Projects are at the core of learning. Students must apply the knowledge (Theory) learned in their coursework to real-world situations (Practice).

     Major Qualifying Projects (MQPs)

Development and Assessment of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Mobile App, 2021
Students: Bryce Corbitt & Pooja Patel
This project is a continuation of the 2015 Major Qualifying Project (MQP), MBSR & College Students (Facchini et al., 2015), the 2017 Major Qualifying Project, Enhancing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Through a Mobile Application (Falzone et al., 2017), and the 2019 Interactive Qualifying Project, Mobile Application Development for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Corbitt, 2020). This project involves the development of a mobile application that aims to provide Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) resources to people who are interested in mindfulness. MBSR is a meditation therapy that is often taught through an eight-week course aimed at helping people reduce their stress, anxiety, depression, and pain. 
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Job Candidate Accessibility, 2019
Students: Erik Fyrer, Elizabeth Jones, & Huaxin Yang
This project evaluated the application and on boarding process for employees. In particular, the goal was to enhance the candidate accessibility and recruiting experience to better attract talent with disabilities.
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Creating a Culture of Philanthropy at WPI
Students: Aaron Todd
This project assesses the current WPI philanthropic landscape and provide a set of recommendations and deliverables, included in a four year plan that can be used by WPI to cultivate a culture of philanthropy.
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Enhancing Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction 
Through a Mobile Application, 2017
Students: Richard Falzone, Andrew Mahn, Nicholas Pataky, & Juan Rodriguez
The goal of this Major Qualifying Project (MQP) was to improve upon the initial design of a mobile application that would assist college students in the practice of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The team assisted in building a foundation for UMass Medical so they can apply for a grant to have this project be fully funded and become a fully functioning mobile application. This MQP was a continuation of a previous MQP’s work that explored some of the initial ideas on how to design the application. The team created functional mockups of the original idea and surveyed college students to get their feedback on the initial design. 

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and College Students, 2015
Students: Amber Facchini, Meghan Lutz, & Haili Welton
The MQP team's goal was to determine technologies that would aid in the recruiting, adherence, and retention of MBSR training with college students.  To accomplish these goals, the team surveyed young adults from across the country, interviewed mindfulness instructors, conducted several focus groups, and studied the effectiveness of social media campaigns.  Based on the analysis of the resulting data, mockups for a prototype mobile application were developed.  Ownership of the social media accounts was also transferred to the CFM.​​

Communispace Prospective Member Sourcing System, 2015
Students: Zeng Liu, Thomas Meagher, William Richtmyer, Jiedong Wang, & Amanda Weis
This Major Qualifying Project (MQP) details a Prospective Member Sourcing system prototype that the team developed for the Communispace Corporation's Client and Consumer Services team. The project objective was to enable more efficient recruitment and resource allocation by providing the Client and Consumer Services team the ability to source community members through data centralization. Throughout this paper, the team overviews the synthesis and application of their academic knowledge, as well as their methodology, for developing the system prototype.

Communispace Vendor Performance Management System Extension, 2014
Students: Gregory Mannheim, Gregory Karp-Neufeld, Shun Snoddy & Adam Taylor
This Major Qualifying Project (MQP) is an extension of Communispace’s Vendor Performance and Relationship Management System (VPRM) – which was developed as part of another MQP in the spring of 2013. This project is expected to enable better recruitment and asset design decisions by providing Communispace the ability to evaluate vendors based on their campaign performance metrics, assets, and previously quoted bids. Throughout this paper we outlined the Systems Development Lifecycle to show the process we went through to plan, analyze, design, and implement the improved VPRM.    

Communispace Vendor Performance Management System, 2013
Students: Derek Carey, Evan Doyle, & Dennis Leung
This Major Qualifying Project (MQP), prepared for Communispace, documents the prototype for a vendor performance management system. To bring efficiency to the vendor selection process, the WPI team provided a multifunctional interface that allows for vendor searching based on previous performance and specific demographical tagging. The Vendor Performance and Relationship Management (VPRM) system was developed using the SDLC methodology. The needs and requirements for this system were gathered through stakeholder interview sessions, Joint Application Design (JAD) sessions and analysis of the as-is system. Documentation has been provided to assist in the learning process of the new system, as well as the implementation plan to mitigate the risks in adoption. This prototype was built in Microsoft Access with live connections to Communispace’s existing SQL Database.

