May 7, 2014

By Rumasa Noor

Justin Mortimer, Anthony LaBuda and Evan Sutherland received approval from Apple for an app they recently created.

The trio of UW-Whitewater students who have created Queue, an assignment-tracking application meant for students to keep track of their homework assignments and other projects.

Mortimer said the app allows students to enter their classes and assignments, arranges them in a chronological order and places the most recent assignment on the top. If one person enters an assignment, everyone else in his class will receive the notification that the assignment was added.

“This app doesn’t just keep track of assignments like a to-do list would, but it puts it into an easily readable list with the assignment due next at the top and assignments that are almost due shaded in red,” Mortimer said. “It also has a social component where, if anyone else in your class has this app and enters in an assignment, it will go into your Queue and you are able to then accept it and it will be added into your assignment list.”

Sutherland and LaBuda created the company, Nickel and Dime, earlier this year, and they were joined by Mortimer for the development of the app.

LaBuda came up with the idea of the app when he was taking a mobile development class with Sutherland last year.

“As a company, we are trying to expand as much as possible without having any revenue yet,” Sutherland said. “Ideally we are going to use the revenue we make from Queue, to hire more developers, take on more projects.”

Sutherland said they have a few projects in mind they want to develop. They also want to add more features to the Queue.

“The idea is that as a company, we would eventually facilitate people who have app ideas but don’t know how to turn them into something tangible,” Sutherland said.

He said they want to provide service to students and local companies. They plan on working on android applications as well.

The three students will display their app in Techapalooza, an event showcasing the developments of the department of Information Technology and Supply Chain Management (ITSCM). Sutherland said he and his partners are looking to promote the app at this event.

“It’s meant to be a quick resource for you because we are running with the assumption that students are always procrastinating and waiting until the last minute,” Sutherland said. “Hundreds of things that are in students’ minds, it’s meant to help alleviate that and gives you a quick reference to what needs your attention across all your classes.”

Sutherland said there also is a social aspect of using this app since, by using Queue, the whole class is collaborating whether they talk to each other or not. It’s also helpful for new students.

Techapalooza will take place from noon to 3:30 p.m. on May 8, in Hyland Hall Atrium.