C. J. Meakim: Learning from Lacking

I broke away from my comfort zone by working on a solo research project with the help of Lander’s Associate Professor of Computer Science Dr. Farha Ali. My research project consisted of designing a website to facilitate on-campus item exchanges, conducting related research (both to learn website design and to conduct surveys for obtaining feedback), and eventually present the project to a large group in a formal setting. While the phrase “research project” may sound bland and lacking in depth, I have learned over the past year while working on my project that this is far from the truth.

While there is little room for serious mistakes in a research project, I did happen to make one that I did not recognize until long after the mishap had already occurred. The phase of my project where I wrote my website’s code was limited both in time and manpower as I was the only person who worked on the code with occasional help and advice from Dr. Ali. As such, the website was unfinished in appearance, but this was intentional as the goal was to have a functional proof of concept model. However, I regret not spending more time developing the website.

With the website being a simple prototype, it severely lacked in terms of quality aesthetics. This did not affect the site’s functionality, but in hindsight I believe it may have affected how the people who tested it responded when asked questions about the site. Many stated something along the lines of it needing to be improved with much of their negative ratings directed towards the look and feel of the website. To illustrate some of the issues, the text was not as easily readable in certain places like the home page, and the products page looked crowded whenever there were a high number of items listed. Also, the colors and style were generally very “early 2000s” as was noted by one respondent.

I suspect that if I had spent at least a few extra weeks of effort on the site’s appearance then responses to the website would have been significantly more positive, because it is easier to like and want to use things when they are attractive in general. Therefore, while I did not technically fail at achieving the goal of my research, I still feel as though I made a mistake for having neglected that piece of the project. Moving forward, this will be an important lesson for me to keep in mind as it will remind me that while extra effort is not necessary, it can benefit me greatly in the future. Responses to things I may design will be more positive, and usability will be more efficient, such as in the case of making text easier to read.

While my experience was unconventional as far as breakaways go, it was still one that held a lot of educational value for me. I worked, for the first time, under a supervisor similar to real-world business environments, and I learned how to communicate effectively with said supervisor. I may have made a few mistakes along the way, but I would not travel backwards in time to prevent them given their valuable lessons that I may have missed without those errors. It is far better to take missteps sooner than later.

Christina J. Meakim graduated from Newberry Academy in Newberry, SC, and her major is in Computer Information Systems with an emphasis in Software Development and a minor is in Cybersecurity. During the semesters of Fall 2019 and Spring 2020, she worked on a research project. She will graduate at the end of the Spring 2020 semester, and afterwards she is looking to work as a junior software developer.