UniFound

Abstract

UniFound is an Android client application implementing an authenticated, cloud-persisted lost-and-found reporting workflow. The system is structured around a lightweight client-side domain model, Firebase-managed identity, and Firestore-backed document persistence.

The implementation is intentionally scoped as an academic mobile prototype, with emphasis on authenticated access, report consistency, validation, cloud write/read behaviour, and evidence-driven testing.

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System Boundary

flowchart LR
    U[Mobile User] --> UI[Android UI Layer]
    UI --> A[Activity Controllers]
    A --> V[Validation Layer]
    V --> FBA[Firebase Authentication]
    V --> FS[Cloud Firestore]
    A --> G[Glide Image Loader]

    FS --> USERS[(users)]
    FS --> LOST[(lost_reports)]
    FS --> FOUND[(found_reports)]

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Core Constraints

Constraint	Implementation Response
Reports must persist outside the device	Firestore document collections
Login must not rely on demo/local logic	Firebase Authentication
Report timestamps must be consistent	Server-side timestamping
UI must remain simple under stress usage	Direct action-based navigation
Prototype must remain testable	Separate lost/found collections
Missing image URLs must not break UI	Glide placeholder/error fallback

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Technical Axes

Axis	Mechanism	Role
Identity	Firebase Auth	User account boundary
Persistence	Cloud Firestore	Distributed report storage
Client Control	Java Activities	Event handling and navigation
Presentation	XML Layouts	Declarative screen composition
Media	Glide	Image resolution and fallback
Verification	Manual scenario testing	Runtime behaviour validation

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Logical Decomposition

client/
├── identity/
│   ├── create-account
│   └── login
│
├── report/
│   ├── lost-report-command
│   ├── found-report-command
│   ├── report-query
│   └── item-detail-view
│
├── profile/
│   └── editable-display-state
│
└── infrastructure/
    ├── firebase-auth
    ├── firestore-write
    ├── firestore-read
    └── glide-rendering

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Firestore Contract

Collection	Responsibility	Required State
users	User metadata persistence	Auth-linked profile information
lost_reports	Lost item write/read path	status = Lost
found_reports	Found item write/read path	status = Found

Map<String, Object> payload = new HashMap<>();
payload.put("status", "Lost");
payload.put("createdAt", FieldValue.serverTimestamp());

FirebaseFirestore.getInstance()
        .collection("lost_reports")
        .add(payload);

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Runtime Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Activity
    participant Validator
    participant FirebaseAuth
    participant Firestore

    User->>Activity: Submit action
    Activity->>Validator: Validate input state
    Validator-->>Activity: Valid/Invalid
    Activity->>FirebaseAuth: Resolve user boundary
    Activity->>Firestore: Write or query document
    Firestore-->>Activity: Success/Failure callback
    Activity-->>User: UI feedback

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Design Decisions

Decision	Rationale
Activity-oriented structure	Direct mapping between feature screens and implementation units
Firebase Auth boundary	Removes insecure local-only login behaviour
Separate report collections	Simplifies prototype query paths and testing evidence
Server timestamps	Avoids client clock inconsistency
Explicit validation	Reduces incomplete document creation
Trello/MoSCoW/Gantt evidence	Demonstrates controlled scope and staged delivery

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Quality Gate Matrix

Gate	Verification Target
Authentication gate	Account creation and valid login
Validation gate	Invalid/empty form rejection
Persistence gate	Firestore document creation
Retrieval gate	Report list population
Navigation gate	Screen-to-screen workflow
Profile gate	Edit/display state transition
Build gate	Android Studio run/build stability

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Extension Surface

future/
├── firebase-storage-upload
├── admin-verification-workflow
├── notification-matching
├── advanced-firestore-querying
├── repository-viewmodel-refactor
└── accessibility-regression-tests

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Repository Context

type: Native Android coursework prototype
stack: Java + XML + Firebase
owner: ushxyuki