A mobile application for finding lost items (SearchiT)

Abstract

People lose things occasionally. Scattered and unorganized lost and found information can have a significant impact on the possibility to get back the lost items. The information cannot reach the rightful owner if they are not well-managed. Hence, the Searchit mobile application project was implemented to provide a standardized, centralized way to handle lost and found items. The project is to develop a mobile application for finding lost items. Research was carried out among students of Makerere University about lost and found items and the preference between a mobile application or a web based application for finding lost and found items. The result showed the user preferred a mobile application and thus, the application was developed so users can access through the app. The basic functionality of the application includes viewing, uploading and searching lost and found items and claiming through email or phone call. MySQL database was used as the system database. The framework of the mobile application is Flutter. The adopted methodology in this project is prototyping methodology. Unit testing, integration testing and user acceptance testing were conducted to evaluate the system. Based on the user acceptance testing conducted, most of the respondents are satisfied with the function of the system. Some respondents suggested to improve the user interface of mobile application so it can be more attractive for users. the mobile application will enable lost and found information to be collected on a single platform so that it can easily be accessed. it will also enable people to locate and get back the lost property at a low expense involved and with less time.