HowDidI App

Overview

From June 2024 to October 2024, I served as both Project Manager and Technical Lead for the HowDidI App, an iOS application that enables professionals to upload their résumés, earn income from viewership, and offers readers first-hand application materials for purchase. We built this platform with Swift (front-end) and Firebase (back-end) to provide real-time content synchronization and user interactions.

The platform’s core concept:

• Uploaders share their CVs, personal statements, or interview experiences.
• Buyers purchase “passes” to access specialized or niche résumés for educational and career-boosting insights.

Key Highlights

1. Project & Team Management

   • Led a 3-person university team using Agile sprints, continuous requirement refinement, weekly progress demos, and stakeholder feedback loops.
   • Acted as the primary liaison with business stakeholders—translating business ideas into actionable user stories and sprint tasks.

2. Swift + Firebase Integration

   • Built the app’s entire flow in Swift: navigation (SwiftUI/NavigationView), user sessions, in-app media (PDFKit, AVKit).
   • Leveraged Firebase for real-time updates and data sync (e.g., storing PDF résumés, user metadata, and purchase records).

3. Mentorship & Knowledge Transfer

   • Provided comprehensive guidance to junior developers on front-end design patterns (MVVM with SwiftUI), real-time data sync, user testing, and release management.
   • Organized daily stand-ups, refined backlogs, and used tools like GitHub Projects to ensure a smooth development lifecycle.

Code & Technical Achievements

To illustrate my deep involvement in code design, here’s an overview of selected SwiftUI components (see below) along with advanced techniques I introduced:

1. Multi-Screen Navigation with SwiftUI

struct ContentView: View {
    var body: some View {
        TabView {
            HomeView()
                .tabItem { Image(systemName: "house.fill") }
            LibraryView()
                .tabItem { Image(systemName: "book.fill") }
            PostView()
                .tabItem { Image(systemName: "plus.circle.fill") }
            ChatView()
                .tabItem { Image(systemName: "bubble.left.and.bubble.right.fill") }
            ProfileView()
                .tabItem { Image(systemName: "person.crop.circle.fill") }
        }
    }
}

• Tabbed Navigation: Demonstrated clear user flows—Home, Library, Post, Chat, Profile—using SwiftUI’s TabView.
• Custom Tab Bar: Overrode UITabBarAppearance for consistent brand styling and theming.

2. PDFKit & AVKit for Rich Media

struct ResumeView: View {
    @State private var selectedPDF: String = ""
    @State private var isImageFullScreen = false
    ...
    var body: some View {
        ZStack {
            // PDF Thumbnails, comment sections, pinch-to-zoom in full-screen
            // ...
        }
    }
}

• Dynamic PDF Viewing: Employed PDFView to let users read or zoom in on uploaded documents.
• Fullscreen & Pinch-to-Zoom: Tapped gesture to go fullscreen, combined MagnificationGesture and DragGesture to handle offset + scale transformations.
• Video Playback: Integrated AVKit for in-app demonstration videos; auto-scaling to device screen, gesture-based exit from fullscreen.

3. Custom Paging & Swipe Navigation

struct PagingScrollView<Content: View>: UIViewControllerRepresentable {
    // A specialized scroll that allows vertical paging across multiple screens.
    // ...
}

• Vertical Paging: A specialized UIScrollView bridging SwiftUI, enabling swipe between “Resume,” “Advice,” and “SoP” screens.
• Manual Index Management: Controlled page offsets and index indicators for a custom, smooth user experience.

4. Firebase Real-time Sync

• Store & Retrieve PDFs: Automatic sync once a user uploads a PDF or media file, ensuring instant availability to other app visitors.
• Pass Purchase Flow: Maintained user purchase states (did they buy a pass? expiration date, etc.) in Firebase, controlling access to locked résumé content.

5. Mentorship & Code Review

• Guided Team on Swift best practices: usage of @State vs. @Binding, custom UIViewRepresentable bridging frameworks like PDFKit.
• Implemented Agile: daily stand-ups, backlog grooming, weekly sprints with tasks assigned to each developer, thorough code reviews for quality control.

Additional Responsibilities

• Stakeholder Communication
  Set up requirement-gathering sessions with project owners, refined user stories, and validated acceptance criteria—ensuring each sprint delivered meaningful increments.
• UI/UX Design
  Collaborated on wireframes, tested color palettes, and tested user flows for frictionless reading/purchase experiences.
• Database & Security
  Advised team on Firebase rules for read/write privileges, preventing unauthorized access or data tampering. Proposed minimal data indexing for faster queries.

Personal Growth & Reflection

Technical Mastery

• Strengthened SwiftUI architecture knowledge, bridging Apple frameworks (PDFKit, AVKit) with custom UI controllers.
• Hands-on experience with advanced gesture handling (pinch, drag) for media.

Project Leadership

• Juggled PM tasks (Agile sprints, backlog refinement) with tech lead duties (code structure decisions, mentorship).
• Ensured code quality via peer reviews and continuous integration setups.

Communication & Adaptability

• Balanced stakeholder requests with pragmatic dev timelines, re-prioritizing features and scope as needed.

Final Thoughts

Building HowDidI App reinforced my ability to blend technical expertise in iOS (SwiftUI + Firebase) with project management responsibilities. Handling advanced media viewing, real-time sync, and a monetization model demanded meticulous planning and robust coding. The experience sharpened my cross-functional leadership and cemented my passion for delivering polished, user-centered mobile apps.

I’m confident this project demonstrates my Swift knowledge, Firebase integration, and team leadership—all invaluable assets for any role seeking a proactive, full-stack-minded iOS developer.