Do I need a jacket?

Solving the Daily Jacket Dilemma

We’ve all been there. We’re standing at the doorwondering if we need a jacket before heading out. This everyday dilemma inspired Stephanie Fois’ idea for this year’s Pointless Palooza. She pitched a simple yet valuable app that quickly tells you whether or not you need a jacket andif sowhat type.

Chris ManningNoah Overand Steven Hascher took on the challenge of bringing this idea to life during Viget's annual hackathonPointless Palooza. In a short timeframewe get a chance to explore new skillsbuild something funand push personal development. You can check out all of our past projects over at Pointless Corp.

One of the most challenging aspects of a short-term project like this is scoping it effectively. With limited timewe had to identify what was feasible to do with a kickoff Wednesday night to a finish line set for Friday at noon. Our initial brainstorming session led to some ambitious stretch goalssuch as allowing users to add jackets they own and set personalized warmth ratings. Other wishlist features included displaying jacket recommendations throughout the daylayering suggestionsand custom warmth preferences. Howevergiven our constraintswe honed in on a V0 feature set that we could realistically execute.

V0 Feature Set

For our initial versionwe decided on the following core features:

• Capture the user’s location.
• Retrieve the current weather forecastincluding "feels like" temperatures and conditions.
• Inform the user if they need a jacket and suggest the appropriate type.
• Apply some visual polish to make the app user-friendly and intuitive.

We also thought an admirable stretch goal would be to create a Slack Botbut spoiler alertthat didn’t happen. But what did happen was some quick product design work by Stevenwho quickly spun up a very straightforward approach to the app in Figma.

Early Product Design

This clean and straightforward approach allowed us to visualize the user experience before jumping into development.

Mapping Weather to Jacket Types

One challenge we faced was determining the appropriate temperature ranges for different types of jackets. After researching R-values and various insulation factorswe settled on the following mappings:

• Lightweight (65-75°F): HoodieWindbreakerDenim JacketBomber JacketTrack Jacket
• Medium-weight (45-65°F): Fleece-lined HoodieLeather JacketFleece JacketSoftshellLight PufferTrench Coat
• Heavyweight (20-45°F): Thick PufferParkaWool CoatPeacoatDown Jacket
• Extremely Cold (Below 20°F): Expedition ParkaHeavy Down JacketSki Jacket

While this mapping may not be a perfect fit for every individual or jacket typeit provided a solid starting point for our app’s recommendations.

Tech Stack

To build the applicationwe used the following technologies:

• Rails
• Postgres
• Inertia
• React
• Tailwind
• Vite
• Docker

One of the key technical challenges was efficiently mapping weather data to the appropriate jacket recommendations while ensuring smooth performance and an intuitive UI.

Introducing V0 of Do I Need a Jacket?

Do I Need a Jacket? is a simpleno-fuss app that helps you decide what to wear before heading out.

After identifying your locationwith your approvalit pulls the latest weather report and tells you if you need a jacket. If you doit suggests the right type based on the feels-like temperature and current conditions.

Nowno more second-guessing your outerwear decisions—just quickreliable outfit advice at a glance.

Lessons Learned

One of the biggest takeaways from this project was the reminder of the importance of scoping based on the available time. Success depended on making quickinformed decisions and working collaboratively. The fast-paced nature of Pointless Palooza reinforced the value of decisive product development and agile problem-solving.

The project also allowed the team to hone under utilized skill sets and gave the group time to think more about authentication and authorization around APIs and different ways to approach them. Finallythe crew got a brief glimpse into Rails 8 and Inertiawhich seems cool.

What's Next?

Looking aheadwe have some exciting ideas for future versions:

• User Jacket Database: Users can input their jackets and set warmth preferences.
• Expanded Weather Insights: Provide recommendations based on the full-day forecast.
• External Launch: Make the app available to a broader audience beyond our internal team.

For nowDo I Need a Jacket? is a fun and functional prototypebut we’re excited about its potential evolution. Stay tuned!