The research proposal my team and I put forward for our app, showing why there is room for and need for our app in the current market

1. Our app
By Shauna Monaghan, Aoife Gannon, Ashleigh Merrin &
Aoife Bell Brew

2. An app for stress monitoring

3. Stress App – Chosen Idea
Concept – an app that monitors a persons stress levels and gives advice
on relaxation
Self tracking – a band/bracelet is used in conjunction with the app.
Heart rate & sweat is monitored by Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)
Data is graphed simply on app
How it will work - stress is monitored by GSR bracelet
Data is displayed on simple graphs
Traffic light system used to warn about stress levels
Data is graphed on the app so individual can see their stress
levels, graphs must be simple & easy to understand
Health advice given relation to stress levels

4. Stress App - Problems
The galvanic skin response bracelet/ring may be
unappealing to people may not want it to be visible or
on show.
People may not understand the graphs & data.

5. What is stress?
Stress is often defined as a mismatch between the
demands placed on us and our ability to cope with
these demands.
("Stress and heart," )
According to the Small Firms Association Report 2006
stress is replacing back pain as a key cause of
absenteeism from work in Ireland

6. Research Papers
Proudfoot,Parker,Pavlovic, Manicavasagar,Adler &
Whitton(2010) carried out research to explore community
attitudes toward the appropriation of mobile phones for
mental health monitoring and management.
Of those who completed the online survey, the majority
(399/525 or 76%) reported that they would be interested in
using their mobile phone for mental health monitoring and
self-management if the service were free.

7. Why is this research important for us?
It shows us that people are interested in using their mobile
phone for mental health monitoring. Therefore there is a
potential market for out app.

8. Research paper 2
Maddern-Leserer (2012) carried out a study which investigated the
relationship between awareness of stress—as a result of
monitoring stress levels multiple times a day and its impact on
relapse to addiction

9. Results of this study showed that participants were
twice as likely to remain in treatment compared to
nonparticipants. Data analysis showed that
participants' actual moment-to-moment stress
remained fairly constant, however, participants
reported a decrease in the perception of their stress.
Furthermore, participants reported that they found it
useful to participate and 100% of the participants
reported that they would use this form of data
collection again

10. Why does this impact us?
Results from this report show us that people found it
useful and would be inclined to use this form of data
collection. Which again suggests that the app would
be used if created.
The fact that data analysis showed that participants
reported a decrease in the perception of their stress
would suggest that having knowledge of ones self
can be of benefit to ones health

11. Product related research (what
products already available)
EmWave2 Heart Rate Variability Monitor
emWave technology collects pulse data through a pulse
sensor and translates the information from your heart
rhythms into graphics on your computer or into easy to
follow lights on the portable emWave Personal Stress
Reliever.

13. Stress Check app
To use Stress Check, you hold your
index finger over the iPhone's
camera flash for two minutes, long
enough for the app to measure the
blood flowing through your finger
for patterns that would indicate
elevated stress hormones. It does
so by using the light from the flash
to gauge subtle changes in colour
on the skin's surface that reflect
blood flow patterns.

14. Flaws :
When performing tests back to back, I was given
stress levels on completely opposite ends of the
spectrum. In one case, Stress Doctor said my stress
level was at 54%, however when I ran the test
again, my stress level was at 14%.
Appearance and aesthetics of the app are dull and
lifeless, making the app less attractive than it could
potentially be

15. Persona
Mark
37 years old
Full Time employed in a fast moving company
Owns his own house with a mortgage, bills and car to pay for
Working for a promotion
Background
Mark has been working in his company for five years. He is currently working a lot of overtime in
order to achieve a promotion. He recently bought his own house and is in the process of
refurbishing it, this along with the added cost of the mortgage is creating stress in his life. He’s
struggling to find time for his work and his renovations. He also can’ts manage to find the time to
exercise. Mark is under a lot of stress and needs help managing it.
Technology
Mark is surrounded by technology in his work and has top range smart phones for both his work
and personal phones. He manages as many aspects of his life as possible through his phones such
as his banking, his work schedule, personal schedule, social networking etc.

16. Anne
28 years old
Stay at home mother with two kids
Husband works full time in a well paid job
Background
Anne is a stay at home mother with two children. She loves being a stay at
home mother and relishes in the time she gets to spend with her children.
She feels the stresses that any mother feels but she doesn’t get
overwhelmed by it. Her husband works full time in a well paid position and
therefore can finance all their expenses and some additional luxuries.
Technology
Anne does not own a smart phone as she has no time for the use of apps. As
the mother of two small children she fears owning an expensive phone in
case any damage were to befall it at the hands of her children.

17. John
23 years old
Lives at home with his parents
Unemployed and claims welfare
No bills, mortgage to pay for
Background
John currently has no stressors in his life as everything he needs is provided
for him by his home or the State. His lack of bills or rent to pay for means his
welfare can be spent on luxury items hence he has no desire to work as he
views it as unnecessary stress.
Technology
John is extremely tech savvie as a member of the younger generationi he
grew up with modern technology. He owns a mid range smartphone and
indulges in the purchase of apps on a regular basis.

18. Field Research
Talking to User
Without clearance from the Ethics committee, we were
unable to carryout field research. We filled in an A form and
have submitted it to the board.
We plan on speaking to 20 participants between the ages
of 20 and 60, during lunch hour, on a busy city centre
street. We will ask them their age, gender, profession, to
rate their stress levels on a scale of 1-10 (1 being very little
stress), and whether or not they would use a stress
monitor if it was available to them.

19. Proposed Research methods
We have decided to undertake quantitative research in
order to quantify and be able to generalize our results
from the sample to the population. We plan on using a
questionnaire to begin with to gather data, and later
interview participants after presenting our prototype, in
order to get feedback.

20. Requirements Gathering Techniques
We chose to undertake brainstorming to begin with to run through
potential ideas, and potential problems that may arise over the course of
the project.
We will then move on to questionnaires as a method of data gathering as
we felt it was the most appropriate and reliable method for what we are
attempting to gather. We then plan on creating prototype to present to
participants, and then conduct interviews to gather feedback and opinions
on any issues or recommendations participants may have
We had planned on carrying out focus groups instead of interviews, but
were worried that, as research suggests (Mansell et al., 2003); people may
be inclined to be swayed by other people’s point of views

21. Research Findings and implications
for design
Due to our issue with ethics, we were unable to carry
out our research, however, our back round research
suggests that people would be interested in an app to
help them monitor their stress levels, and therefore we
predict a positive feedback to both our questionnaire
and our prototype.

22. References
Maddern-Leserer, D. (2012). Stopping the downward spiral: Real-time monitoring of
stress with cell phones as a self-help tool for relapse prevention. Dissertation Abstracts
International, 72,
Mansell, I., Bennett, G., Northway, R., Mead, D., & Moseley, L. (2003). The learning
curve: the advantages and disadvantages in the use of focus groups as a method of
data collection. Nurse Researcher, 11(4), 79-88.
Proudfoot, J., Parker, G., Pavlovic, D., Manicavasagar, V., Adler, E., & Whitton, A. (2010).
Community attitudes to the appropriation of mobile phones for monitoring and
managing depression, anxiety, and stress. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 12(5), 111122. doi:10.2196/jmir.1475
Stress and heart disease . (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.irishheart.ie/media/pub/factsheets/stress_and_heart_disease.pdf