08. Build 1.1.0 Q&A

BUILD 1.1.0

Build 1.1.0 will be released for testing later today. A notification will be sent out via TESTFLIGHT when the build is available for refresh. The system includes a new module for Q&A Reporting and some minor defect fixes.

Q&A Module

The new module keys off of a new plist file (making it 5 now) which has been added to the download routine (when not in demo) and also for the first time install (where the plists are copied from the bundle into the documents directory of the sandbox area).

Again - emphasis is on SIMPLICITY. Remember this is meant to be a tool for reporting on activity within the host VDR system. The baseline structure I've used for my Q&A data is as shown below...


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<array>
<dict>
<key>document</key>
<string>12.02 iVDR Enablement Pack for Life Sciences</string>
<key>question</key>
<string>In the appendix it includes a sample index. How common is it that clients adopt this structure and in doing so does this speed up the process of getting the project up and running?</string>
<key>answer</key>
<string>We believe that 90% of clients use our sample index. We have plans to expand these.</string>
<key>raisedByGroup</key>
<string>Antwerp</string>
<key>dateRaised</key>
<string>27/06/2012 13:00</string>
<key>raisedByPerson</key>
<string>alexander.crisse@itchypig.com</string>
<key>answered</key>
<string>Y</string>
<key>dateAnswered</key>
<string>27/06/2012 15:10</string>
<key>answeredByPerson</key>
<string>paul.lyrick@ItchyPig.com</string>
<key>published</key>
<string>Y</string>
<key>datePublished</key>
<string>27/06/2012 16:00</string>
<key>publishedByPerson</key>
<string>Admin@ItchyPig.com</string>
<key>publishedToAudience</key>
<string>Group</string>
</dict>

note I've used Document but this can be a folder or any other entity. A question can go against anything, it's up to the VDR to decide that.


1.1.0 DEFECT FIXES

1. Fixed userViewController class so that the search term was cleared when toggling list views (by group, status, role). The search term was showing from the previous search even though the view loading was the default full view.

2. Same viewController as above. Defaulted the search field to show upon initial list load to make consistent with other view controllers and make it more apparent for the user there is actually a dynamic search available.

3. On all list views I now deselect the row touched. It was previously left highlighted (blue) which is not consistent with what the user would want to see happen. This change was not applicable for the UsersLoginsViewController as touching a row on that list view invoked another screen anyway (the userRecordViewController). Likewise for the new Q&A module and its list views.

4. userViewController. Fixed defect whereby I noticed the right hand index (A..Z) would get lost (hidden) if you did a search on the A..Z list view and then switched views to a list which didn't have the index. Now returning to the A..Z view now correctly brings the right hand index back.

1.1.0 CHANGES

1. Q&A

- Home controller now downloads a 5th plist file when not in demo mode.
- Home controller also unbundles and copies a 5th plist file when run for the first time.
- Two new UIs added for Q&A - one for main reports, the other one is a simple flat scrollable one for viewing the Q&A detail that has been selected.

2. websiteViewController

I have added an activity indicator (standard one) for the product information link. This gives some indication to the user that something is happening. This is because the webpage (www.vdrwatch.com)  is loading asynchronously.

MORE ABOUT Q&A REPORTING

The Q&A facility is located in the more section. The first view is a breakdown of the total amount of Q&A. This tells me how many questions have been raised, how many have been answered and how many have been actually published. Additional metrics could easily be added here.

The first view is a summary of the total amount of Q&A activity. It may well be that the host VDR is not having it's Q&A function being used, or it maybe that that's Q&A is an essential part of the transaction. This view simply tells the user if its being used or not and possibly how far behind the sell side team is in terms of responding to questions.

Following on from this then a graph is calculated based on the number of questions submitted by group. This is a clear indication of interest by the groups.

This is a fully searchable view of Q&A arranged by group. Our familiar index is on the right hand side allowing a 'jump' to a particular group. I can search for anything here which will dynamically filter the view. This is demonstrated a little later on as you will see.

Selecting a Question will jump into another flat screen showing more details. The user can thumb up and thumb down as its a UIScroller control.

This view is a a selection of the all the completed Q&A. Completed means the question has been answered and the answer has been published. Again with our search bar we can easily perform a dynamic search across this data set making it a very powerful mobile tool.

This final view shows what is still outstanding. In other words, questions that have either not been answered OR have been answered but have not been published! Again the view is dynamically searchable.

SUMMARY

In summary, this took a round a week to do for me as I had other things going on. I learnt a lot from this though as I added a new data file to the system, spent far too long the other night on working out why my delegate method WebViewDidFinishLoad wasn't being called (basically it was it was just the breakpoint wasn't working properly) and wasted some time on an upgrade to xcode 4.5. Re this upgrade, very frustrating.... I had to upgrade to xcode 4.5 in order for me to connect an ios 6 device for provisioning. When I completed the upgrade my code would NOT link and then after changing some settings would NOT even compile. This led me on a merry dance around the internet for solutions. Seems like others had the same problems. I eventually got it working but did not appreciate the drama the upgrade caused me.

Aside from that... I am very pleased with adding a Q&A module to VDRWatch. If I was a busy sell side participant I would really want an app like VDRWatch thats for sure :-)