Overview
“That which is measured, improves.” My concept is a service, entitled measureLife, featuring web, desktop, and mobile applications wherein users can supply goals and related metrics to capture on an ongoing basis coupled with feedback in the form of graphs, charts, notifications, and achievements to support their journey towards these goals. In addition to single-user goal management, the service will provide features for teams, including a coaching feature-set. Applications for the software include sport team statistic management, weight management, medication control, maintaining a health regimen, skill advancement, balanced scorecard, personal or team improvement processes, etc. The service will provide users with a sophisticated toolset and feedback to help them reach their goals.
Expected List of Features
measureLife will offer the following features for users:
Individual and team goals: A goal consists of a goal statement, an optional time-period for achievement, one or more metrics that represent steps toward achievement, and optional milestones. For example, a goal of losing 25 pounds by December 2018 may include a metric of weight measurement and monthly milestones until the goal is achieved.
Customizable metrics: Metrics are the main data input mechanism that supports the advancement of a goal. Metrics should be very flexible to support the widest variety of use cases. For example, a metric may simply consist of a number (for example, weight) or may be a set of numbers (for example, blood pressure which requires both systolic and diastolic measures) or may be steps along a journey (for example, completing a Yellow Belt before moving on to an Orange Belt in a martial arts context). Defining customizable metrics is a key component of a successful goal management system.
Data entry ease: Metrics need to be easy to enter and track. Metrics can prompt data entry via notifications, but the main application user experience must satisfy the quick and simple communication of a new value. This is especially critical as a user defines more goals to manage and more metrics to achieve.
Integration: To ease the data entry challenge, metrics can be fed by other applications (Google Fit, gear, SHealth, vitals, etc) or other services (via public APIs). This final item is a key market differentiator and significantly increases the potential use cases for the application.
Dashboard and Reports: Of course, with all the data being generated users will need both quick and rich means by which to study the data set, and to analyze whether they are on track to meet their goals or need to make adjustments along the journey. The measureLife web service will offer a sophisticated dashboard and in-depth reports to provide users deep insights and critical feedback.
Coaching and Social Features: To help users achieve their goals, mesaureLife will offer coaching features that allow coaches to comment on progress, refine goals and metrics, and receive details about the users they are coaching toward a given goal. Likewise, users will be able to leverage social features to support posting their progress to social applications (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) as well as share their advancement via email. This feature can even be leveraged to communicate to anyone interested in a user’s progress (for example, a cardiologist monitoring a user’s blood pressure over some time span or a parent checking on a student’s progress).
Journaling: Often, users will need to reflect on why they are advancing their goals, or may simply need to take notes to communicate what challenges they may encounter along their journey to achieving a particular goal. The web service will offer support for users to document their thoughts in a powerful Journaling feature.
Templates: Templates provide ready-made Sets of Goals, Metrics, Dashboard Widgets, and Reports around given use cases. Although not an initial feature, eventually it would be great to offer a way by which users could share their own templates.
Multi-platform Support: For an immersive user-engagement process, measureLife must be available where users are. For this, the goal is to offer a web application, a hybrid mobile application for mobile phone and tablet users, and a cross-platform desktop application.
Multi-lingual Support: To reach the widest audience available, and especially to address the needs of globally-deployed teams, the measureLife service must be offered in multiple languages and support international data and currency systems.