APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE FOR DISASTER INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES
A Project Study Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate Program College of Information Technology and Computer Science University of the Cordilleras
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
by MARVIN MORTE MONTEAGUDO February 2015
PROJECT STUDY ABSTRACT 1. Title: APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE FOR DISASTER INFORMATION MANAGEMENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NUEVA CACERES Total No. of Pages: 174 Text No. of Pages: 38 2. Author: MONTEAGUDO MARVIN MORTE 3. Type of Document: Project Study 4. Type of Publication:
Unpublished
5. Accrediting Institution: University of the Cordilleras Gov. Pack Road, Baguio City CHED-CAR 6. Sponsor : Commission on Higher Education – Faculty Development Program Phase II 7. Keywords: disaster management, disaster risk and reduction, application programming interface, disaster information management suite of applications 8. Abstracts: 8.1 Rationale / Background of the Study Disaster management has become one of the most studied fields in management, politics, and natural sciences. With close to 10 typhoons crossing the Philippines every year, along with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that randomly occur, the government enacted the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 that empowered the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, along with its LGU counterparts to conduct activities regarding disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and rehabilitation. Under the said republic act, schools are also enjoined to include disaster management in its curricula, as well as establish its own DRRMC unit to take part on disaster management activities and ensure the safety of its own backyard.
The University of Nueva Caceres, considered as the oldest university in the Southern Luzon Region, answered the government's call by establishing its own Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, aiming at utilizing the university's already growing IT capability as one of the effective tools in executing its functions. The IT-based capability in disaster management typically requires the creation of applications that can be accessed using current devices and means. This means creating applications that transcends the boundaries of platform limitations. The use of an Application Programming Interface (API) may ease the burden of redundancy in creating applications for separate platforms and unite the data functionalities into a single framework that is easy to use, robust, and scalable. The researcher proposed a study on creating an API for Disaster Information Management, as part of the overall Disaster Information Management Suite of Applications, in hopes of taking advantage of the current trends in information consumption to hasten the actual development of desktop, web and mobile tools for disaster information management and dissemination. The study aimed to answer the questions on informational requirements for the development of the said API, the classes and objects that will be created, and the respective functions of each class and object therein. 8.2 Summary The study intended to design and develop an Application Programming Interface for Disaster Information Management of the University of Nueva Caceres. Specifically, the study answered the following: 1. What are the information requirements needed in the design and development of the proposed Application Programming Interface for Disaster Information Management of the University of Nueva Caceres? 2. What are the different objects and classes that compose the proposed Application Programming Interface for Disaster Information Management of the University of Nueva Caceres?
3. What are the functions of the classes and objects of the proposed Application Programming Interface for Disaster Information Management of the University of Nueva Caceres? The Scrum methodology was used to develop the proposed system because through it, the management of the development of the project can be done by iterations through a specifically-defined timeframe, individuallyassigned tasks, accountability-bound deliverables and requirement-based working releases. 8.3 Findings After analyzing the data derived from the concerned organizations and comparing it with their existing processes, the following are the findings of the study: 1. The information required ranged from communication templates, informational brochures and other administrative, communication and resource management documents. Initial requesting applications such as the Disaster Information Resource Management web application, Android Application for Disaster Information Management and the Decision Support System for Evacuation Planning also provided their specific data requirements; 2. The classes and objects identified are: Synapse/Interface, Security, Resource Manager, Communications Manager, Building Manager, News Manager, Room Manager, Schedule Manager, Student Manager, Weather Underground, and Custom Queries; 3. The functions contained within each classes / objects are as follows: for the Synapse class: parseURL(); for the Security class: verifyKey() and generateKey(); for the Router class: routeTo(); for the Resource Manager class: addResourceType(), getResourceTypeById(), getResourceTypes(), updateResourceTypeById(), deleteResourceTypeById(), addResource(), getResources(), getResourceByTypeId(), getResourceById(), getResourceByQuantity(), updateResourceById(), increaseResourceInventory(), decreaseResourceInventory(), deleteResourceById(), backupResourceList(), backupResourceTypes(); for the Communications Manager class: sendEmail(), sendPush(); for the Weather
