywhere where there is an unobstructed line of sight to

four or more GPS satellites. With this in mind, the developers came with an android

application called HomeFx that aims to help both Users and Skilled Laborers. The very

dynamics of HomeFx application is to allow users to find skilled laborers to fix their home

inspection. Furthermore, it also allows skilled laborers to have the opportunities to gain

more clients.

Rationale of the Study

Faulty wirings, roof problems, plumbing problems and overall maintenance

problems are some of the most common dilemmas any homeowner could experience.

Probable causes of home inspection problems are due to degradation of its value and

poor maintenance. If these problems would not be fix right away it may because you

discomfort, frustration, serious injuries and could take away more money out of your

pockets in the future. As a homeowner, it is your responsibility to stay up to date with your

home maintenance in order avoid these damages. Yet, not all homeowners have the

knowledge and skill of handling these home issues which is why we have these skilled

workers who are capable of getting the job done while performing safety measures.

However, finding highly skilled professionals who will take action of such problems right

away is never an easy task most likely what would happen is that homeowners would
tend to ask someone if they know somebody who can help them fix their problems which

is not guaranteed that the service will be given right away resulting in-

immediate response and more delayed actions.

With its prime core of helping homeowners to search for an available

home maintenance services at the moment and to the skilled workers to respond to its

client immediately and hassle free, the proponents think of an idea to systematically

develop an android application that would come to the aid of homeowners to find and

locate skilled workers through Global Positioning System.

In today's worldview, Global Positioning System (GPS) revolutionized our daily

lives. This system is extremely versatile and can be found in almost any smartphones

devices available in the market. Hence, with, the developers of this current study see that

one of the remarkable features of GPS is that it provides satellite-tracking services that

are very useful in a variety of commercial and personal applications. . The developers

make use of GPS technology for achieving greater efficiency and thus provide better

benefits to the skilled workers and its clients. True to its function, technology has become

a part of everyone's life. Technological advances somehow change the way we deal our

concerns thus as developers we create this application and bring this innovation to the

homeowners and skilled workers own their own bare hands, by simply tapping their

smartphones they can now experience the HomeFx application.

This part of the paper presents related literature and systems relevant to the

conduct of this current study. This section aims to present discussions taken from the

publications of several contributors worldwide. Subsequently, it discusses the basics of

Android, Global Positioning System (GPS), followed by the related systems that the

proponents found significant in this innovation.

Related Literature.

According to (Halbay, 2010) Google Maps (formerly Google Local) is a web

mapping service application and technology provided by Google. Google Mas offer street

maps, route planner or public transport and urban business locator for numerous

countries in the world. Google Maps provides a route planner under Get Directions. Up

to four modes of transportation are available depending on the area: driving, public transit,

waling and bicycling. According to Jones (2012), Google Maps isnt for directions; its also

great for locating businesses. For example, by using Google maps, you can learn more

about how to find businesses like car repair shop just in case your vehicle experience

engine problems and even road accidents which cant be avoided at times. Interest for

Google Maps has steadily increased since it was introduced in year 2005(Orlando,2010).

UX is one of the most important aspects of a project whether what type of project

you are trying to develop. According to (Lee,2017), Visual Design steals most of the love.
Visual design is the actual face of your brand. Its what people see, and that directly

influences how customer and clients think of your company. It doesnt matter what site or

app looks like if people dont know how to interact with it. UX is a key complex for websites

because users must be able to easily navigate the site and understand how to use it.

Neglecting UX can result in a sloppy site that people will not come back to. Developing

an Interaction-rich experience will drive users back to a site, (Cousins, 2017). This same

concept applies to our study. it is necessary for us to develop an android application that

will give the respondents who will benefit this innovation the best user experience

Related System

GRAB CAR

So far, GrabTaxi is one of the big startup success stories of Southeast Asia.

Founded in Malaysia by Anthony Tan in 2012, the taxi app is now available in 21 cities

across the region, and has raised a total of US$340 million in funding, According to an

article published by Freischlad (2015).

GrabTaxi lets users find available taxis in their area, connect with the driver, and

get fare estimations ahead of time. In contrast to booking apps which are specific to a

single taxi operator, GrabTaxi works with all of them. For drivers, the app leads to more

bookings and allows them to plan their routes more efficiently. Moreover, GrabTaxi takes
a lower cut per booking from the driver than their taxi operators. In Singapore, for

example, taxi operator Comfort takes a 40 Cent cut for each booking, while GrabTaxi

takes only 30 Cent, a cab driver reveals.

