April 5th, 2016
ViaData has invited a group of Honours students in Information Systems from the University of Cape Town to invest in a project to “mobilise” Travelyst, ViaData’s Tour Operator Software. The idea is to improve communication and accessibility with Travelyst end clients (the Traveller) through the use of a Travelyst Mobile Application. They have undertaken this remit and are now in the process of creating a mobile app for Travelyst. Below are the bio’s of the project team and an outline of the remit they were given…
The Team
We are the Keystrokes, a team of 4 Honours students majoring in Information Systems. The team members include Shestine Haripershad, who is also the team leader, Anny Fang, Jeronisha Chetty and Natheer Davids. We will be developing a mobile application for ViaData, called Travelyst, for our Systems Development Project this year.
Shestine Haripershad
I am currently doing my Honours in Information at the University of Cape Town. I completed my undergrad at UCT and started off majoring in Computer Science and Information Systems. I realised that I wasn’t particularly interested in Computer Science as it was a bit too technical for me. I was more interested in how technology, more specifically systems, could improve the way a business runs. I was drawn to Information Systems as it focuses both on a business aspect as well as the developing of applications or systems. I enjoyed developing Web Applications and Mobile Applications in my final year of undergrad. It had made me discover that I am really passionate about front-end design. I find it very enjoyable and could spend hours trying to perfect a user interface. I am looking forward to my Honours year as well as working with ViaData on the Systems Development Project.
Natheer Davids
I am a 22-year-old BCom Honors IS student at UCT. I did my undergraduate degree at UWC where I initially majored in statistics and economics but ended up graduating with an IS major, funny how things work out. I have never really done a blog up until this year, where apparently doing one weekly becomes the norm, although I still struggle to conceptualise the correct things to say, especially about myself. Anyways, I am a Muslim, I am quite interested in topics related to ICT4D, I wrote a mini-thesis on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system adoption in the Western Cape and am currently doing another mini-thesis on the accessibility of e-government websites for the visually disabled, other than that the progression of e-commerce is quite interesting, I tend to be quite business orientated I suppose that’s down to what I learned in my undergrad and the environments I’ve been exposed to. I love football (the British version not the one American’s play where they use their hands), I am a little bit of a gamer and I occasionally surf (waves not the internet).
Jeronisha Chetty
I am currently completing my Honours in Information Systems (IS) at the University of Cape Town. I believe that Honours in IS is particularly valuable because it allows students to engage with people in the industry throughout the year. The IS Department has ensured that IS students understand the industry, current market trends, how businesses operate and how Systems Development projects are carried out. I enjoy coding mobile applications and researching current affairs. I am currently researching cyber security awareness amongst the average person in South Africa which I think is relevant given the adoption of technology into everything we do.
Anny Fang
My name is Anny Fang and I am currently an Information Systems (IS) Honours student at the University of Cape Town (UCT). I started my undergrad at UCT majoring in Computer Science and Chemistry in the Science Faculty because I had enjoyed Information Technology and Chemistry in high school. I failed Chemistry in the first semester of my second year and decided to take IS as my second major later in the year. I enjoyed IS and gained experience working with clients in our final year project, where we had to analyse an organization’s current processes/operations and find ways to improve them. One of my hobbies is playing badminton.
About the Mobile Application
The students will be developing a mobile application for ViaData’s Tour Operator Software, called Travelyst, which will automate some of the processes currently implemented by ViaData. The mobile app for Travelyst will be a travel app that retrieves custom made itineraries for a specific user, and saves it to their local storage (cellphone). This will decrease the amount of documents that a traveller would need to carry around. The app will also make sure their itinerary is up to date if any changes are made. The app will incorporate a messaging function between the traveller and the consultant so when issues or changes arise during their travels, they can easily communicate with the consultant. There will also be the ability to rate a service such as a car hire or a hotel. This will allow ViaData to capture user feedback. We are also going to let the mobile app link to Google Maps and TripAdvisor. Google Maps will allow travellers to find their way in a foreign country and TripAdvisor will allow them to see any exciting events happening in the area they are in.
The Future
As ViaData, we will be following the Keystroke Team as they develop a mobile application for ViaData’s Travelyst Tour Operator Software. All the ups and downs, frustrations and breakthroughs will be blogged as they travel the road to success over the coming months! We wish them all the very best and good coding!
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