Velir Web Tracking Proposal, 2012
Students: Matthew Dodd, James Ham, Alexzandria Haney, & James Post
This project consisted of the design and development of a business reporting software to be used by Velir Studios. The software tool allows the employees at Velir Studios to quickly and effectively obtains important business information such as employee time cards, project budgets and resource allocation, invoice reporting and project burn‐rate trends. By implementing this piece of software, Velir employees will be able to quickly export the data they wish to access into an excel document without having to manually enter each piece of information separately. The addition of the reporting software into the Velir management department will not only expedite the overall reporting process but will save them time and money in the future.

Web Development for United States District Court of Rhode Island, 2010
Students: Yetunde Ajayi-Obe, Mark Cirilo, & Corey Graves
This project consisted of the redesign of the United States District Court of Rhode Island’s website and the creation of the Rhode Island Probation Office’s website.  The websites create a user-friendly experience for both the staff of the court office’s as well as the general public. The newly redesigned websites are easy to navigate and find all information on each website quickly and easily.  The USDC of RI website was redesigned to help organize the content from their old website in a more effective manner and the Probation Office website was created from scratch to help distribute commonly used forms and information which will save time and money in the future.

Job Recruiting in Virtual Worlds (Second Life), 2008
Student: Cosmin Tudor
This project analyzes the potential of job recruiting in Second Life, a 3D virtual world. A survey focusing on both current users of virtual worlds and non-users was developed to explore their acceptance of Second Life as a job search tool and their perception about potential virtual career fairs or virtual interviews. Results show that while users are not yet ready to make virtual worlds their primary job search tool, they are willing to try Second Life in addition to other conventional job search techniques.

Telemental Health: Impact of Network Impairments on Internet-Based Depression Counseling, 2008
Student: Justin Odom
The purpose of this study is to investigate the technical feasibility of deploying a telemental health depression evaluation over the Internet. The paper presents a series of network scenarios that might commonly be encountered on the Internet and describes exactly how telemental health consultations and most importantly the users may be affected by these scenarios. Finally this study presents experimental results on the users evaluation of audio and video quality under different levels of network impairments and provides recommendations based off those results.

Access Tool for Tracking Aged WIP at GE Aviation, Lynn Plant II, 2007
Students: Munaf Aamir, James Coletti, & Sean Sears
This report describes our group's work in developing a Microsoft Access based Aged WIP Tool for GE Aviation, Plant II, in Lynn, Massachusetts. Throwaway prototyping methodology was used in development. We planned to use information from various databases; however, due to access restrictions cross-database abilities were not developed. Estimates concluded a $16,000 per year savings in associated previous system costs. The system could benefit Plant II through cash flow savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars in aged WIP.

GE Broach Area Maintenance Tool, 2006
Students: John Bubriski, Akraad Hamir, Julian Race-Moore, & Brendan Wilson 
This project outlines the development of a maintenance tracking tool for the Broach area in Lynn Plant 1 at General Electric Aircraft Engines. Using standard system development methodologies, a software tool was created by Microsoft Visual Studio 2003 and Access. This tool allows shop floor labor to input maintenance requests, tracks those requests for maintenance personnel, and generates reports to aid in management's scheduling of shop floor operations. This saves GE money by allowing them to efficiently schedule machine maintenance.

Remote Technical Support: Regulatory Compliance and Security, 2006
Students: Huendy Espinal, Dave Fogaren, & Daniel Wesolowski
This report, prepared for EMC Corporation, investigates the sensitive issues surrounding the IT Security and Management Standards.  The guidelines described by these standards, in conjunction with EMC Corporation’s security policies, were used to create a proposal to improve EMC’s Secure Remote Support Gateway (ESRS).  The solutions in the proposal provided by the team will enable EMC to have an easily accessible and secure solution that complies with the IT Security and Management Standards with their internal security policy.

Productivity Reporting Tool, 2005
Students: Ernest Begin, Christopher Coy, Joseph Fontechio, & Corey Ireland
General Electric (GE) requested the project team to create a comprehensive, user-friendly employee productivity tool using existing data. The tool creates a series of customizable reports describing direct labor productivity (DLP), indirect manufacturing expense (IME) and rework expense that are more accessible to users and are sent out via email weekly. The reports allow the user to more accurately assess plant productivity at various levels and aid in an increase plant productivity.
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Worcester Police Department Graphical Information System, 2005
Students: David Blaquiere, Vincent Scotto, & Nicholas Martunas
This project develops a GIS for the Worcester Police Department, which graphically displays information about the incidents in a certain area of the city; this will allow officers to be more informed. By clicking a point on the map, officers can also display information about that incident. This is important because as the officers know more of what is happening on their routes they can perform their job safer and more knowledgeably.

