Reflection on Semester’s Work
As the semester comes to a close and I reflect on the ideas presented and work completed since September, I am proud to be working on a project that still means a great deal to me. I look back at the “Five Things I hoped to Learn by Doing a Thesis Project” post from the beginning of the semester, and the goals I had going into this project continue to act as strong guiding principals for my work on this developing thesis project.
- Confidence. I’m excited by the way that I am able to take in the amazing constructive criticism I am receiving from the thesis panel and my advisor and continue to develop the project I want to make. Their guidance, even when conflicted, inspires me to refine my statements, my research and my design into a convincing, compelling product idea.
- Technology. Involvement in our department’s “AppLab” has me excited about learning the technology behind iPhone applications, and even though I can currently make only a working button with XCode, I continue by beginner’s reading, and with the help of my classmates, have even become a registered “Apple Developer”! I won’t soon be submitting anything to Apple’s Store review, but the more I am involved with the smart kids, the more I learn from them and challenge my self to understand.
- Long-term project management. Some things did get pushed until the last minute, but overall I was happy with my ability to maintain weekly checklists and manage my time accordingly for an ongoing project.
- Presentation Skills. Being in front of the class and the thesis panel, including Liz and Jennifer Bove, has helped me to streamline my slides and commentary and I’m getting more comfortable with presenting slowly but surely. I’m still no Scott Berkun but I do believe that my presentation shortcomings are no longer hindering the content I want to provide to my audience. I am actually beginning to enjoy sharing my ideas with a larger audience.
- Research away from the screen. This semester, I’m on the phone, in the supermarket, at farmer’s markets and meeting families, health professionals and nutritionists as part of my research for this healthy food initiative. I continue to spend plenty of time online looking for tools and data to strengthen my product and my understanding in this space, but I am seeing the benefits of the offline, face to face conversation that shapes my project in the most meaningful ways.
Midpoint Concept Presentation
The idea I’ve refined from the phases of research and ideation is called Food4Thought, a mobile application that addresses the widespread misunderstanding of food consumption by providing healthy recommendations and a system for tracking nutrition changes that can consciously effect improvements in personal diet regimens. It’s about reengineering the food environment so that eating becomes both mindful and enjoyable.
The application will incorporate a database of small, manageable changes that will have an overall positive effect on their diet and wellness if incorporated into your lifestyle over the long term. A daily reminder system and checklist will help you focus on one small change at a time, for 28 days, the span in which experts in behavioral modification say is sufficient to replace a bad habit with a better one. A support component for friends and family will help participants reach their goals, and the social aspect will contribute to the viral concept of “spreading” healthy living.
In the upcoming months, I plan on designing and executing a working prototype that incorporates every stage of behavior change from knowledge to advocacy. In the end, I hope to have this product developed into a fully-functional iPhone application submission to the app store. 
