Chloe Henry

Personal Information

Hello! My name is Chloe Henry..

>s3791766

Emails: s3791766@student.rmit.edu.au , ahswinters@outlook.com

I am Australian (predominantly English/German in background), My education to date includes Berwick Fields Primary School from 2006-2012, Kambrya College from 2013-2018, and RMIT 2019 - apporximately 2021. 

I am an avid gamer and enjoy watching anime, as well as reading manga in my spare time, my friends and I often go to Karaoke Bars on the weekends when we need a break from University. 

In terms of languages I speak English and basic German, however I'm studying Japanese language as an elective this year. 

Interest in IT

Interest in IT?

My interest in IT began relatively late into my last year of high-school, due to changing friendship groups I became surrounded with people who had a passion for IT and gaming, which influenced my own passion for IT through constant exposure to it, and a fascination for how the internet, hardware, and software all works together in order to perform certain functions. In year 12, many of my friends were taking IT electives at school whilst I had predominately humanity-based subjects, a choice which I grew to regret later on into my last year of schooling, as my friends would talk about setting up their own websites and creating their own codes using java, python, etc. Whilst I didn’t understand any of it, I was eager to learn and build upon the little IT knowledge I had gained from listening to my friends discuss their technology electives. That is why I chose to enroll in Bachelor of Technology (computing studies); in order to build upon my knowledge of Information Technology.

Why did you choose to come to RMIT?

I chose to come to RMIT as I had heard many positive things about the University (both online and from friends), and attended one of the orientation days in early 2018. I was impressed with the buildings on campus and the sense of community that RMIT appears to have. RMIT also offered an IT course which did not require units 3&4 of any math, as I dropped general math at the end of year 11 due to my pure dislike of the subject; I limited the amount of courses I could apply for unfortunately. The RMIT campus is also a in a convenient spot, making it easier for me to travel back and forth from university multiple times per week. However, I believe I’ve made the best choice in attending RMIT University.

What do you expect to learn during your studies?

 I expect to learn how to manage my time more effectively and work on assignments without leaving them to the last minute to complete. I have found that University is about managing your own time and schedule without relying on constant reminders from teachers/lecturers; which is something that I will learn to achieve during the duration of my course. In terms of the course itself, I expect to learn about how IT both benefits and hinders the progress of humanity through ever-evolving technology, as well as how technology teaches us about ourselves through the data it collects (such as Facebook surveys, personalized ads, etc.). In my other classes, I expect to learn how to create code that allows the user to input information and receive a response depending upon the text they entered, such as a chat-bot. In another course, User-centered design, I expect to learn how to take the usability of technology into account when creating a certain product for the public to use, in order to make the technology as user-friendly and enjoyable to use as possible.

Ideal Job

Ideal Job: Senior UX Designer

https://www.riotgames.com/en/work-with-us/job/10663

This job advertisement is for a Senior UX Designer to work at RIOT games, the company that created League of Legends (a hugely popular MOBA game), in Los Angeles, CA. The role of a Senior UX Designer is to modify elements of the game in order to improve usability for the user. It involves working with other UX designers to plan and create new aspects of the game that are easy to learn/understand, are memorable, pleasing to use for the user, and maintain a certain level of creativity and quality that ties in with existing elements of the game. A senior UX designer is in charge of monitoring and collaborating with teams to create the best user experience possible for players of League of Legends, and is continuously thinking about how player’s experiences can be improved through the creation of journey maps, flows and prototypes. A Senior UX designer must have plenty of experience working in order to improve usability of applications/technologies, hence it is not a job that can be obtained straight after graduating from University. What makes this position appealing to me is the opportunity to work with a massive game and improve player’s usability, as I play League of Legends, I have identified many small aspects of the game that could be improved in terms of usability throughout my time as a player.

In order to be a Senior UX Designer, the individual is required to have years of previous experience working in UX design prior to applying, an ability to think creatively and “out of the box”, be able to lead teams and cooperate with fellow UX designers in order to reach a desired outcome, be familiar with using Adobe Creative Suite, and Prototyping software such as Adobe XD, Invision, Axure, etc. In order for an applicant to be considered for this job, they must submit a portfolio showcasing their ability to improve and/or create technology that improves ease of usability for the consumer (prototypes, sketches, designs, etc.). For this particular senior position at RIOT, it can be expected that the applicant must obtain or already have knowledge of the game and how it operates.