Underground class: getCurrentConditions(), getAstronomy(), getCurrentCyclone(), getThreeDayForecast(), getTenDayForecast(), getHistoricalData(), getSatelliteImage(). 8.4 Conclusions Upon careful review of the findings, the researcher drew the following conclusions: 1. Despite the availability of data on communications, resource management, information campaign and standard operating procedures, the current system in place does not provide an expedient framework to address the basic needs of disaster information management in terms of tracking and monitoring communications, resource dispersal and management, as well as the proper control of information being released to different stakeholders, including general public. 2. The Service Locator architectural pattern allowed for a straightforward approach in developing the API classes, which was based on the specific needs of the requesting applications, and the general informational need that was deemed important that should come along with the API. Using REST architecture made the API classes more accessible and consistent. 3. By developing the functions of each object and class in conformity with REST architeture, the produced API is highly scalable, which means it can be upgraded with less code, less development time and less downtime. This completely redefines how next-generation applications will be developed in the university, particularly now that more and more solutions are leaning towards web and mobile devices as primary consumers of information. 8.5 Recommendations The following recommendations are offered for the different entities who may benefit from this study: 1. An important avenue to explore is the scalability of the API, which may provide a starting point towards a unified solution to hybrid information systems in the future.
2. The API has not undergone enough stress test to ensure its ability to handle simultaneous requests. Before it gets implemented, it will be prudent to conduct sufficient tests that can ensure the API's performance 3. The API should also undergo an efficiency test to measure how fast it responds to various queries. 4. The API should also have a number of extra security layers to ensure the integrity and safety of the data involved. Future researchers may consider exploring studies on the effectivity of IP Blacklisting/Whitelisting, public/private key combinations, among others. 5. The API should ideally be a part of a definitive and well-specified Application Development Framework. An interesting and fruitful research might be centered on how this can be achieved.
CURRICULUM VITAE MARVIN MORTE MONTEAGUDO Unit 1, Elvira's Apartments, Zone 5, San Felipe, Naga City, Philippines +639065747616
[email protected] ___________________________________________________________ PERSONAL INFORMATION Birthdate: July 19, 1978 Civil Status: Married Gender: Male Religious Affiliation: Iglesia ni Cristo ___________________________________________________________ EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Graduate
: Master in Information Technology, 2015 University of the Cordilleras Cum Laude Master in Business Administration (with units) University of Nueva Caceres, Naga City
Tertiary
: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, 1999 University of Nueva Caceres
Secondary : University of Nueva Caceres, 1995 Elementary: University of Nueva Caceres, 1991 ___________________________________________________________ WORK HISTORY Faculty Member College of Computer Studies University of Nueva Caceres October 2003 to Present Offshore IT Project Manager / Multiplatform Developer Interact Education Melbourne, Australia June 2013 to Present
Offshore Web Applications Developer / Debugger Distributed Website Corporation 355 West 4th Street Winona, MN 55987 September 2007 to April 2008 Media Coordinator Promotions and Publicity Office University of Nueva Caceres June 2004 to May 2008 Digital Media Jamaica Group Aguirre Ave., November 2001
Specialist of Companies BF Homes, Parañaque City, MM to December 2003
IT Instructor Computer Communication Development Institute 4th Floor, Monzon Bldg., Arana St., Naga City November 2001 to October 2002 Computer Operator I Camarines Sur Information Technology Center Provincial Capitol Complex, Cadlan, Pili, Cam. Sur. January 2000 - June 2001 ___________________________________________________________ IT SKILLS AND CERTIFICATIONS 1. Knowledge in C/C++/C#, VB.NET, Java, Python, PHP and Perl. 2. Knowledge in Top to Bottom IT Project Development, Agile Project Management 3. Knowledge and experience in collaborative work and the use of code management and revision control tools (CVS, SVN, Git)
