• Read more about CogConnect - Mobile Rehab for Stroke Victims

Introducing SparkTime

A few months ago Intridea decided to splurge and upgrade our (already awesome) benefits package. In addition to the basic perks like amazing health insurance, hardware funds and an annual subscription to Amazon Prime, we started a new program called SparkTime. SparkTime is much like Google's 20% time – everyone spends a few hours a week working on something that they are passionate about. We record our ideas in SparkBin, team up if we want to collaborate, and then we get down to the business of impassioned creation.

The Spark

In addition to being a UI Designer here at Intridea, I’m also a grad student in the Human-Centered Computing program at UMBC. This semester, my professors Dr. Amy Hurst (co-creator of http://nickelforscale.com/) and Dr. Ravi Kuber (author of many great papers on computing and the visually impaired) suggested that I work on a mobile rehabilitation application for stroke patients. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to bridge my educational and professional worlds.

Research = Time Well Spent

I’ve been prepping for this project by taking Dr. Hurst’s course on Assistive Technology. Chris Selmer is my “internal client” and he sent me to an iOS crash course where I had gotten the basic fundamentals of iPhone MVC architecture and learned Obj-C syntax. These courses have been extremely helpful, but I also needed requirements from real doctors and nurses on how this mobile application should actually work.

Before I started wireframing and coming up with designs I needed to do some research. So I talked with nurses and physicians in the stroke unit at the Kernan Rehabilitation Center. I had the opportunity to communicate with stroke victims and in doing so, I observed the deficiencies caused by stroke trauma. The physicians described exercises that they would like to see in a mobile device. I visited with Dr. Mark Young (physician with a specialty in stroke trauma) and my friend Michelle Jones (occupational therapist at UMMC) who both helped me strengthen my idea and gave me insight into rehabilitation for those with physical and cognitive deficits.

Armed with some really useful information, I was able to approach the blueprints for the mobile app. Initially, I had imagined that I would be creating an application that focused solely on physical rehab using a smartphone; but, as it turns out, what stroke victims really need is an application that stimulates their coordination, cognitive abilities, and fine motor skills. I had planned on using an iPhone but I have since decided to start with an iPad, so the user will have more screen area to start with.

I saw firsthand why user interviews are so necessary and why design should rarely be an effort by the designer alone.

The Beginning of a Great App

I’ve named the project CogConnect, and plan to keep my entire process and code open-source. I’m in the design phase right now and I'm happy with the wireframes and the direction of the project. I'm looking forward to spending my SparkTime working on this application!

• Read more about Announcing SparkBin - Private Beta

Today we're announcing SparkBin, a new Intridea product entering private beta for Google Apps customers that offers you a better way to gather ideas from within your company.

Your employees have great ideas. Unfortunately, it's too easy to overlook that spark of genius when it's trapped in an e-mail or a conversation. SparkBin is a tool for aggregating all those ideas, ensuring they don't get lost in the shuffle. It's also a way for your team to receive immediate feedback on their ideas.

SparkBin is entering private beta today. We'll be letting companies in over the coming weeks until we're ready for the public launch. Register for access and keep track of all of those ideas that have been kicked around in the company communication channels.

Gather Ideas Quickly and Effectively

Submitting ideas is seamless. It only takes a few seconds to submit an idea to SparkBin, and that frictionless experience will drive your employees to submit more ideas more frequently.

Works with Google Apps

SparkBin is integrated directly into Google Apps, so your employees don't have to set up new accounts or worry about remembering yet another password. They can simply log in and see the ideas from everyone else in your Google Apps domain.

Increase Engagement

SparkBin offers a leaderboard that displays the top ideas submitters for the week, month, and all time. Ideas are only counted when someone other than the submitter likes it, so this encourages broad engagement and friendly competition inside the company to become a "King of Ideas".

Easy Organization

Ideas in the SparkBin are organized by tags, so you can organize them any way you like. Want to group ideas by product, business unit, or department? No problem!

We've been using SparkBin internally to gather ideas and have found it to really helps to get people talking. We're excited to begin sharing this with others, and look forward to feedback from a much wider audience!