This is my Project Explanation

a) Briefly describe the background of the chosen company, organization or industry;

 mattress/furniture
The mattress industry has been relatively unchanged for many years. Only recently has innovation
occurred in the industry, with technology and other blossoming industries being used to aid the mattress
industry. For many years the mattress industry had no reason to attempt to innovate, people were perfectly
content with their current technology. The technology industry also had not developed enough in order to
help the mattress industry innovate at that point in time. Only recently has technology developed to a
point where it can help the mattress industry add new features to their product. In addition, the mattress
industry is expanding, growing an average of 6.1% per year from 2011-2016 and the same level of growth
is anticipated for the future.

b) Define the business problem you are going to solve;

Getting quality sleep is an essential part in living a healthy life. Many people in the United States and
around the world do not get enough sleep. Therefore, the smart mattress will help enhance their quality of
sleep. With the smart mattress, users will be able to achieve a higher quality of sleep through climate
control. Moreover, the smart mattress tracks and monitors the users’ quality of sleep and could also reveal
how many hours the users slept.

c) Explain how important the problem is;

Sleep is a vital human function for maintaining health and well-being. Everyone needs it however
approximately 35% of adults in the United States do not get the appropriate amount of sleep. When
people don’t get enough sleep their physical and mental health suffer. Sleep deprivation is linked to an
increased risk in a number of diseases some examples being heart and kidney disease, diabetes, obesity,
and high blood pressure. During sleep humans physically rebuild and repair muscles and organs, and
balance hormones in the body. Also, the immune system is also affected by sleep. If someone isn’t getting
enough sleep it may be difficult for their immune system to battle common illnesses. Getting the right
amount of sleep improves learning and focusing abilities, balancing emotions and moods, creativity, and
problem-solving skills. Whereas a lack of sleep has been linked to mental health diseases such as
depression. If people sleep for the appropriate amount of time they are likely to do better at work or
school, complete tasks in shorter amounts of time, and maintain healthier relationships than they would if
they are not getting enough sleep. There is also a safety risk involved in sleep deprivation. If people are
missing significant amounts of sleep it is likely that their body will try to make up for it by microsleeping.
Microsleeping often occurs when people are behind the wheel of a vehicle, this puts that person and
others around them at greater risk of a car collision. Sleep is clearly very important and if we can create a
solution that reduces the number of adults who are sleep deprived it may also have an effect on other
diseases physical and mental that can be linked to lack of sleep. Overall, it is important to set humans up
to lead happy and healthy lives, solving the sleep deprivation problem is a great start.

d) (Optional) Propose one potential IT solution.

The creation of a smart internet linked mattress that has a downloadable app with comfort convenience
functions. Specifically, functions such as pre-heating or cooling from the touch of a button anywhere in
the world.
 These are the Instructions
 There are 3 solutions that we chose from:
1)
Solution 1: An application for a mobile device that takes in user inputed data about the tasks that they
need to complete in the next day or week and creates a plan for the user on how they should stay on
track to complete all of the tasks in the given amount of time. The user will input each task, the amount
of time it takes and when it needs to be done by. The user also will provide information to allow the
app to determine how much sleep is necessary for the individual so that it can be sure the tasks don’t
compromise sleep time. The app will also send notification to the user to keep them on track.

Rough Cost: How can it help sleep deprivation?

The costs of this solution come from the initial
price of building of the application and the cost
of maintaining and updating the app. The rough
cost of this solution is pretty low comparatively.
Many humans suffer from poor time management
skills and often times are unable to complete their
tasks for the day. This can lead to stress which can
in turn lead to having problems with sleeping. It can
also cause people to stay up late or wake up early to
finish their tasks so they will not get enough sleep
to provide energy for their days. If time and time
again people are sacrificing sleep to get work done
they will become sleep deprived.

Pros: Cons:
The largests benefit to this solution is that while The biggest downfall of application is that it relies
tackling the problem of sleep deprivation it also heavily on a user following the schedule. Users
can be very useful to users who struggle with could easily have there schedule made and then not
time management. It gives two incentives to follow it and then the solution will be obsolete.
users to want to use this product. Another pro is Another con is that life can be unpredictable and
that the cost is lower and it won’t take a huge users may not know exactly how long each task
team of people to upkeep the application. will take them.
 This is the one we chose: Solution 2
Solution 2: A smart internet linked mattress that has a downloadable application with comfort
convenience functions. Functionality would include tracking sleep and heart rate, automatic pressure
point adjustment as the user shifts during the night, heating and cooling features based on both
preference and temperature, and an alarm to wake you up in the morning. All settings and preference
can be adjusted on the user friendly app.

Rough Cost: How can it help sleep deprivation?

The cost of creating a smart mattress would be high.
The price of production, shipping, and storage is a
large expense because the product is so large. There
is also a need for a large workforce. Employees
would be needed on both the physical mattress side
and the software side for the application.
The smart mattress will help with sleep
deprivation because it will adjust throughout
the course of sleep to assure that the user gets
the best more comfortable sleep as possible.
The sleep tracking will also display to users
their sleeping patterns and can encourage
improvements.

Pros: Cons:
Unlike other products the smart mattress provides an One major con is that mattresses are expensive.
in depth full body measurement of the users sleep The user would be investing a lot of money
 patterns. It also adjusts its shape during the night to upfront which could deter people from
make sure that the users isn’t in a position that will choosing this product when mattress shopping.
give them soreness and even worse chronic pain. The Another con the product is very large so we
application is easy to use and allows user to connect would need large spaces to hold them which is
with their device from anywhere. The mattress could just an added expense.
also be used in healthcare facilities to give doctors
and nurses more information about the patient.
 Solution 3
Solution 3: A smart pillow that is connected to a user friendly application that uses user preference to
assure the best sleep possible. The pillow will include heating and cooling features, a gentle alarm to
wake up the user, and sleep tracking capabilities.

Rough Cost: How can it help sleep deprivation?

The expected cost of this solution is medium to
high. The smaller product would save money on
storage and shipping costs. However, there still
needs to be teams in charge of producing the
physical pillow as well as creating, maintaining,
and updating the application.
The smart pillow will allow users to track their
sleeping patterns in a reliable and simple way. The
temperature controlling features will make sure
that the user is in the most optimal position for a
good night's rest.

Pros:
The smart pillow is a smaller and less expensive
way for the consumer to use technology to aid
their sleeping. It would be more accessible and
wouldn’t cost as much to store in a warehouse.
The application will be easy for the consumer to
use to track their sleeping patterns and set
preferences.
Cons:
One con to the smart pillow is finding an
appropriate power source. It would be
inconvenient to have to plug in a pillow and a
battery pack might be uncomfortable for the user.
Assuring that the pillow is comfortable to sleep on
could be challenging because people have
different preferences.

I have to write:
 You must justify why your solution (Solution 2) is superior to the already existing
solutions (smart mattresses) in the market (research also if there are any in the market
and include them) (i.e. efficiency, cost, ease, etc.). Use facts, statistics, reports, and
research to support your conclusion.
 I need it by 8:00am EST