According to an interview with Anthony Tan (2015). Grabtaxi has now several

million downloads. The app is averaging seven bookings per second. He also says that

the apps increasing popularity is not due to marketing, but due to the fact that it solves

the problem.

UBER

According to an article published by Suslo (2016), Uber is a problem solver for

riders. It is a problem solver first because the service provides a ride for those individuals

who need taxi cab services at reasonable prices. There are millions of people, across major

cities who utilize such services and Uber has de-monopolized the taxi cab service and

reinvented it in every way. Uber is also fixing up the structure of the taxicab industry and

making the industry more reputable. It is doing this by providing rides that are clean, offering

up quality customer experiences, and accepting different forms of payments. They have

also made the experience more customer oriented in that they allow the customer to track

their vehicle as it is in route to them. They have also allowed customers to pay with

their credit cards from the inside of the vehicle. Customers arent the only ones

experiencing positive effect from the implementation of this service.

Uber drivers are also benefiting. The company is creating jobs for drivers and limo

companies that are having difficulty finding work in the city. As the company does not
employee the drivers through the service, they do connect qualified drivers with

customers who need rides located within a specified geographical area.

SWITCH APP

Switch, a new job hunting app that lets you search for a job the same way youd

swipe for a date on Tinder. Like Tinder, Switch allows you to quickly browse through

available job listings. You swipe right on jobs youre interested in and left on jobs you

want to pass on. Hiring managers do the same on candidate profiles and when theres a

match both users are notified. Switch sends a notification to your phone as well as an

intro email to both parties. If email feels too formal, mutually interested job seekers and

employers can also chat informally within the app.

TINDER

Its an online dating app. It finds your location using GPS, then uses your Facebook

information to create your profile. our Tinder profile is made up of your first name, age,

photos of your choice and any pages youve liked on Facebook. You can also include your

education and occupation in your bio.

Tinder then finds you potential matches near your location (you can narrow it down by age

and distance, too) and if they take your fancy, you swipe right to like them. If not, go left to

pass.
 Theoretical/ Conceptual Framework

The theoretical underpinning anchored of this present study is ____. HomeFx is

an application that will notify skilled workers on concerns and the its available home

maintenance services

The scope of this innovation is very wide but this present study is delimited within

the vicinity of Davao City. HomeFx is powered by Android OS and Global Positioning

System (GPS). Through these technologies, this study seeks to create an Android

application that will be of big help to the skilled workers and the homeowners.
 Objectives of the Study

The main thrust of this study is to implement an Android application and a website

that will help homeowners search for an available home maintenance services at the

moment and to the skilled workers to respond to its clients instantaneously.

The proponents were guided with the following specific objectives:

1. Provide homeowners the convenient way to acquire the exact location of the skilled

workers and vice versa.

2. Acquaint homeowners to the various skilled workers available.

3. To give a wide array of opportunities to the skilled workers experienced professionals

and starters alike.

4. To create and application that can run on the latest android versions such as

marshmallow and lollipop.

5. Home owners can easily find skilled workers nearby their household through GPS.

6. Home owners can hire skilled workers and view their profile and credentials in the

application.

7. Users can message the skilled workers to the messaging feature of the application.

8. Users can rate the skilled workers service after the transaction.
9. Skilled workers can accept job offers from homeowners.

10. To create an application that has a readable text and pleasing design.
References :

WHY HOME MAINTENANCE IS IMPORTANT :

IMPORTANCE OF PROFESSIONAL HOME REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE :

SHORTAGE OF SKILL LABORERS :

DSDM

https://files.ifi.uzh.ch/rerg/arvo/courses/seminar_ws03/14_Voigt_DSMD_Ausarbeitung.p
df

GRAB TAXI HISTORY

https://www.techinasia.com/3-years-4-funding-rounds-grabtaxis-anthony-tan-reflects-
journey

UBER REFERRENCES

https://taxistartup.com/blog/6-key-success-factors-behind-uber-growth/

SWITCH JOB HUNTING APP

http://www.businessinsider.com/switch-app-is-like-tinder-for-job-hunting-2014-12

TINDER APP

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinder_(app)

http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/sex-and-relationships/tinder-the-online-dating-app-that-
everyone-s-talking-about-112522

FIVE THINGS TINDER CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT MOBILE EXPERIENCE

UX/EXPERIENCE

https://www.ceros.com/blog/why-does-user-experience-matter/

https://thoughts.duoconsulting.com/blog/what-is-ux-and-why-is-it-important