Inspiration
Our project was first inspired by a personal project by a member in our group - an app for paper trading. We wanted our project to be more applicable to the prompts given for the Finance track, so we brainstormed an idea to create a credit score simulation that can teach users how bigger life decisions can have indirect decisions on their credit.
What it does
Our app takes the user for a choose-your-own adventure story where they get to make major life decisions for their character and see how they can have indirect effects on credit score. We also have a Learn page for the user to learn what a credit score is and how it is calculated.
How we built it
We built our app using React. We had two teammates working on the data structures and mapping questions while the other two teammates worked on the front-end of the project.
Challenges we ran into
Our first challenge we ran into was finding a system to calculate credit score. There are three primary bureaus that calculate credit score, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each of these bureaus have their own algorithm to calculate credit score, and these algorithms change as well. After speaking with the Capital One table, we decided it would be best to create our own scale for credit score.
Another challenge we ran into was finding the best data structure for our "Question-Option" system. Each Question has multiple options that can lead to different questions. Our solution to this problem was to create a graph where each question is a node, and the options available are represented as edges.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
This is the first time our group worked together, so we put effort into planning out our project thoroughly and creating a good foundation before writing any code. As such, it became much easier to create the project and stay organized.
What we learned
Our group gained a much better understanding of how to work in a team with React and create projects on the larger scale. Since this was out first Hackathon, we also learned how to pace our project and allow time for breaks.
What's next for Credit Score Simulation
We would love to continue working on this project more in the future. With more time, we can create more questions a build a larger story for the user. We would also love to deploy our site to make it accessible to others.
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