MS7

1. Value Proposition

Our value proposition states that we connect lost items with their owners in a safer and more efficient way, reducing uncertainty for students and giving staff a centralized and traceable process. The smart and CAS features are what make that proposition possible: without them the app would only be a digital version of the same manual process, where the student still has to ask and the staff member still has to remember.

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How do the smart features help us to generate value?

Smart feature	Value it generates	Who receives the value
Automatic Matching	Compares every new found-item report against all open lost-item reports using location, date, item type and description. The comparison that a staff member could only do by memory and for a handful of items is now done over the whole inventory, every time. This is what turns "the item is somewhere in the office" into "this specific item is probably yours".	Student and staff
Match Notifications	Changes the process from pull to push. Today Nicolas has to go to the office, ask, and come back another day. With notifications the system contacts him the moment a candidate appears. This is the feature that directly removes the repeated trips identified in our Journey Map.	Student
Smart Ownership Verification	Uses the private details the owner registered when reporting the item (marks, content, serial number) to validate a claim. Value here is not efficiency but trust: it lets the office hand over an item to a person it has never seen before, with evidence, and it protects the real owner from someone claiming a similar object.	Staff and student

Beyond each feature individually, the smart features generate value because they produce information that did not exist before. The current process only records that an item entered the office. Our matching engine produces data about how long a recovery takes, which fields make a match succeed, and which categories are lost the most, which is exactly what feeds the business questions and the VD Map of Sprint 1, and what makes the institutional subscription worth paying for.

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How do the CAS features help us to generate value?

Our application is a Context Aware System: it captures the context in which an item is lost or found, and reacts to it. Value is generated at each of the five CAS features.

• Feature #1 (Proximity-Based Object Recovery Alerts): This feature automatically detects when a user is physically near the lost and found office (holding their item) so sends an immediate notification that informs them their object is ready for retrieval. It significantly enhances the application's value by transforming passive status tracking into a proactive retrieval experience, eliminating the need for manual status checks or wasted trips and directly accelerating the recovery process.
• Feature #2 (Context-Assisted Item Reporting): This feature streamlines the reporting process for students finding lost items by auto-filling precise location details using ambient Wi-Fi access points and GPS coordinates where they are reporting the lost item. It adds substantial value to the ecosystem by drastically lowering the friction to report found items, which encourages widespread crowdsourced participation and yields higher quality, accurate location data without interrupting students' daily routines.
• Feature #3 (Offline-First Synchronization) : This feature automatically stores lost and found reports locally on the user's device when network connectivity drops in low-coverage areas like campus basements or underground auditoriums, silently synchronizing the data in the background as soon as a stable university Wi-Fi connection is re-established. It adds critical value to the system by guaranteeing data resilience and eliminating report loss, ensuring that students can submit time-sensitive incidents anywhere on campus without frustration or manual retries.

The CAS features also generate value by letting the app adapt to the context of the device, not only to the context of the item.The three contextual features directly support the system architecture by ensuring high performance, resilience, and efficient resource management under real campus conditions. Specifically, Offline-First Incident Synchronization and Context-Assisted Incident Reporting directly address Quality Scenario 1 (while supporting Quality Scenarios 3 and Quality Scenario 11) by guaranteeing fault tolerance and eventual connectivity. They allow the app to capture precise environmental data and persist reports locally in low-coverage zones, such as underground auditoriums or basements and auto-sync seamlessly once reconnecting to the university Wi-Fi. Meanwhile, Proximity-Based Object Recovery Alerts aligns with Quality Scenario 9 by leveraging battery-aware background processing, ensuring that location checks and push notifications are delivered efficiently without draining device battery or compromising user experience. We proposed these features having in mind that the best features are those who gives the most value and also the ones that survives the worst conditions.

In summary, the smart features generate value by producing information and matches that nobody was producing before, and the CAS features generate value by capturing the context that makes those matches reliable and by acting on it at the right moment, for the right role.

2. UI/UX Design - Mockups

The UI/UX aspects of the application were initially defined in MS6. These decisions were maintained.

Colour Palette

The Colour Palette defined in MS6 was maintained in the current prototype

The colour palette defined in MS6 was maintained in the current prototype.

Colour	Hex Code	Psychological Meaning
Yellow	#FFFC05	Associated with optimism, attention, energy, and visibility. It helps important elements stand out and creates a friendly and dynamic feeling. Also since it is the emblematic color of the university we want users to evoke their sense of belonging at the university every time they access to the application.Also it is a primary color that according to theory is related to the psychological dimension of the brain. Specifically is related to happiness. In terms of Gestalt Principle it is useful through the Figure-Ground and Similarity (Focus Point) principles. By applying this vibrant yellow to primary actions, interactive elements, and key alerts, it creates immediate visual contrast against neutral background surfaces. This high contrast directs the user's focal point naturally toward critical interfaces
Black	#000000	Represents elegance, strength, authority, and sophistication. It provides strong contrast and helps emphasize important information and interface elements. We chose to used in titles, subtitles and important buttons. We are following Gestalt Principle of Ground for buttons, so it creates the sense of deepness and a call to action since a black button's ground in a white screen (high contrast) calls the users attention. Also, to create hierarchy between Tittles, Subtittles and Text Similarity we used Bold (in black) since it attracts the user's attention and creates a call to action.
Gray	#999799	Represents neutrality, balance, stability, and professionalism. It helps create a clean interface without competing with the main elements. In terms of Gestalt Principle, it is useful through the Figure-Ground and Continuity/Grouping principles. As a low-saturation neutral tone, gray serves as a subtle background and structural base that recedes into the screen, allowing higher-contrast accent elements to emerge cleanly as the primary "Figure." Furthermore, using consistent gray shades across containers, borders, dividers, and disabled states visually unifies related content and guides the eye through complex layouts smoothly without inducing visual fatigue
White	#FFFFFF	Associated with simplicity, cleanliness, clarity, and openness. It provides visual space and improves readability. In terms of Gestalt Principle, it is useful through the Ground and Closure principles. Serving as the primary background layer, pure white establishes an expansive "Ground" that lets text, cards, and interactive components stand out effortlessly as distinct "Figures." Furthermore, the strategic use of white negative space allows the eye to mentally group related content blocks and recognize natural boundaries without relying on heavy lines, maintaining a clear visual hierarchy and an uncluttered user experience.

