Task Management
As a team, we did not like the flow of Monday.com so we decided to migrate to Google Sheets instead. Since this move, the team has been successful in tracking tasks. We deconstruct information according to Task, Priority, Description, Person Assigned, Due Date, and Completion. The deconstruction of information aids in a better understanding of what is expected of the task. We have dissected tasks by week. The team has found Google Sheets much easier to access and edit and clearer to read. This resulted in the team being more organized and on top of their tasks. Additionally, since names are clearly listed for each task, the team can easily hold each other accountable. As a team, we really saw better productivity and work ethics due to the switch.
Link to task management sheet: Task Management
Effort Breakdown Within the Team
Audrey: I helped champion the product development process as a process that is intertwined with the research phase. I currently use industry tools (Zeplin, Figma, Notion) to design and communicate design concepts through the use of wireframes and analysis of competitive platforms. I work closely with our programmer, seeking ways to optimise design handoff to engineering. I set up our website for C4 Capstone Day, compiling all of our project artefacts into one platform to showcase to our audience.
Gbemi: Starting from September to now, it has been a learning experience. In September and October, my contribution was mainly narrowing down the project scope through our team brainstorming sessions and contributing to our C4 assignments. During November and December, I mostly worked on figuring out how we might create the User Interface (UI) and understand the User Experience (UX) of the mobile fitness application through secondary research (research papers). Additionally, I started researching what tools I might need in writing the code. In January and February, I was responsible for obtaining the much-needed funding for the swags we will provide for the survey participants and interviewed physiotherapists. In addition, I helped in the editing and revising of our teams’ Ethics Plan. Also, I contributed to the C4 assignments, especially the presentations. Lately, I developed the basic framework for the mobile fitness app, both frontend and backend, with the integration of the database.
Sonika: Starting from September till now, I have had many opportunities to contribute to the C4 project using my research expertise. I advised the group on how research is conducted and completed the HPRC protocol form, with my team member Tharanya’s assistance. We worked on collecting and creating all necessary documents for ethics such as survey questions, consent forms, marketing posters, email scripts…etc. I have also used my background in psychology, to read over articles on our topic, specifically focusing on motivation to exercise which has been an interesting area to explore. Currently, I am working towards writing our project as a manuscript to send out publication in a journal. I have recently done the majority of the thematic analysis of data and manuscript writing along with submitting the required assignments for class such as presentations, portfolios and reports.
Emily: From the start of C4 to now, I have contributed to many tasks relating to the project. Early in the year, the team established roles for each member. My main role on the team is to be a researcher. Thus, I have been finding, collecting, reading, and taking notes on important journal articles related to our project (i.e. important mobile app features for individuals with disabilities). Furthermore, I was assigned to be one of the members in finding suitable exercises for our target population. I am currently doing so and I, along with my team, will discuss these exercises with a healthcare professional to make sure they are safe and effective exercises. Regarding the course, I have been contributing to assignments such as the various presentations, updating the project stories, team reflections as well as making the necessary edits to the ethics documents. I formatted and updated the two surveys being sent out using Google Forms as well. Finally, I have been contributing to the website for Capstone day.
Tharanya: Since the start of our project, my main task has been concerning the ethics process. I worked closely with Sonika and we have completed the necessary documents. We created the Ethics Plan and filled out the HPRC forms, as well as distributed the workload of other documents among our group members to finish the ethics process quicker to send it to the Review Committee. I have created/edited consent forms, the recruitment script and contributed questions to the survey/interview guide we created as a group. Because much of the details of our project were developed through the ethics plan, I was able to pay close attention to the inconsistencies/problem areas with our plans for our primary research methodology and suggest that we make certain changes that would be more effective and time-efficient. Much of our initial plans have changed because of this and it has tested the adaptability of our group, but we have managed to push past these challenges. Lastly, I also contributed to assignments and portions of the portfolio, such as the project story and working on our final capstone day website.
Justina: From the beginning of the year, I have been able to assist in many areas of our project. My main role has been as a member of the research team. I have done significant empirical research regarding wheelchair user’s typical fitness levels, the motivation of these users and what services are lacking for this community. With this data I was able to play an instrumental role in creating the survey questions for the physical therapists and wheelchair users. I assisted the team in finalising our ethics application and I distributed the surveys to physical therapists. Additionally, I have been very active in the completion of our C4 assignments, specifically using my creative skills for creating our presentations. I have worked on the team and vision pages of our website. Finally, I believe that I have played an instrumental role throughout the year in the cohesion of the team, as I often connect with members to make sure they are on track with their tasks and offer assistance if needed.
Foram: From September to present, I have had the opportunity to work on various tasks and use my academic expertise in Kinesiology to help my group with tasks appointed to me. I supported my group as a researcher in the ongoing process of designing our ethics approval. I was also responsible for exploring various mental health organisations that our target audience could utilise, if needed. Along with that, I was responsible for providing a list of places/ organisations where our surveys can be distributed, in order to obtain maximum and accurate feedback. I search for and read various scientific articles that may help my group and I in incorporating beneficial exercises. As mentioned earlier, I also plan on using my academic knowledge to create a list of beneficial and safe exercises so we can present it to medical professionals and gain their opinion before incorporating them on the application. I also have had a role in all of the final C4 assignments, presentations, and finished parts of the final portfolio such as the Team Charter and Project Charter and adding them to the website.
Budget/Expenses
We decided we would give out York University swags to participants of the surveys and interviewed physiotherapists. So, we applied for funding and have been in contact with the Funding Coordinator for C4. We received approval for our funding request. At the end of the survey and interview period, we will send the mailing information of each participant to the funding coordinator. Approximately 15 to 30 participants and 5 to 10 physiotherapists will receive York University swags. We are in the process of distributing awards to our participants.
List of Swag Items
Item A:
Water bottle - A York University Stainless Steel Water Bottle
Each Cost: $19.99
How many: 10
Approximate Total Cost With Tax: $230
Justification: Provides an incentive for the target users (paraplegic wheelchair users) to complete the project survey. And thank the physiotherapists we interview for their expertise in the area of paraplegia.
Item B:
Stress ball - A York University malleable stress ball that has a maximum diameter of 7cm
Each Cost: $4.99
How many: 30
Approximate Total Cost With Tax: $210
Justification: Provides an incentive for the target users (paraplegic wheelchair users) to complete the project survey.
Item C:
Gloves - A York University red & white mittens
Each Cost: $32.99
How many: 5
Approximate Total Cost With Tax: $190
Justification: Provides an incentive for the target users (paraplegic wheelchair users) to complete the project survey. And thank the physiotherapists we interview for their expertise in the area of paraplegia.
Item D:
Mug - A York University Wheat Straw Mug W/Stainless Liner 14Oz
Each Cost: $23.99
How many: 5
Approximate Total Cost With Tax: $130
Justification: Provides an incentive for the target users (paraplegic wheelchair users) to complete the project survey. And thank the physiotherapists we interview for their expertise in the area of paraplegia.
Differences From the Initial Plan
September and October
We started with the initial path of deconstructing and understanding the project question of “how might a fitness app be accessible to people with disabilities” using the 5 whys.
Are disabled people less likely to be active?
Why is it not accessible to people with disabilities?
Why are these resources lacking?
Is there a lack of programming and information on safe fitness for non-able-bodied individuals?
Are people with disabilities underserved?
With these 5 whys, we concluded that the root cause of this problem is the support & accessibility of people with disability, the lack of dedicated spaces & equipment and an absence of self-guided exercises. You can find the full presentation here.
November and December
Due to our decision to conduct primary research, we needed to submit an Ethics Plan to the York University Ethics Board. These allowed us to narrow down who our users would be in terms of their disability, physical limitations, age group and level of physical activity.
We undertook some exploration and discovery following the Design Process (Double Diamond Model) to narrow our scope. We received feedback from our program mentors and teaching team, conducted secondary research and concluded we needed to reframe the “How might we …” statement. It changed to “How might we design a mobile application that encourages newly or not physically fit limited-mobility-device-using (e.g. wheelchair) & blind individuals to be physically fit?”
January & February
After the winter break, we continued conducting secondary research and discussions with our mentors and the teaching team. As a team, we decided it would be best to focus our project on people who use wheelchairs, especially those who have paraplegia. We rephrased the project question to two statements; “How might we design a fitness digital platform that incorporates wheelchair users' needs? Seated-friendly exercises?” and “How might we make current fitness digital platforms more inclusive to non-able-bodied users?”.
We also started questioning how the app will be beneficial to our users by asking the following questions. How would they use the app? Would they need to consult a physiotherapist while using the app? Do our users have extended experience using their wheelchair while exercising?
In January, our coding team was able to make strides in the framework and design. After a frustrating couple of weeks in the research department, we were finally approved for ethics and began to distribute our surveys, but had to explore different mediums of distribution which was challenging. We tried emailing clinics and using personal connections but struggled to get sufficient responses. We also offered reward incentives to our participants to help boost engagement. Throughout these months, we made sure to clearly communicate within our team which helped us stay on track and get many tasks done in a short amount of time.
March & April
Unfortunately, our surveys did not reach the quota we wanted. However, we were able to gain valuable advice from our mentor and recognized that it’s not about the quantity but rather the quality of the responses we received. With that, we were more optimistic and began to review and analyse our data and were able to extract data that helped us better adjust our app to fit our user needs. Initially, we aimed to have a fully functioning high fidelity version of the fitness app, but we decided to only focus on the main functionality of the app and a wireframe concept instead given our time and labour constraints. As a team we were able to come together in a time crunch to complete all our necessary tasks. From the initial plan, we expected to do either a presentation or a written booklet for our final portfolio but we wanted to have an interactive presentation and something that could be long lasting. We decided on a website to present our application and our story. This affected the team tremendously because many members of the team are not well versed in the steps required to create webpages, but we collaborated and each member of the team was able to learn new skills and have a role in setting up the website. We are excited to conclude the semester successfully with all pieces of our project ready to present on capstone day.
