MarloweHub: Unifying Platform for Marlowe Smart Contracts - Phase 1 - Smart Contracts

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Mike Fullman

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Not Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

5

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Marlowe Hub will be an explorer for all Marlowe smart contracts. Our vision is broader to include Oracles,Mediators and Auditors along with integrations and examples to aid in their usage in future.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

Marlowe development by the IOG team is expected to continue. The PRICE of ADA will need to stay near or above $0.30/ADA. we have factored in some risk to the downside, but due to how the funding is now tied to milestones and this is a long term project, we have great risk associated with the price over the next year.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

all will be open source

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

The marlowe platform was designed for transparency and ease of use for normal users. The goal is to make smart contracts accessible to anyone for daily use. There are many aspects of using Marlowe smart contracts that are still too confusing and difficult to understand. Our goal is to build up on the excellent infrastructure the Marlowe IOG team has given us and create an independent platform that will step people through the use of marlowe.

A focused repository providing a wide variety of well documented smart contracts will give people examples to build upon. They will use our search to find a contract similar to what they are trying to achieve and build from there. Each contract will, optionally, include a developer reference which can then also be leveraged for people that want to outsource the development while using a language like marlowe that makes it approachable.

In Phase 1 we will deliver the smart contract indexing, browsing, rating and deployment functionality. In follow up phases (if approved) we will deliver additional functionality like oracle ratings, developer ratings and mediator ratings.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

When I first saw marlowe with Blockly I realized the potential of making "everyone a developer" on cardano. To unlease smart contracts we need to find a way for them to have utility in even the most mundane circumstances, and to do that smart contracts have to be approachable to the masses. This directly addresses the first category goal in development & infrastructure, namely: "Creation and improvement of tools and software that help make it easier for projects to develop on Cardano"

By providing a single focused point for all related information we can walk users through how to put the pieces together.

The following features will provide direct support for users of the ecosystem:

1. Marlowe Explorer: An intuitive explorer interface for all Marlowe smart contracts on the mainnet, allowing users to easily browse, analyze and understand the contracts in operation along with usage statistics about each.
2. Contract Rating & Cloning: An open-source repository of Marlowe smart contracts, each meticulously explained and rated based on their performance, security, and utility. Users can leverage these contracts as templates, accelerating development and ensuring best practices.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

We are the creators of PoolTool and are familiar with the integration of complex tools from the cardano ecosystem as well as how to parse and analyze large datasets. Our brand familiarity will help us gain the necessary traction with developers and ecosystem participants to scale.

Regarding fund management, we have learned a lot over the years. First of all with the milestone procedures in place, the funds distributed will be used almost immediately for development of the project thus limiting the risk. Any funds will be kept in a separate wallet specifically made for this project and wil be distributed as work is performed by inside or outside contractors.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Marlowe Explorer Development - 45,000 ADA (Duration: 2 months)

Objective: Develop and launch the Marlowe Explorer. 

Tasks:

• Backend development to interface with Cardano blockchain. We will leverage the marlowe runtime environment for most of this with our own custom database.
• Frontend development for user-friendly interface
• Testing and deployment of Marlowe Explorer
• Create design and interface prototypes
• Establish development, testing, and deployment strategies

Acceptance Criteria:

• marlowehub.io website operational with live data and ability to explore contracts

Contract Rating deployment System Development - 45,000 ADA (Duration: 2 months)

Objective: Develop and integrate the smart contract rating and copying system. While ratings are straightforward,developing the content moderation strategies and simple deployment strategies may be a bit challenging.

Tasks:

• Extend marlowe runtime backend functionality for contract rating and review
• Populate initial list of open-source contracts and developers
• Develop frontend for contract browsing, rating, and cloning and deployment
• Testing and deployment of Contract Rating System

Acceptance Criteria

• marlowehub.io website operational and ratings system operational for contracts

Launch and Marketing - 10,000 ADA (Duration: 1 month)

Objective: Launch the Marlowe Hub platform and carry out marketing activities.

Tasks:

• Soft launch for testing and user feedback
• Final bug fixes and adjustments
• Official launch of the platform
• Marketing activities and user education

Acceptance Criteria

• Did we do a soft launch and gather feedback
• Did we incorporate said feedback in the platform
• Did we broadly launch the platform (twitter handle, forums, etc)
• Final walkthrough video of the entire platform and a wrap up video

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

The pooltool team will be developing this platform

1. back end processing will be handled by mike
2. front end and smart contract details will be handled by Leon

The two of us have a history of providing solutions in the Cardano Ecosystem

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Milestone 1: 90 hours across 2 months - Mike and Leon

Milestone 2: 90 hours across 2 months - Mike and Leon

Final Milestone: 40 hours across 1 month - Mostly Mike

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Marlowe is a beautiful endeavor envisioned to make smart contracts dead simple easy to use. While the platform has seen limited uptake i believe bringing real world examples to the forefront will make it easy for non-developers to understand the potential of the platform.

IOG has spent literally millions on developing the platform. Our goal is to take that, leverage it, and expand its use cases. What we are asking for is a very small amount given the potential leverage we will see from the platform.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept