Annesha Sharp

My name is Annesha, and I am a 23-year-old Software Tester, with one and a half years of experience in the IT industry. After moving along the east coast of Australia, I have now settled in Brisbane Queensland, where I live with my long-term partner and my childhood dog ‘Bear’. In the next few years, I plan to move to Melbourne, however for now Brisbane is home.

In my spare time, I like to embrace creative hobbies such as knitting and sewing, and make a great effort to maintain my health with strength training workouts and walks to reduce the impacts of my chronic pain condition.

Ever since I was a child, I have always found computers easy to set up, use and trouble shoot. After graduating from High school, I studied a Fine arts degree, however 18 months into the degree, I realised that I needed to work in a more technical and analytical field. I decided to take time off from study to explore my interests. During my study sabbatical, I was given a secondment opportunity at work as a database officer, which made me responsible for managing the charity’s fundraising database. In this position, I was also responsible for testing the new database management system prior to migration. I found this experience fulfilling and rewarding, and discovered that I have a strong interest in IT. Two years later, I now work as a software Tester, which has allowed me to make the most of my analytical and problem-solving skills.

For the past year, I had wanted to return to university to study IT alongside my work, however I found that traditional university was not feasible option in conjunction with full-time work. When I discovered that RMIT offered a Bachelor of IT online, I was immediately interested, given both the prestigious nature of RMIT, and the good experiences I had heard from friends who completed online studies with OUA. In the short term I would like to learn about the different fields within IT and improve my knowledge of Python scripting to assist with upcoming automation testing. In the long term I would like to increase my technical knowledge of Software Development and explore Cloud Computing, to prepare for my career as a Technical Business Analyst.

ICT Business Analysts work with the Product Owner (Business) to analyse and review current procedures and technical applications, and then establish plans for further improvement. This role requires an analytical and logical mindset, as well as strong interpersonal skills and Technical knowledge. The role of ICT Business Analyst is particularly appealing to me, as I feel that it would work well with both my personality and my growing skillset. This company is particularly appealing as they primarily focus on Data and Cloud Computing.

This role requires approximately 5 years of experience as a Business Analyst within the IT industry, as technical BA’s require a strong understanding of technical infrastructure, procedures and usage. This role requires a Business Analyst Professional Certification (CBAP), in addition to well-versed interpersonal skills, with experience facilitating workshops for various ICT purposes. The role of ICT Business Analyst requires an analytical, inquisitive and solution-based mindset.

Currently working as a Software Tester, I am building my experience within the IT industry in a role which works closely with Technical Business Analyst. The role of Software Tester requires strong analytical and problem-solving skills, which I have demonstrated on a daily basis. Working in a SCRUM methodology, I also utilise my interpersonal skills to maintain communication with stakeholders and team members, and often work as a back-up SRUM master within the team. In the early years of my career, I have already gained experience in facilitating ICT workshops for User Acceptance Testing, End User Training, and SCRUM Retrospectives.

Currently I have many of the foundational skills required for this role and will continue to grow these throughout my study and work opportunities. In my studies I plan to grow my technical knowledge with a particular focus on cloud computing. After graduating from RMIT with a Bachelor of Information Technology, I plan to complete my CBAP through the International Institute of Business Analysts. Through my current work, I also plan to undertake professional development secondments which can assist to grow my experience as a business analyst.

For my IT Project Idea, I plan to develop an iPhone and Apple Watch application which allows users experiencing chronic pain symptoms to easily record the pain from their Apple Watch. From personal experience being diagnosed Endometriosis, diagnosis can be a long and arduous process, often requiring patients to keep a detailed log of the pain and symptoms. This application aims to create an easily accessible method of recording a patient’s pain and symptoms in daily life. Rather than having to pause activities to record their symptoms in a diary or note application, the user can simply record the pain levels from the home screen of their Apple Watch. All these records are then stored within the app, which can then be reviewed in a consultation with their health professional to uncover any trends.

The process of being diagnosed with a chronic pain condition can be a long and time-consuming process, with the average Endometriosis diagnosis taking approximately seven and a half years (Broster 2020). According to Lone Hummelshoj, Chief executive of the Endometriosis Research Foundation, one of the primary reasons for this lengthy diagnosis period, is the normalisation of painful periods (Dysmenorrhea) (Broster 2020). From personal experience, some of the most common questions from doctors throughout this process are “How often do you get this pain?” and “When and where do you get this pain?”. However as someone who experiences painful cramps daily, I often found myself struggling to determine where to start, and forgetting to mention certain types of pain, resulting in vague and inaccurate answers. By equipping patients with a tool to accurately record their pain symptoms immediately at the time of experiencing them, patients are empowered to provide their doctors with accurate information. In providing this information, it is hoped that doctors will have more information available about the patient’s symptoms to determine if it is mild Dysmenorrhea, or something more serious like Endometriosis. This application can also be used after diagnosis to track a patient’s progress when receiving treatments, for doctors to evaluate if treatments are effectively reducing pain.

Over the years various methods have been used to record pain diaries, including paper diaries, mobile note applications and in recent years pain diary apps. With the introduction of pain diary apps in recent year, like QENDO, users can record the pain and symptoms for medical usage (QENDO 2020). These apps have been revolutionary in providing convenient ways for patients to record the symptoms, however from personal experience, I have found that these apps use tedious user interfaces which mean that completing the diary entries can often take much longer than they need to. In practice, I have also found there are lots of situations where it is not feasible to use my phone, such as at work or out at dinner, or even if the pain is particularly severe and the phone is not nearby. By utilising a simple user interface on the Apple Watch, users can record their pain symptoms in two different ways, standard entry or Rapid entry.

This application will reduce user interface difficulty, by creating an Apple Watch application which can be used to quickly log painful symptoms, which can then be reviewed in the iPhone app. The app is easily accessible from the user’s Watch, with a button displaying on the watch face (home screen) for ease of access. Upon selecting the icon from the Apple Watch home screen, the user is presented with two options for entering the pain log; Standard Entry and Rapid Entry.

Upon selecting Standard Entry, the user is taken through a serious of screens to record the details of the pain. These screens include recording the pain on a scale of one to ten using a number slider, then a screen to select the region on the body where the pain occurred, and lastly a page of descriptive words for selection to describe the pain. Once entered, the log is then saved and can be reviewed and updated later using the iPhone app.

Upon Selecting Rapid Entry, the user can select save or submit a number from one to ten to record the intensity of the pain. The log then saves, and the user will receive a notification 30 to 60 mins later to add more details within the watch or phone app. Rapid mode is designed to be used in busy situations when the user does not have the time to enter the full details. From personal experience, in these busy situations, I have regularly thought that I will remember to note down the pain later, however once the pain subsided this task was often quickly forgotten. By automatically reminding the user shortly after, this should also reduce the frequency of painful symptoms logs being innaccurately missed.

Given the convenience of wearable devices, users will also have another way of recording rapid entry, using the customisable ‘Assistive Touch’ hand gestures available with Apple Watches utilising Watch OS 8 (Apple 2022). Using ‘Assistive Touch’, the user can set hand gestures, for e.g. double clenching the fist, to automatically log a rapid entry, so the user will be reminded via notifications within an hour to complete the details of the log. This provides an additional discreet mode of entry, to assist in maintaining accuracy.In the iPhone app, users can then review and edit their entries, and even add notes for their doctor. When it comes time for the doctor’s appointment, the user can then export a PDF record for their doctor or simply show the doctor the app.

As this application will initially be exclusive to the iPhone and Apple Watch, this project can be built using Apple developer tools. To build the iPhone application, Xcode 14 will be used in conjunction with Swift UI (Apple 2022). The creation of the Apple Watch portion of the application will additionally require the use of Xcode Apple Watch Toolkit, to build the user interface for this device. Using Xcode14 and SwiftUI, the applications can initially be previewed and tested virtually. Once the application is in the final stages of development it will require testing on an iPhone and Apple watch to ensure the app performs as expected.

In order to create the application, I will be required to learn the Swift coding language used in Apple Application development. To make the app as medically beneficial as possible I would also like to employ the assistance of a Chronic Pain nurse as a Subject Matter Expert.

If this project is successful in coming to fruition, it will aim to provide quicker diagnosis of chronic pain conditions such as Endometriosis, by keeping a convenient and accurate record of the patient’s pain experiences. It will also be a beneficial tool in assessing the efficacy of chronic pain treatments.

Broster, A 2020, ‘Why It Takes So Long To Be Diagnosed With Endometriosis, According To An Expert’, Forbes, 27 August 2020, Viewed 14 June 2022 < https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicebroster/2020/08/27/why-it-takes-so-long-to-be-diagnosed-with-endometriosis-according-to-a-expert/?sh=1da6fae56967 >.

Stewart, D 2020, ‘A Guide to Pain Management’, QENDO, blog post, 11 July 2020, viewed 17 June 2022, < https://www.qendo.org.au/blog/a-guide-to-pain-management >.

Apple 2022, Apple Watch User Guide: Use Assistive Touch on Apple Watch (Apple Watch SE and AppleWatch Series 4 and later only), viewed 13 June 2022, < https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/watch/apdec70bfd2d/watchos>.

Apple 2022, Xcode 14, viewed 15 June 2022, < https://developer.apple.com/xcode/ >.