Nexus

Inspiration

The inspiration behind Nexus came from the realization that mental well-being plays a crucial role in a team's productivity and cohesion. In a work environment like Jira, which is primarily focused on task management, we noticed a gap in tracking and understanding the mood and emotional states of individuals. By integrating a mood tracker into Jira, we wanted to bring attention to the importance of emotional intelligence and promote mental health awareness in the workplace.

What it does

Nexus is a mood tracking app integrated into Jira. It allows users to:

View predefined mood statuses such as "Happy", "Stressed", "Neutral", etc.
Monitor their mood trends over time.
Easily update their mood, creating an emotional log directly within Jira.
Foster a positive and empathetic team culture by sharing mood updates with others in the organization.

How we built it

The app was built using Forge, Atlassian's platform for creating cloud apps. Here’s a breakdown of how it was built:

Frontend:
- Developed using React for rendering the user interface.
- Utilized Forge UI for integrating with Jira seamlessly.
- Displayed predefined mood statuses and allowed for easy updates.
Backend:
- Forge resolvers were used to handle API calls and backend logic.
- Data is fetched and managed through Forge functions to persist the user's mood choices.
Deployment:
- The app was deployed to the Atlassian Cloud environment using Forge CLI.
- Various testing stages to ensure it works smoothly within Jira.

Challenges we ran into

Forge Constraints: We faced difficulties in fully customizing the UI as Forge's UI capabilities are somewhat limited compared to other frontend frameworks.
Bug Fixing & Debugging: Bundling issues and dependency management errors during deployment were a challenge.
User Experience: Designing a minimal yet effective user interface that is easy to interact with, while ensuring it feels like a native part of Jira.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Successfully built and deployed an app that integrates directly within Jira.
Overcame technical challenges such as dependency issues and UI customization.
Created a simple yet impactful tool that can improve team dynamics and employee well-being.

What we learned

React & Forge: We gained hands-on experience with React and Forge, which are key technologies for building cloud apps for Atlassian products.
Mental Health Awareness: Learned how even small apps can have a meaningful impact on mental health in the workplace.
Team Collaboration: The process taught us how to effectively collaborate remotely and manage a distributed team project.

What's next for Nexus

Future Features: We plan to implement more customizable mood tracking, such as allowing users to choose their mood status or even add notes.
Analytics: Adding mood trend analytics to give teams a better understanding of their overall emotional health.
Expand Integrations: Exploring integrations with other Atlassian products like Confluence or Bitbucket to provide a more comprehensive mental health and productivity tool.

( added my app link in short form cause cant put my long link in the form )