Inspiration
From reflecting on our past experience with productivity apps, we found it difficult to navigate these apps due to the complex user design and excessive task-management features. Furthermore, after researching in-depth into the devastating affects of stress and anxiety in the workplace, we were inspired to create a web app that promotes transparent communication between managers and employees. Our user-friendly design ensures that all employees, regardless of experience, will be able to use our web app with ease.
What it does
Our app incorporates three main features: announcements, tasks, and a wellbeing check-in for employees. Announcements and tasks promote regular transparent communication and convenient access of information. Our check-in is an anonymous survey that encourages employees be more aware of their stress and productivity, as well as communicate concerns to management without the fear of consequences.
How we built it
Our app is a web app. For the front-end we used Tailwind and for the back-end we used Flask. For the databases we used sqlite3 as the database engine and SQLAlchemy as the object relational mapper. We also used Figma for the designs.
Challenges we ran into
Our main technical hurdles was implementing a login feature, whilst connecting the front-end with the databases. A typical login requires many different security features to ensure a safe connection with the server. To make our website safe and secure for all, we used Flask's wt-forms, login and bcrypt library to authenticate the user and provide different services catered towards the role of the employee. For example, a manager has the ability to create announcements and tasks whereas an employee can only view them. Moreover, using SQLAlchemy allowed for the database to be accessed through Python's classes, which allowed us to use typical Python syntax to access data as opposed to using new syntax/methods.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Despite the time constraints, we created a working prototype and even had the time to make it more faithful to the original designs. Specifically, the use of Tailwind CSS made the process of front-end development more efficient, providing us time to refine the original idea. Three out of the four team members are new to the hackathon environment, yet our consistent collaboration helped us create a product that we are proud of.
What we learned
As it was the first hackathon for most of our team, we gained valuable skills in communication.
To prepare for our pitching, we reached out to several mentors at Hack the 6ix. Through this, we learned how to truly make our product stand out in the market. These include targeting the right audience and leveraging the cause we were supporting, mental wellness.
What's next for EmpowerU
In the future, we plan to implement notifications that remind readers to take a break, and incorporating these messages into chatting platforms such as Discord and Slack. On the topic of well-being, EmpowerU aims to continue providing users with tools and resources such as keyboard navigation, voice control, alternative text for images, assistive technologies, error handling messages and guides. These features aim to improve accessibility among all employees and enhance the overall user experience.
In terms of selling, franchises and small business can also obtain multiple licenses and distribute them to employees.
As research demonstrates that there is a high demand to implement this software due to rising stress rates, lack of transparent communication and task management issues among remote employees, EmpowerU is easily transferable in small business environments. Our unique features and user friendly design, EmpowerU stands out from other productivity apps in the current market.
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