In terms of the qualifications and experience I already have, the amount is incredibly limited. Whilst I have extensive knowledge of the game and how it functions, I know very little about UX design and how to use prototyping software. I can create basic codes using java, attempt to design technology that will improve usability, and sketch ideas for these. However, I do not nearly have enough qualifications and experience to apply for this particular role.

My plan in order to obtain the qualifications for this role is to complete my Bachelor’s Degree of Technology, focusing on choosing electives that relate to User Experience designing and technology in general, also picking up an art elective or two to further enhance my designing capabilities. If not taught in one of my classes, I will teach myself how to use Adobe Creative Suite and prototyping software in order to design any ideas I come up with to improve consumer’s usability of a certain object/technology/program. Once graduating from my Bachelor’s degree, I will attempt to find a job relating to UX design in order to gain experience in the field, building a portfolio of work before applying for any senior UX designer positions. Whilst obtaining a position to work at RIOT games would be incredibly difficult, I will continue to play League of Legends to further enhance my understanding of the game should I ever apply for a job to work in UX design at that particular company.

Personal Profile

Learning Style: http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-results.shtml?event=results&A=7&V=5&T=8&N=Chloe%20Henry

Myers-Briggs: https://www.16personalities.com/profiles/0e61a6157391f

Big Five Personality Test: https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/IPIP-BFFM/results.php?r=2.4,2.2,4.2,2.5,3.9

What do the results of these tests mean to you?

In a short summary, the tests portray me to be an introverted person who finds it easier to agree with others than have opposing views. I can be quite turbulent and therefore become easily stressed when placed in high pressure situations; however, this isn’t necessarily a negative thing as it can push me to finish tasks to a high standard. The tests describe me as being curious to explore new ideas and new ways of doing things, also being a tactile learner. This means that I learn more effectively by doing things and being hands-on, tending to learn better when some type of physical activity is involved, rather than just reading or hearing information. The results of these tests allow me to learn more about myself than I previously thought of or cared to know, allowing me to better identify my unhelpful or negative personality traits and work on them to become a better person, and learner. In my opinion, the tests I have taken do accurately describe my personality and learning habits, and paint a relatively accurate picture of the type of person I am. These results will be helpful when deciding how to go about studying and completing assignments, as well as the type of job I aim to get in the future.

How do you think these results may influence you in a team setting?

In terms of a team setting, I believe these results my influence me to not take a team leader position and instead focus on the tasks I am assigned to do, as I am more introverted and therefore do not work best in a leading role. As I can be turbulent, I will try to minimize this whilst working in a team, and focus on letting my stress be a productive thing rather than a hindrance. In the team I would try to take tasks that allow me to be physically active and productive, such as creating prototypes or sketches, as this type of task is where I perform the strongest. However, knowing these results I will attempt to not be as agreeable with team members and instead offer up ideas should I believe there are better ways of going about an issue than the ones suggested by my team.

How should you take this into account when forming a team?

When forming a team, I will try to work with people who have different types of learning styles to me (auditory/visual) so that work can be delegated based on how it suits each member’s individual learning style. I will also look for team members who can take more of a leadership position within the group and are more extroverted, yet still open to opposing ideas and suggestions. When forming a team, I should aim to find people who are calmer under high-pressure situations, so that I can attempt to level down the amount of stress I feel under pressure, and just get the work done. However, I can also try to delve out of my comfort zone and take on a leadership position within the group, should I feel my introversion is hindering my ability to work in a team setting and perform tasks to my highest standards.

Project Idea

Today’s Task 

Overview: “Today’s Task” is an app to help individuals step outside their comfort zone by setting the user “challenges” based upon their fears/anxiety. (E.g. An individual who gets nervous talking in front of crowds or strangers is tasked with asking an individual for the time (slowly builds in difficulty over time)). User can opt out of a certain task, replacing it with one less challenging but the task will re-emerge another day. The app is designed to entertain users as well as get users motivated to conquer their little fears/tasks. This app is not designed for people with severe anxiety or any other mental health disorder, nor should this app replace seeking professional help from a therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist.

