Michael Armstrong, Information Technology for Business Management, Department of Computer and Information Sciences
Project Aim & Objectives
Aim: To investigate and produce an employee digital wellbeing tracker for CMF to support the mental health of employees by giving them a platform to express their feelings and allow employers to track cohort level wellbeing.
Objectives:
1. Research into examples of digital well-being and self-reflection tools used in organisations.
2. Investigate appropriate tools and techniques for database usage, including frameworks for the front and back end of the system
3. Define system requirements for client needs, for example through structure interviews.
4. Specify on the designs using justified evidence and implement based upon the system requirements from research undertaken.
5. To develop a web-based tracking tool including mechanisms to collect the appropriate use of data.
6. Test the system requirements, testing functionality and user testing.
7. Evaluate the system and its features based on findings from project research and requirements.
8. Evaluate the project process performance.
9. Completion of final report.
Background to the Project
The concept of an employee wellbeing application began during an industrial placement year at a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, referred to as Cramlington Manufacturing Facility (CMF). Currently, no consistent approach is used to monitor employee mood regularly. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic affected working environments, and as the shift back to an officebased workplace has begun, some employees have seen a decline in their overall mood. To overcome these new issues, and inefficiencies in employee wellbeing tracking, the client agreed that a new digital system would benefit the company.
Research
.Literature Review:
• Research into wellbeing in the workplace.
• Current examples of wellbeing applications.
Tools and Techniques:
• Research into the three tiers (IBM, 2023).
• Research into coding languages, databases and charting tools.
Requirements Justification:
• Interviews with client participants to gather requirements.
• Breakdown the requirements using client requirement specification.
Design
Research and creation of:
• Wireframes, including mobile design.
• Use case diagrams and descriptions.
• Data dictionary and entity relationship diagram. Additionally:
• Research into user interface, including HCI principles from Jakob Nielsen.
• Proposed overview of system functionalities using the design elements and requirement justification.
Implementation
Development and implementation of:
• Database.
• Security.
• Submitting and recording wellbeing
• Viewing employee wellbeing
• Responsive Design
Testing
• Use client testing documentation to create test plans
• Create user acceptance questions and gather participant responses.
Documentation included:
• Requirements Traceability Matrix
• Installation Qualification – Hardware and Software compatibility.
• Operational Qualification – System Functionalities
• User Acceptance Testing – Participant Responses
All used to gather and analyse the testing results from the client.
Evaluation
• Thorough evaluation of the system, highlighting functionalities, design, HCI and security.
• Thorough evaluation of the project purpose, showcasing the success of the application, research approaches, time management, skills gained and how the objectives were met.
• Identification of strengths, weaknesses and future improvements.
Conclusions and Future Work
The project has been a success and the aims and objectives has been met as an employee wellbeing application has been created, meeting all the clients' requirements.
Further work
• The integration of the CMF active directory, allowing users to have the system connected to their CMF credentials.
• Create an area for users to view their own wellbeing.
• Additional colour, submission questions and date filter to trend wellbeing.
Bibliography
• IBM (2023) What is three-tier architecture, IBM. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/topics/three-tier-architecture (Accessed: May 7, 2023).
An investigation into work-based digital mental wellbeing trackers and the development of a web-based application tracking employee wellbeing for CMF.