Mobile Database Access for the Worcester Probation Office, 2004
Students: Kimberly Grundy, Daniel Lorente, Marc Ouimet, Krystal Tam, & William Tang
This project, sponsored by the Worcester Probation Office, analyzed a probation officer's information needs in the field. The group considered the office's technical and financial requirements to develop a wireless database for the department's use. The system permits officers to instantly access pertinent information regarding clients on probation, such as the threats posed to the officer, while out in the field. The resulting wireless system met the sponsor's need for a reliable, user-friendly and cost-effective information system.

GE Shortage Reporting System, 2004
Students: Justen Garrity, Daryl Huynh, Robert Vigneau, & Jonathan Mulcahy
The goal of this project was to create a computerized system which generated inventory shortage reports for managers at General Electric Aircraft Engine Gear Plant, Lynn, MA. Through interviews with our project liaison, Gear Plant production managers, and General Electric Technical Support staff, our project team assessed the original shortage reporting system. The data from these interviews was collected and analyzed, resulting in the creation of a new computerized system for identifying shortages of crucial inventory. In the future the shortage reporting system will be used by managers to streamline inventory management. Consequently annual cost savings exceeding an estimated $250,000 will be realized in the ability of the Gear Plant to reduce expensive rush-orders for parts and deliver their product on time to the customer.

General Electric Aircraft Engine Inventory Tracking System, 2004
Students: Adam Evans, Eric Grueter, David Hickman, & David Sheridan
General Electric Aircraft Engines (GE) requested the project team create a user-friendly inventory tracking tool using existing inventory data. The tool creates a series of customizable reports and charts for each of the business lines o track work-in-progress (WIP), raw materials, and finished goods. The reports allow the users to more efficiently manage inventory throughout the plant, and updates GE's Previous manual and time consuming system.

Worcester District Court Scheduling System, 2003
Students: Robert Desmarais, Seung Kim, & Paul Reitchel
The intent of this project is to alleviate some of the strain on the Worcester District Courthouse by automating the process of scheduling cases. The courthouse has a high case load and the meaningfulness of court events may be lessened by the number of cases that must be tried per day. Scheduling events through the use of specifically tailored software should lessen the load through even distribution of court events and will provide a consistent method of case scheduling.

Synchronous Distributed Learning Over Internet Protocol, 2003
Students: Sebastien Chicoineau, Jeffrey A. Hacanis, & Jeffrey D. Williams
This project explored the concept of increasing synchronous access to supplemental course material over the Internet at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The undergraduate student population was surveyed to determine their perceptions, potential solution providers were evaluated, and environment functionality test were run to determine if the online environment is capable of effectively presenting course material. Implementation of the concept could enhance access to course material such as Math and Science Help Sessions; or professors by making virtual office hours possible.

Automated Data Collection at General Electric Aircraft Engines, 2003
Students: Jonathan Abad, Anne Francis, & David Graham
The goal of this project was to aid in the automation of the quality control department of General Electric Aircraft Engines, Hooksett, New Hampshire. The project had two main segments: researching data collection technology alternatives and creating a prototype. This project concluded with a research paper and the implementation of a wireless prototype, which consisted of a Pocket PC, a multiplexer, 4-channel receiver, digital transmitter and a digital gage.

Court Kiosk System, 2002
Students: Jeffrey Kibler, Mark Morin, & Craig Petrowski 
This project created an informational kiosk system for the United States District Court of Rhode Island. The system will help patrons of the courthourse quickly find commonly needed information such as directions, contact information, and court schedules. Providing this information is the responsibility of the Clerk's Office and is currently handled through a website, paper postings of the daily calendar, and personally through the Clerk's counter.

The Sentencing Information System: A Decision Support Tool for Judges at the United States District Court of Massachusetts, 2002
Students: Brian Gilman & Jared Rhoads
 This report, prepared for the United States District Court of Massachusetts (Boston) describes the development of a decision support tool, the Sentencing Information System, for use by federal judges during the sentencing phase of criminal cases. We researched the sentencing process through interviews with judges, clerks, probation officers, and technical staff. Based upon these findings, we created a prototype of a new tool designed to fulfill the judges' need for easily accessible information.

