This web I have created basic story board for my webstore. This story boards are not entirely comprehensive but they provide enought of a layout to allow me to contune with the project.

I am behind on the project segular due to sickness and getting side track on my research report. After discussing it with my supervisoer I have decided that the format I choice for the research report is not approprate for this project to alevate some of the issues with time management I will try and complete my new design for the report while working on the webstore.

I have only just realsised that I have the names of my techonolgies confused for example I was plaing on using express as a back end where I though I was using node which is a less advanced form of express. In contrusted I have been calling redux express. Other than names my understanding of the two has remained the same.

I Have choicen to use react-boiler plate for this project I have planes to use every aspect of it to make my project more professional. The one problem I may encounter is that react-boiler plate uses redux and I was planning on using react hooks instead. I starting to thing that using soully react-hooks is not a wise idea but instead I should use react hooks in conjuntion with redux to manage me web pages information.

React-boiler plate is mostly javascripted oritated with a few new technolgy which I plan of using such as delinting models and unit testing. Learning these will hopefull bring my understanding of webdeign closer to the inductry.

By the end of this week:

I plan on completing my liturature review.

Creating a paper prototype.

Choose my technologies.

By completing these I will be almost cort up to where I plan to be at this point in time. Next week I plan on focuses on completing the frame work for my site which will be easier if I have both a prototype and know what technolgies I will use. After completing the framework for the site I will need to start focusing on working with ethirum.

Current I have selected most of the tools which I will used for the project.

Block Chain – ethirum: ethirum seems to have the most complete form of the technology that I would like to use.

My SQL workbench – Is what I am famalar with and is alo availilbe to me. I also have the option of using SQL sever but that is gated behind a pay wall and I’m not sure if I have the knoledge and resources to set that up. An online hosting site like firebase is also an option.

I will use git hub for verson management because it is what I am famlar with.

I will use vs code for my IDE as I have completed simlar projects in it before.

After this week I need to create something like a gant chart to manage my timeline. I can easierly create one of these in exceel as I already have experience with it.

I will trello to manage my task and what I have to complete. I have tested a few different applications simlar to trello, the main one being microsoft planner. Trello seems to both be the easiest to use as well as the one with the largest set of features.

Due to some health issues, I have fallen behind on the literature review. To make up for this, I have done a small amount of research which will be correlated within this blog post. This will help with the scope of my project. Having some research completed will allow me to move on with my project and hopefully complete my literature review soon.

The project will likely need to be in JavaScript, as it is one of the most common languages for creating websites. I have a familiarity with some packages written in JavaScript which can form the base of a website. These include React, Express, Node and knex. Despite being behind with my project, I estimate I have time to learn one or two new skills, as well as refreshing my knowledge of other skills. I have not yet worked out whether the blockchain I am using will require any special skill sets or whether I can passively pick up the skills needed to use Ethereum.

I am likely to need a database system to manage the data for my website. This would normally result in a choice between different SQL languages, as I am familiar with several of them. I also have the option to choose a less relational language such as MongoDB, but I feel that relational languages are going to be better for the longevity of the website. However, I will need to do more research.

If I run out of time, it is possible that I can use Express to store the data in the browser. This, and I cannot express this enough, is a last resort and should only be used in dire circumstances. Using Express in this way will slow down the site to an unacceptable degree and prevent the site from properly managing information.

Based on my understanding, the SQL language I choose will not matter as much as other choices I make and can be left to later in the project.

I should also look at incorporating some other uses for blockchain into my project. The key to this is remembering that these other uses of blockchain are not the focus of the project, but could help facilitate the creation of the website.

One idea I have come across is using smart contracts as a form of DRM. I could use the web-store to sell digital copies of books or as a rental/library service. I don’t think using DRM on the website is the best option, as it removes some of the focus from smart contracts. This could be a fall back plan.

PHP is another option which I could consider using for my project.

React has a new feature called hooks, which could replace Express. I would need to learn how to use hooks, but it would simplify the project.

I have found some information about the legality of smart contracts, not on their use, but instead on their contestability in court. This is an important thing to think about for the next stage of my project.

The next stage of the project is to look into environmental factors that could affect the website, such as legality and systems which the website could come into contact with.

This week’s focus was on gathering information which could be used in the creation of my project. I have found multiple articles which cover smart contracts, which is the topic I am working on, as well as others which could be used to help design my project.

Informative Links:

Crosby, M., Pattanayak, P., Verma, S., & Kalyanaraman, V. (2016). Blockchain technology: Beyond bitcoin. Applied Innovation, 2(6-10), 71 .

Luu, L., Chu, D. H., Olickel, H., Saxena, P., & Hobor, A. (2016, October). Making smart contracts smarter. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM SIGSAC conference on computer and communications security (pp. 254-269).

Ingle, L. (2019). Smart contracts in consumer law: Does New Zealand need to wise up?. Victoria University of Wellington Legal Research Paper, Student/Alumni Paper, (23).

Sillaber, C., Waltl, B., Treiblmaier, H., Gallersdörfer, U., & Felderer, M. (2020). Laying the foundation for smart contract development: An integrated engineering process model. Information Systems and E-Business Management. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-020-00465-5

Raskin, M. (2016, September 25). The Law and Legality of Smart Contracts. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2959166

Nugent, T., Upton, D., & Cimpoesu, M. (2016). Improving data transparency in clinical trials using blockchain smart contracts. F1000Research, 5, 2541. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.9756.1

The above reference links provide information about smart contracts, ranging from legal limitations to theoretical uses.

Exemplar Links:

Nugent, T., Upton, D., & Cimpoesu, M. (2016). Improving data transparency in clinical trials using blockchain smart contracts. F1000Research, 5, 2541. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.9756.1

The article which is linked above is about using smart contracts to improve the transparency in clinical trials. Although this is different from the purpose of my project, the author provides their source code which I could use as a guide for my project.

Nugent, T., Upton, D., & Cimpoesu, M. (2016). Improving data transparency in clinical trials using blockchain smart contracts. F1000Research, 5, 2541. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.9756.1

It has been a while since I have used my web development skills, so the above link could be useful for reminding me of any skills I may have forgotten.

In addition to all of the reference links I have provided above, I also have access to work which has been completed by both myself and other students. I can build on this work in my project. One former student did a project about the use of Ethereum. I can use some of his findings to inform decisions I make when planning my project . Additionally, this project is similar to the GEB web-store project which I worked on in some of my SYD classes. The work done in the GEB project and my project are not a one-to-one comparison, but I can still use GEB as a base for my planning.

Project Manager Meeting

I had my first meeting with my supervisor. During this meeting we discussed the timing, frequency and medium of future meetings. We decided to have weekly meetings over teams at the same time each week. The only exception to this is that we can have face-to-face meetings on the days I have my PRJ classes.

One of the main subjects we talked about was the methodology which will be used in my project. Currently the two main methodologies I am considering are agile or rapid prototyping.

Agile allows me to make changes as they are needed, which is important because my project is complicated and beyond the scope of what I am used to. However, I am concerned that I will not have enough time to complete the project if I strictly follow an agile methodology.

In comparison, rapid prototyping gives me stricter time frames and allows me to have planned iterations. This will limit the amount of time I need to spend on each phase of the project. I also have a contact who works with rapid prototyping, who can provide me with advice if I need it.