Goals for 2024

• “Be the infinitely better alternative over Crossangles ” - @Manhua Lu (Unlicensed)

  • Notangles and Crossangles should no longer be mentioned in the same breath

  • Do some research on creative ways to market Notangles to wider UNSW cohorts to make it popular than it is.

• Make sure that Notangles is an application that users could be comfortable with using and can transition to, ultimately leaving Google / Apple Calendar.

• Transition Notangles away from a UNSW Timetabling application to a more robust UNSW Social Media Timetable/Planning platform

• All of the above will vastly improve the lives of users who wish to choose Notangles over other calendar applications.

• Create a space where members can simultaneously enhance their technical skills and develop meaningful relationships

• A supportive environment that embraces everyone’s technical skill cap.

  • Members should not feel like their time is going to waste - constantly expanding skill sets, learning and exploring new avenues

• We would want a judgment-free zone that celebrates the differences within the subcommittee.

• Ensure everyone is included in conversations (in-person and online)

  • This includes asking each member, if they are having any problems or if they disagree with anything we have said.

  • Transparent and open communication to encourage a collaborative environment

• The director’s goal is to understand each member of the subcommittee from an objective and subjective standpoint. This means we must ensure subcommittee members are having fun and also outputting the best to their capabilities. We want everyone to learn and grow from this experience.

• Break PRs into smaller chunks than what we had last year. This makes PR reviews short and faster.

• Ownership of code is something we want to see more of this year. This will mean that people will be able to take pride in their work and yield results that they are happy with.

• Be clearer on objectives and deadlines in a manner that is not too strict but pushes subcommittees to do their best to meet the demands set out for them.

• Pairing programming is something that we want to see. Be it directors or other subcommittee members. We realise that pairing with similar skill caps also creates strong bonds amongst the subcommittee and this is something we want to foster in Notangles.

• UIUX changes.

• Refactor drag.ts (only god knows when this will be fixed)

• Federated Auth system - Using it to store data instead of local storage.

• Explore collaborations with other projects

  • Circles - users can share their degree plans via our social timetabling feature.

  • Freerooms - users can view (and potentially book) available rooms when attempting to plan events.

  • Marketing team

  • myUNSW - users can directly add chosen courses and timetable data to their UNSW timetable

• Social Timetabling - split this into two main parts/subteams

  • Timetable

    • Users can switch between daily, weekly, monthly or yearly views

    • User timetable data can be made private or public

      • Separate personal timetabling and university timetables

    • Users can share events and timetables: Social Timetabling | 1. Share Timetables via Link

    • Users can put in availabilities (when2meet) and other users can also view these availabilities if they want to book meetings or plan events

      • Checkout: Online appointment scheduling with Google Calendar – Google Workspace

    • Handle multiple users editing a single timetable: Social Timetabling | 4. One Timetable amongst a Group

  • Social - allowing users to plan events with groups

    • Users can add friends: Social Timetabling | 3. Creating Friend Groups

      • Users can see friends enrolled in their university classes: https://www.figma.com/file/FFfIc419QcoCtygY7xmyLX/Classes-Pop-up-Mock-up?type=design&node-id=0-1&mode=design

    • Users can search and browse timetables of friends or societies (based on privacy settings) i.e. society events planned for the next week/month

    • Feed page that notifies the user of their events planned along with recommended society events

      • Events | Campus Bible Study (ccbchurch.com)

      • Users can also view friend's live activities for example if they are in a class or studying at university they can plan a meetup

      • Users can invite friends to collaborate in developing a timetable or planning events

Future extensions:

• Mobile application

  • Enabling push notifications for events

  • Implement daily TODO’s and reminder system

• Implement algorithms into the autotimetabler that enable users to plan based on study techniques i.e. Pomodoro

  • Can utilise AI to learn how users plan events and hence help users schedule events

• Integration with other universities

• The team dynamic is important to consider and historically Notangles has been well known for its bonding events. We would want to carry it on this time as well. We want a split that focuses more on growth than anything. This growth doesn't necessarily have to be related to coding, but also social.

• Team bondings once every fortnight to a month is a good ballpark

  • Consider weekly games night (online or in person after meetings) to keep up team spirit - video/board/card games or sport

• Meetings shall be done weekly with an option open for online stream. Ensure that they are encouraged to come in person.

  • Meetings should be a mix of ‘Dev sessions’ to allow members to continue working in a more collaborative environment along with social to bond and develop team chemistry

• Fortnightly checkups / Coffee Chats with subcommittee members on what they are doing and how they feel.

• Celebrations for when members complete features or tickets

  • DevSoc Internals-wide shoutouts to motivate members of their impact

  • Hall of fame for Notangles project contributions including members from previous years

• Give subcommittee members the power to implement their own ideas or choose which features they want to work on