Motivation: This app will be interesting as it is an app that is catered to many different kinds of users; such as those who want to get over a fear of theirs, enjoy getting out of their comfort zone, or want to add a little bit of spontaneity to their day. Today’s Task will be designed to get the ordinary person completing small “missions” in order to overcome a fear or add a random task to their daily routine. For example, according to creditdonkey.com: “It's estimated that as much as 75% of the population struggles with a fear of public speaking to a certain degree”, meaning that approximately 238 million people globally, feel nervous about talking to others. This app could potentially help a large portion of that statistic combat their fear of public speaking through minor tasks allocated on a set basis. The potential market of this app is what ultimately makes this project interesting and worth investigating.

Description: Today’s Task is an app that will allow the user to form their own personalized set of challenges known as “tasks” or “missions”, created by the application for them to complete. When initially downloading the app, a statement of use will appear reminding the user that this application is not a treatment for any severe mental health issues, nor should replace seeing a therapist/psychologist/psychiatrist; as the app is for entertainment purposes only.  After reading, the user must tick a box saying “I understand and agree” in order to use the app. After that step, the user will be required to take a short survey that identifies their purpose for downloading the app, and therefore caters future tasks specifically to their use. Once the test is completed, the application will allow the user to choose their first task from a set of “starter tasks” (small, relatively general tasks given to the user when first downloading and using the application). These starter tasks all relate to how the user answered the survey earlier, so if the user identified themselves as using the application for boredom purposes, the starter tasks will be more random compared to an individual who downloaded the app to become less introverted, in which case the starter questions will be more targeted at getting the user to go out places, talk to strangers, etc. After the starter task is completed, the application will give the user tasks of a similar theme, aiming to cater the missions/tasks directly to that specific user. However, should a user find that a mission/task is not one they want to complete, they can skip it and get given another task (however the mission they skipped may appear again in the future). Through that app’s settings, the user can select how often they want a new task to complete (daily, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly) which can also be changed at any time to suit the user. The tasks will also increase in “difficulty” depending on how quickly the user completes their previous tasks, having to label the task as completed once they have done it. In order for the user to receive their prescribed task, notifications must be enabled so that the app can notify them of their new task, without the user having to check the app itself for mission/task updates. New tasks will be added relatively often, so that users do not run out of tasks to complete. This app relies of the motivation and honesty of users, as there is no way for the app to confirm whether or not the user has actually completed the assigned task. The app itself will be relatively simple in terms of design, focusing on usability and function rather than the aesthetics, although this will also be taken into account of course.

Tools and Technologies: This application will be available for Android phones, and later on IOS once it is initially developed, and will require the use of software such as MIT App Inventor: http://appinventor.mit.edu, in order to create the application for use without needing to learn complicated coding. As I have never developed a mobile application before, a website like MIT App Inventor is necessary in order to get me more comfortable with app development before trying other software. Another piece of software necessary in order to develop this application is the MIT App Inventor Phone Companion, which allows the user to run their application through their phone/tablet whilst developing it. The main piece of hardware needed will be an Android phone or iPhone (in my case an iPhone as that is all I have currently available for use). In order to publish the app once it is built, I will need to join the Apple Developer Program and Google Play Store Developer Program as well.

Skills Required: In order to successfully create this app, I would need the following skills:

. A strong understanding of Mobile User Interface design – how the user and the software interact with one another. The app will need to be easy to use, well designed, and run smoothly for it to be downloaded by the target audience (in this case iPhone and Android users from a number of different backgrounds).

. Cross-platform app development – the mobile application should be made available for both Android and IOS users, so I should have the ability to be able to code for multiple devices across multiple platforms, not just one.

. Another skill I need to have in order to develop this application is the knowledge of programming, including using modern programming languages such as Java, HTML 5 and CSS.

It will be somewhat difficult and time consuming to gain the skills necessary to develop the app, however if I can find others to help develop the application (that already have programming and software development experience) then it is possible to achieve.

Outcome: If this project is successful, it is possible that many users of the app will become more confident and willing to try new experiences as a result of stepping out of their comfort zone through the app and its tasks. Whilst the design of the application isn’t to solve a specific problem, it is designed to help individual users overcome their own little problems, whether it be boredom, fear of socializing, etc. If successful, I believe this app will have an impact upon the individuals who use it, perhaps not a major impact, but motivate users to become happier, more confident versions of themselves.

Elements

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