Web-Based Inventory Tracking System, 2002
Students: G. Michael Amante, Corey Caplette, Jason Casimiro, & David Valliere 
The Technical Event Services (TES), which is the primary provider of equipment and services to support Sun‘s tradeshow presence, at Sun Microsystems was analyzed and it was determined that the TES group needed a more efficient way of tracking their tradeshow equipment. Originally it was tracked by e-mail and paper documents. Our system is a Web Inventory Tracking System (WITS). The system replaces the current method of tracking equipment. The process and methodology used to develop this system are located in this document.

e-Storm: Internet-Based Requirements Management Systems for Cierant Corporation, 2001
Students: Jon Bartelson, David Freeman, Kenneth Mair II, Howard Rappaport, & Thomas Solodyna 
In the field of information technology (IT), the need for streamlined requirements analysis is increasingly important. The goal of this project was to restructure the requirements analysis process of an IT consulting firm. This was achieved by creating a Web-based management tool that organized requirements information and presented it in an efficient manner. The resulting application streamlined their existing paper process and reengineered the method by which they interact with their clients.

Analysis of Business-to-Business Customers’ Requirements for Website Appearance and Functionality, and Other Electronic Business Application in the Industrial Services Industry, 2001
Student: Florian Krauss
In the context of an E-Business initiative of Siemens Corporation the Industrial Services Division of Siemens was trying to improve its current Web site. This research shows and analyzes Siemens’ customers’ opinions about and requirements for doing business electronically and based on that provides a series of recommendations that assist the company in developing its new Web site. The data was then analyzed and a plan of action for the improvement of Siemens’ Web site outlined.

Worcester Public Schools Curriculum Database, 2001
Students: Lisa M. Rafferty, Jonathan J. Suchecki, & William Thornhill 
This project created a Web-enabled database application for the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) Department. To prepare for a new system known as Virtual Education Space (VES), the WPS will use the database to organize and maintain information about lesson plans and curriculum frameworks. Originally stored as paper copies in notebooks, this information is now easily accessed and updated via the Web. The system was presented to the WPS faculty on December 1, 2000, and currently resides at: http://wpswebsql.wpsweb.com.

     Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQPs)

Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission Vehicle Modification App, 2020
Students: Chau Do, Julia D'Agostino, Oliver Rayner, Remy Allegro, and Yosias Seifu
This project assists the employees at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commissions and Central Mass Safety Council to facilitate one of their existing evaluation protocols with a digital web
application. Background research on the current process was conducted and a road map designed that the facilities could consult on to digitize their processes in the future. We also developed a
web-based application that allowed the employees to automate form-filling protocol. This application would serve as the first step for our sponsors to digitize their current process and paperwork.

Mobile Application Development for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, 2019
Students: Bryce Corbitt
The goal of this Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) was to implement the first prototype of "DoYouMindful", a mobile application to assist college students in the practice of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). This prototype serves as a proof-of-concept for previous designs, as well as a logistics test for future features. This IQP was a continuation of two previous Major Qualifying Projects (MQP) that laid out initial designs and deliverables for the app. From these projects and input from staff at UMass Medical School, the prototype application was developed for iOS and Android. Additionally, a back-end system was designed and implemented to manage and serve dynamic content to users.

Web Accessibility Perceptions: Survey and Interviews, 2017
Students: Michael Aquino, Darien Gaudet, and Kyle Savell
Web Accessibility is the concept that anyone, regardless of the disabilities or situation, should have access to the Web. Organizations such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have developed guidelines outlining specific features that website developers and application developers can implement in their designs. The goal of this study is to determine the general knowledge that future Web developers have of Web Accessibility and to find out theirperceptions of it. We want to find out where the biggest holes are in people’s knowledge andperception of Web accessibility so that future endeavors can be made to fill in these gaps.
EDGE Mentoring App, 2015
Students: Devon Coleman, Joycelyn De La Rosa, Aiden Freeburg, Ahmed Hakim, & Ryan Orlando
The EDGE Mentoring Program helps incoming freshmen transition more easily into Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). In the EDGE Program, mentees are paired with sophomore, junior, and senior mentors, who guide incoming students in three areas: academic, social, and personal wellness. Additionally, in today’s college environment, mobile applications (apps) assist college students in areas such as time management, sleep, fitness, and social networking. The goal of this interactive qualifying project (IQP) was to develop a mobile app that will help peer mentors in the EDGE Program. The mentors in the EDGE Program could then use the app to help their mentees succeed. It is envisioned that the app will be used to extend the scope and value of the EDGE Program in future years into the rest of the freshmen population at WPI by serving as a virtual mentor, which also leads to increased one-on-one personal mentoring and program expansion.

