So we wanted to build an app for FixMyStreet. Easy: we just had to make a cut-down version of the website, right?

Hmm, not quite.

In our two recent posts, we announced the new FixMyStreet apps, and their developer Struan went into some technical detail about why and how we built them.

Now he explains a little more about what informed the decisions he made during the apps’ development.

Moving the map, not the pin

When you use the desktop version of FixMyStreet, the first thing it asks for is your location, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s such a good reason that it needed to apply to the app as well.

On the desktop site we ask you to input your postcode or street name. With a mobile app, it’s much more likely that you’ll be reporting a problem that’s right in front of you, so we can usually skip that step and show you a map of your current location.

However, while the accuracy of geolocation technology is pretty good, it’s not perfect, so we wanted to let users fine-tune the location.

On the website you click on the map to drop a pin where the problem is, but we’ve found this isn’t the best solution on a small screen. Fingers are big and the end of a pin is small so it can take several clicks to correctly position the pin.

We quickly realised that having a central static crosshair, and moving the map to the location was a much easier and more accurate way to set a location.

Sending reports made offline

As we explained in the previous post, one of the benefits of the apps over the mobile site is that you can make reports even if you have no phone coverage. The app stores all the details until you get back within range and you’re ready to send it off.

One decision we made, which might seem initially puzzling, is that these offline reports don’t automatically get sent off to the council once you’re back within range of a phone or wifi signal.

There are two linked reasons for this, and they’re both related to the fact that FixMyStreet lets you report a problem even if you don’t know who to send it to.

Simply, before we can work out who to send the report to, we need to know exactly where you are – and that you are within FixMyStreet’s area of coverage (ie, within the UK).

Your location also dictates the categories that we show you. Each council has its own categories, and in areas covered by two tiers of government, each council will deal with different types of report. So for example, your county council might deal with potholes, while your district council handles dog fouling.

Once you’re back online we can check that the location is one we can accept a report about, and then fetch the list of categories for you to pick from.

In effect, this delay is also a second chance for you to check your report before you send it off, although that was never the reason for the decision!

The constant map

The final decision we made was to leave the map in the background at every step of the app process.

We initially designed it with the map only appearing when you needed it, but having the map underlying the reporting process provides a nice bit of continuity with the website, and seemed to make the app cohere better too. So, while there’s no particular reason for it to be there, we made the decision to keep things uniform.

If anything else about the app has got you wondering, do feel free to leave a comment below!

Photos by Cali4Beach and Christopher Bulle, and adapted from an image by Premshree Pillai (CC)