Health Space

It has been said that sitting down is the new smoking. Being in the workplace for over 7 hours a day only reinforces this notion. As a future developer, one of our members understands that this type of job could put him at a greater health risk due to being inactive for long periods of time. Our group members feel that the selected exercises in this application would be helpful in renewing the mind and body, encouraging concentration and efficiency.

Many people work seven hours a day without engaging in any physical activity, increasing the likelihood of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. According to research published by Lancet, 15 minutes of daily physical activity can decrease mortality by 14 percent and increase life expectancy by 3 years. MyHealthMatter is an application that encourages users to lead a healthier lifestyle in the workplace, and provides the opportunity to engage in physical activity. Unlike other health and fitness applications, MyHealthMatters focuses on exercises that can be completed in a workspace while in business attire. Users will be prompted to engage in different workouts throughout the day that would take anywhere between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. This application will allow users to upload their achievements, track the calories, set goals and even compete against co-workers. The goal is to create a unique experience that will encourage consistent participation with the application, ultimately improving health, fitness and wellness.

Another student created the storyboard and overall design of the app, and its features. Finally, two other students did research on exercises, and compiled a list of exercises that could be completed wearing dress clothes in a workspace. After each student completed their task, the team reconvened and explained what was accomplished.

For everyone in the group, this was the first time we tried to create an application. We quickly learned how much time and effort goes into creating an application, especially from scratch. While working on the project, we learned that a lot of what we wanted to accomplish would be limited by our lack of coding experience. Although this was disappointing at first, we quickly realized that we could still create something with the knowledge we did have. For example, we initially wanted to create an application that was seamlessly designed. Because none of us knew how to design using Scene Builder, we understood that would not be possible today. However, we still tried our best and created something we are proud of.

Our group is very diverse in our experiences and we were able to marry our ideas to develop an application that was very forward in its creation. While only one member of our team has coding experience, we were all able to take our strengths and help create something we are proud of. Creating this app was a very daunting task, but we were able to cheer each other on and provide reaffirmation that our hard work was not unnoticed. Being able to successfully work for more than 12 hours on a project with someone we recently met is no easy task. Our ability to mesh well in such a short period and create an application is an accomplishment in itself. In addition to this, every member of our team was able to learn a new software we had no prior experience with. For example, in order to design the look of the application, we used JaveFx and Scene Builder. Those working on Scene Builder were self-taught, but did a great job learning as they created. Our coder also pushed himself expand his coding knowledge and even designed his first Gui.

We learned that creating an application with limited skills is not easy, but possible. The only limitation we faced were the ones we initially put on ourselves. When we understood that creating something elaborately designed was not necessary, we were able to focus on our strengths and get to work. We all believe that was the most important lesson. Use your resources and try your best. None of us were disappointed in another member for not being able to do something because we all understand hackathons were a fairly new experience for everyone. We came, we saw, and learned. We were just grateful for the opportunity to participate!

Ideally, we would like to complete the work on this project and then provide it to an a company that is interested in implementing a more healthy environment in their offices.

Built With

• java
• scenebuilder