Final Submission

[ColtonSankey]

Final Project Report

Summary/Debrief

In general things went well for us as a team. We occasionally struggled with scheduling time to meet as a whole team or in our working groups. Our biggest barrier over the course of this project was balancing the scope of it with our visions vs. the time we had to operate. We had grand visions for the end result of the product but quickly realized we would not have the time to implement everything we originally set out to create. In terms of what went well, our team had good communication (generally through our text thread so it will not appear in slack). We also did well breaking off into smaller teams to tackle different areas of our codebase, essentially creating a frontend, backend, and ML team all within our 6 person group. Our design documents were instrumental in keeping everyone on the same page when it came time for linking.

Validation

• Much of our backend validation went very well through cypress tests as discussed in issue #215
• Our frontend validation plan was to look at user data to see how our recommendation algorithm aligned with actual user preferences. Since much of our user testing data landed on functionality and feature layout/preferences it was more difficult to get this data from users. It also requires significant levels of engagement from the user as it needs data from the users watching habits to update preferences successfully.
• Another method for validation was tracking the amount of downloads on the app store. Due to a couple bugs, our app store deployment came slightly later than we intended and thus it was challenging to collect numbers that we could use as measurements.

Potential Next Steps

• Allowing users to connect with each other through the app in a "social media" sense
• Allowing users to upload their own content. This would require significant effort in validating content for educational purposes as well as a fully automated clipping/storing process
• Increase the range of topics that we host beyond just computer science
• Gaining awareness for the app (advertising)

Final Takeaways

• We learned the importance of scope when taking on a project, especially of this caliber. It was easy to overlook the amount of work it would take from each different team just to add additional features.
• Communication is key! It was helpful to know when someone was going to have the time to get another aspect of code completed and tested, especially if it was blocking your own progress.
• Lessons for the future. We realize this is a culminating experience that we want to go well for us, but just as important as that, we know that the lessons we've learned through this will continue to carry forward with us into the professional world.

Trailer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m1PKBa7bIn0bSoS5DPQAaQNC3mXuogRn/view?usp=drivesdk

Medium Article

https://medium.com/dartmouth-cs98/upgrade-your-screen-time-learn-cs-fundamentals-with-discite-14c3337cb074

[timofei7]

great job with the release! the app is a little slow/buggy - wish the videos could stream a bit better / loaded in with a preview image rather than a lot of darkness, but overall you architected a complex solution, nicely done.