Proposal for mifos mobile application

Introduction

A proposal for how to approach providing mifos functionality through mobile phones.

Proposal

Based on the known requirements to date, I think the project should be implemented as an application in its own right (to distinguish it from notion of module or plugin). So mifos mobile application could contain the following:

1. web based user interface to allow users to verify/approve group/client payments or collection sheet entries made through mobile.
2. its own persistence through any suitable persistence tool e.g. MySQL
3. deployed as a war like mifos
4. integration with SMS Framework to support exposing services through SMS (see FrontlineSMS, RapidSMS)
5. code for app on various smartphone operating systems e.g. android, iphone etc
6. integration with exising mifos application which would require services to be exposed on mifos

Note: in relation to exposing mifos functionality through web services, a basic prototype was implemented for MIFOS-5060 in a branch on git named hudsonBuild-springwebservices

Why seperate application?

By implementing mobile functionality in seperate application, keeps this functionality decoupled from existing mifos functionality, as a result:

1. any investment in mobile mifos will be reusable by and protected from implementation changes in existing mifos
2. can be implemented in seperate git project/repository and stored on seperate source control which will allow specialisation on mobile area and reduce level of understanding of existing mifos required