Question: Team Members Full Names:
Answer: Tomislav Fotak, Ivan Lozić, Marko Škvorc, Ivan Švogor

Question: Mentor:
Answer: Zlatko Stapić

Question: Title of Project:
Answer: GeoScout.Net

Question: Project Overview:
Answer: GeoScout.Net is a platform which main purpose is emphasizing information flows, bringing experts, organizations, societies and people together. The fundamental assumption of this platform began with e-Governance. To visualize it, you can picture a pyramid. The idea that guides us is to use strong basis, and very general system, which components can later be developed used for specific and specialized purpose. Therefore we developed an infrastructure that is very easily expanded. Integrating a new set of functionalities is a few clicks away. Infrastructure like this can allow any developer to build in independent modules, specialized for solving specific millennium goals. Our experts have advised to build a module that can implicitly help to s o l v e multiple millennium goals, i.e. child and maternal health, stop spreading infectious diseases, and keep a sustainable environment as well as world partnership. GeoScout.Net brings together organizations with same missions, trough an incident tracking module. It is no wonder that you can read in newspaper the entire villages were wiped out by some disease, natural disaster or the flora and fauna are threatened by environment pollution. GeoScout.Net allows organizations to select some endangered areas, and publish this information to all other users. Now, field experts and teams can spend less time organizing and reporting. This time allows them better work and greater service quality for those in needs. System can track the resources and needs of mobilized teams. Organization headquarters users can efficiently track the mission progress, and estimate when more help is needed. Also, when reporting a danger zone, system allows users to estimate risk, and help in supply assessment. When some historic data is needed, it is very simple to travel through it, since it is visualized on the map. Entire system is based on high level of visualization provided by Virtual Earth, and Silverlight web application. GeoScout.Net includes a mobile application which is optimized for field work. I t provides an interface for easy reporting, and browsing data in areas with poor ICT infrastructure. GeoScout.Net can also be used in different purposes; adding new modules application can explore whole new possibilities.

Question: Technology/Software Used:
Answer: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5, Silverlight 2.0, WCF, LINQ, .Net Framework 3.5, .Net Compact Framework 3.5, DeepEarth, Windows Live SDK; Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft Expression Blend 2.0

Question: Inspiration: What inspired your team to enter the Microsoft Imagine Cup and why did you choose the Software Design competition?
Answer: At University we study information systems that are essential for today’s business world. The application of latest technology in a right way is a key success for gaining market advantage and user preference. Imagine cup gave us a great chance to use our knowledge and do something good for society. Our research and study area is all about Software Design, so this year’s theme enables us to express the power of technology in order rediscover collaboration so that together we can build a brighter future.

Question: Team History: How did your team meet?
Answer: We are University colleagues that study in information systems and beside that we are good friends with passion for new technologies. Three of our team members study Information and Software Engineering, and one team member studies Database and Knowledge base program. On our undergraduate study we have worked together on a few project and decided to do something bigger. Our alma mater is Faculty of Organization and Informatics, Varaždin at University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Question: Team Experience: What experience did your team have with Software Design before competing in the Imagine Cup?
Answer: As a team we worked together on a dozen projects on our Faculty. As a team we pretty complementary interest areas. Every one of us has some expertise in his interest area, and a major knowledge of information systems. So when we work as a team it always gives better results than individual work. The old Aristotle said that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, so maybe its synergy. The projects we worked on were in areas of advanced programming, web application development, biometry, geography information systems, business information systems, intelligent systems, product marketing, business strategy development and so on.

Question: Highlights: What has been the best part of the Imagine Cup competition to date?
Answer: The whole contest was a great experience. First, there was an initial research and it was an interesting part while we were collaborating with domain experts for our conceptual system design. The part of solving architecture and technical challenges was a precious experience. The excellence of other teams in Croatian finals contributed to our own, so winning local finals was also a good part, because we’ve got a chance to compete with world’s “best of the best”. Also a great part of the Imagine Cup is participation in local Innovation Accelerator at Microsoft Innovation Center in Varaždin, Croatia that gave us priceless experience and new professional knowledge.

Question: Inspiration: How did your team come up with your submission? Include which Millennium Development Goal inspired your solution.
Answer: The guiding idea four our solution was a broad initial research. We contacted many people from embassies and different organizations in many countries, to get a bigger picture of possibilities for IT application. After the analysis we collaborated with experts from organizations that work on millennium goals we chose to focus on. The benefit of this solution is a platform that allows their users to expand it throughout multiple millennium goals with different modules and specialized functionality. Our research has shown how IT can contribute to different areas, so the first module we built is intended to help humanitarian organizations in collaboration. Because humanitarian organizations work to reach multiple millennium goals therefore our systems information support spreads to multiple goals as well. The primary goal that affects all others is global partnership.

Question: Challenges: What personal or technological challenges did your team face while developing your submission?
Answer: Most challenges were technological. One of them was a way to combine Silverlight and Virtual Earth. For our system almost all controls were customized or custom made because we created completely new concepts. Our solution includes Windows Mobile application that uses Virtual Earth maps so the challenge was to figure out how can we save small portions of data to a device with limited memory and process power. In addition translation of coordinate systems was also a challenge. In Silverlight application one of our goals was to develop an application that can be measured up with WPF application. But we did not settle with this, we wanted to outmatch WPF application so this presented a whole new set of challenges. As we mentioned, our solution is a platform, which means it’s easy and highly extendible so we’ve put a lot of effort to make this possible for future interest groups and developers. On a more personal note, one of the challenges was communication with humanitarian organization experts that work in remote places.

Question: Future Plans: What does your team plan on doing after the Worldwide Finals in Cairo, Egypt? Do you plan to use your project to launch a new business?
Answer: After winning Croatian finals, many interest groups and business experts noticed a large potential of our solution and its application in different business areas. All of them have a same cause – to build a system that improves collaboration and enhances information flows. Our business ideas on a world market depend on the outcome of our appearance in Imagine Cup Finals, as in Croatia the potential is already recognized. We are looking forward for meeting new interest groups who find our system helpful in area of their work so that together we can rediscover collaboration.

Question: Links to more information (i.e. website, blog):
Answer: http://www.geo-scout.net