In order to complete and justify the decisions the class material and the article : The Psychology Behind Web Design were used

Fonts

The fonts defined in MS6 was maintained in the current prototype

The typography defined in MS6 was applied consistently throughout the current prototype to preserve the visual identity of the application, improve readability, and establish a clear hierarchy between institutional headings, primary information, and supporting content.

Font	Application and Rationale
Anaheim Medium	Anaheim Medium is used for selected headings and elements associated with the Uniandes identity. Its geometric appearance gives the application a distinctive and modern personality while maintaining a visual relationship with the University. Its consistent use supports the Gestalt principle of similarity because users can associate this typography with institutional and high-level sections of the interface.
Inter Medium	Inter Medium is used for screen titles, section headings, buttons, navigation labels, form labels, and important item states. Its visual weight highlights primary information and helps users quickly identify the current section and the main available actions. It supports similarity and visual hierarchy because elements with the same importance use a consistent typographic treatment across the student and staff interfaces.
Inter Light	Inter Light is used for descriptions, dates, locations, instructions, report details, and secondary labels. Its lighter weight keeps the interface clean and readable without competing with titles or primary actions. The contrast between Inter Medium and Inter Light supports the Gestalt principles of similarity and grouping by helping users distinguish primary content from complementary information.

Icons and Images

The icons and images defined in MS6 was maintained in the current prototype

Icons

The icon set defined in MS6 served as the basis for the current prototype, and the icons selected for the implemented screens were used consistently throughout the interface. These include the search magnifying glass, home icon, check mark, support icon, image icon, profile icon, lock for authentication or private information, plus sign for registering items, and navigation arrows.

From a psychological perspective, the use of familiar symbols reduces the cognitive effort required for a user to understand the interface. This supports the principle of recognition rather than recall, because users can associate an icon with an action they already know from other applications. For example, the home symbol is used to represent the application’s main screen.

This also supports the Gestalt principles of Similarity and Proximity, since the icons share a consistent visual style and each one is placed close to the labels, buttons, or actions it represents. Another principle applied is Figure-Ground, due to the contrast between the icons and the interface background, which makes interactive elements easier to identify.

Images

The two image formats defined in MS6 were maintained consistently in the current prototype. Square images are mainly used as previews of items in lists, reports, inventories, and claims. On the other hand, rectangular images allow users to examine an item in greater detail.

From a psychological perspective, these two image formats support visual recognition, since they allow users to observe characteristics such as shape, color, brand, or distinctive details of an item, instead of relying only on written descriptions.

These image formats also support the Gestalt principles of Similarity and Proximity. The consistent dimensions and presentation of the images support the principle of Similarity, while placing each image next to the item name, location, date, status, or description applies the principle of Proximity, making the image and its related information be perceived as part of the same element or group. Finally, the principle of Figure-Ground is also reinforced by clearly separating the image containers from the rest of the interface.

Navigation Patterns

The Navigation Patterns defined in MS6 was maintained in the current prototype

The navigation patterns defined in MS6 were applied consistently throughout the current prototype. Each pattern was selected according to the type of task, the relationship between screens, and the needs of students and staff. This helps users predict how the application works and complete their tasks with fewer unnecessary steps.

Navigation Pattern	Application and Rationale
Bottom Navigation	Bottom navigation provides permanent access to the main sections of each interface. Students can move between Home, Search, Alerts, and Profile, while staff members can access Dashboard, Search, Register, and Claims. This pattern was selected because these are frequent and equally important destinations. Their consistent position supports the Gestalt principle of similarity and helps users recognize the main structure of the application.
Hierarchical Navigation	Hierarchical navigation is used when users move from general information to more specific content. For example, students navigate from the found-item catalog to an item and then to its details. Staff members move from the inventory to a specific record and then to its claim information. Back buttons allow users to return to the previous level and understand their position within the application.
Hub-and-Spoke Navigation	The student Home screen and the staff Dashboard operate as central hubs from which users can start their most important tasks. Students can report an item, search the catalog, or review active reports. Staff members can register found items, search records, and review claims. This pattern groups related actions in one starting point and reduces the effort required to find the main functions.
Sequential Navigation	Sequential navigation is used for processes that must be completed in a specific order. The claim process moves from reviewing a possible match to ownership verification and finally to pickup instructions. The found-item reporting process moves from the initial report to the form and then to the drop-off instructions. Clear primary buttons guide users to the next step and reduce errors or incomplete processes.
Tabs, Filters, and Categories	Tabs, filters, and categories help users explore large amounts of information without leaving the current screen. Students can filter found items by category, date, or location. Staff members can switch between lost reports and found inventory or filter claims according to their status. This pattern supports the Gestalt principles of proximity and similarity by visually grouping related information and controls.

Mockups

Navigable Mockups

General Mockup