Self-Disclosure on Social Networking Sites, 2012
Students: Derek Carey, Alexander Misch, Anthony Spencer, & Richard Speranza 
This study aims to show that the intention to disclose information is similar but not equivalent to the intention to use social networking sites. Several factors that were not shown to have an impact on intention to use but were shown to have an impact on intention to disclose information were the consumer’s emotional stability and agreeableness. Also several factors that have been shown to impact a consumer’s perceived risk, perceived benefit, and trust for different scenarios were tested.

MatchThisGift.com, 2008
Students: Brian Janice, Matthew Lowe, Sean Mahoney, Nelson Nogueira, & Scott Steinmetz 
This project, completed for Mr. William Singleton of the Singleton Family Foundation, aims to create a more efficient means for philanthropists to maximize donations to charities by networking two parties: donors pledging gifts under the condition that they are matched dollar‐for‐dollar, and donors matching these pledges. After analyzing current systems attempting to facilitate similar issues and interviewing several sources, we have constructed the website MatchThisGift.com as the scheme of accomplishing this networking process.

​Online Music Store Accessibility, 2007
Student: Todor Kiryazov
This study evaluates the web accessibility of online music stores for blind and low vision users. Music and audio books are one of the main sources of information for that group of people. The study reviews two of the online music stores: Amazon.com and iTunes. An online survey was designed to evaluate the usability and accessibility of those stores adapting the Technology Acceptance Model as a main research model.
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3D Imaging for People with Disabilities, 2005
Students: Blake Dunkel, Paul Liberman, Jason MacInnes, & Glenn Watkins
Accessibility improvements that can be made to rich web based media applications are discussed. Intensive background along with a controlled experiment was used to gather both qualitative and quantitative data on how to increase accessibility, particularly for Internet ready 3D imaging software. Using the data gathered, a set of recommendations is proposed with the aim of help developers create accessible rich web based media.

​Technology and Attention Disorders, 2004
Students: Quan D. Do, Michael Flynn, Corey Ireland, Vu Lam, & David Roscoe 
Students with attention disorders often have a difficult time keeping up with the pace of classroom activities. Seven Hills Charter School (SHCS) has taken the initiative to help these students by sponsoring a Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) team that will help determine technologies to support classroom activities for Seven Hills students with attention disorders. Together with the help of SHCS, an IQP team was set up at WPI to address this issue and try to come up with a solution. The team studied how students with ADD currently interact in the classroom and the technology they use to stay organized. They then presented potential technology that would further enhance student learning and potentially reduce the need of a full time special education aide to follow each student throughout the school day. The proposal presents, in detail, the four steps that were taken to complete the project: how the study was conducted, the analysis that was performed, the resulting data, and ultimately the recommendations that the IQP team suggested.

Federal Website Accessibility, 2003
Student: William Chin
The purpose of this project is to assess a number of federal and federally sponsored contractors' websites to determine if the sites met federal regulations governing disabled website accessibility. Research was performed that dealt with the federal regulations involved with website accessibility using programs designed for website analysis. The primary departments that were analyzed belonged in each of the three branches of government, in addition to federally sponsored contractors. As a result of interviews and assessments, a report has been constructed that detailed what needs to be done in addition to a sample website which is accessible under the laws and guidelines set forth by the U.S. government.

Improving Recruiting and Retention: a Study of Middle School Students Entering Technology/Engineering Programs, 2002
Students: Paulina Ciccone, Amanda Smith, & Denny Yee
Enrollment in engineering, especially of females and minorities, has been declining. It is suspected that insufficient skills and interest in mathematics and lack of parental involvement are the cause of this decline. This research project, in collaboration with Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Public Schools, makes effective recommendations to Forest Grove Middle School on how they can increase student success and interest in mathematics. Information was gathered from students, parents, and teachers to provide both qualitative and quantitative data in the hopes of assessing the influences on recruitment and retention of middle school students into technology and engineering programs.

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