TrueNorth

PERMA-4 is an expanded framework for understanding and promoting well-being.
Example 1: Our Gemini-based model uses the PERMA-4 framework to answer user questions in a friendly and goal-oriented manner.
Example 2: PERMA-4 framework breaks down problems into actionable steps.
Evaluation: we found that our chatbot was generally helpful with answering our 32 test questions.

Inspiration

In today’s fast-moving world, success isn’t just about working harder—it’s about working smarter. Navigating burnout, doubt, or career pivots demands more than willpower alone. We believe every ambitious professional deserves tools that support both their performance and their well-being. TrueNorth equips users with just that: a research-backed, AI-enhanced guide to realign with their goals, values, and direction.

Starting a new career—especially in an unfamiliar field—often brings imposter syndrome, isolation, and unclear goals. When people are empowered to pursue and thrive in highly skilled careers, society reaps the benefits—through innovation, stronger institutions, and a more resilient economy. Supporting individuals during their most vulnerable career transitions isn’t just a personal win; it’s a public good.

Drawing from positive psychology and the PERMA-4 framework, we envisioned a tool that doesn’t just track productivity, it restores purpose. TrueNorth tackles these head-on by helping users reflect, recalibrate, and find meaning amid uncertainty. It’s a compass for navigating high-stakes transitions with clarity and confidence.

What it does

TrueNorth is a personalized career well-being assistant powered by Gemini 2.0 API. It guides users through reflection and micro-coaching based on the PERMA-4 model:

Positive Emotion
Engagement
Relationships
Meaning & Accomplishment
Physical Health
Mindset
Environment
Economic Security

Users interact with the system through natural conversation, and receive tailored prompts, assessments, and nudges to rediscover motivation, clarify goals, and reconnect with what matters most in their work life. The system also tracks progress and patterns in sentiment over time.

How we built it

We used the Gemini API for natural language understanding and generation, crafting agentic prompts to deliver emotionally intelligent responses aligned with PERMA-4 dimensions. The frontend is a dynamic timeline interface that visualizes workplace challenges and well-being goals. On the backend, we structured reflection and goal-setting data into a small MongoDB database to allow recall of recent conversations.

We also integrated Likert evaluations on 32 test questions to estimate the chatbot's effectiveness relative to PERMA+ metrics. These test questions are designed with common themes across early career professionals.

Challenges we ran into

Designing evaluation metrics for subjective, emotion-based outputs was difficult and benefited greatly from our team member's academic experience in evaluation.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud of our stunning 3D animation that greets people on our homepage. We're also proud of our interdisciplinary collaboration between Evaluation & Applied Research Methods and Information Systems & Technology.

What we learned

We've learned how to build a MVP with Vilt JavaScript framework. We've also learned how to use LLM calls within a frontend interface.

What's next for TrueNorth

User feedback integration: Implement feedback buttons (e.g., 5-star rating) for model improvement over time.
Multi-user evaluation: Collaborate with organizational psychologists to test and validate TrueNorth's impact on workplace well-being over time.