The Product

Our project consisted of two tasks picked from a selection provided by the client. The larger of the tasks we chose to work on was making a collaborative version of the Activity Browser. To achieve this a collaborative version of the library the Activity Browser is based on, Brightway, would have to be developed. We designed how such a feature would have to be implemented and created a prototype that allows a user to log into an account from the command line and connect to a server, establishing a secure connection that can be swiftly reinstated on later connection attempts. Furthermore the server has a website that can be connected to which allows multiple administrative functions to be performed. For the second task, we developed a user-friendly installer and updater for the Activity Browser for both Windows and MacOS. The Windows version is complete and fully functional, while the MacOS version is only partially finished. On MacOS, you can download the latest AB update, but it doesn't install automatically yet. The Windows installer places all Activity Browser files in your Program Files using a packaged Conda environment, so you do not need to have Conda installed. In contrast, the MacOS installer still relies on Conda in the background. You can launch the Activity Browser on MacOS with an app file (similar to an .exe file on Windows), but the updater is not yet integrated in this file. We have provided a clear guide on how to modify the installer. Additionally, the Windows installer includes the Activity Browser logo, informative status messages during installation, automatic update checks, and automatic update installation.

The Customer

In this project, we worked for the owner and lead developer of Activity Browser, who are part of CML, the environmental research institute of Leiden University. The institute was founded in 1978 and focuses on doing research to achieve a completely circular economy that uses as little raw materials as possible. We mostly held biweekly meetings with the lead developer, and sometimes with the owner present too, and otherwise kept contact with emails. Thanks to these meetings we were able to have smooth communication with the client and regularly receive feedback, so that our client is satisfied with our result despite the scope and focus shifting during the project duration. As the collaborative functionality of Activity Browser (and the Brightway Python package) has many stakeholders, we also had contact with the development team of Brightway.

  • "Life's like a game - sometimes you gotta tackle the side quests first before getting to the main job."
  • "Designing software follows the Dunning-Kruger effect, if you think you understand it you probably don't."
The Team

The Unpaid Interns is a group of six students from Leiden University. Each of the team members, aside from being a developer on the project, had additional roles that they dedicated themselves to, listed below. The team consists out of: Thijs Groeneweg - Product Owner,Arian Farzad - Head of Documentation & Scrum Master, Hannah Gibb - Head of Communication, Michiel van der Bijl - Scribe, Ruben Visser - Head of Testing, Bryan Owee - Developer. The team worked together smoothly. Regular SCRUM meetings were held, and client meetings were held in a professional manner, ensuring that communication both within the team and externally towards the client was being upheld. The team mostly divided itself into smaller groups whilst working on the project, often using methods such as pair programming for an efficient workflow. Despite some initial struggles within the project, thanks to everyone's combined efforts, we delivered a product we are all happy with as a team. We overcame quite a lot of obstacles, and learned a lot of valuable industry experience in the process, and thus are all very thankful for having been given this opportunity.

The Technologies