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How I Survived My CHP Thesis Experience


I came into freshman year of 1994 with more nervousness than most maybe due to deciding on a major late and having had no previous experience whatsoever in the major I chose: Information and Computer Science.

Through my first year of studies, I caught up on the basics, but I had yet to understand what programming is beyond solving math problems. I couldn’t help wondering how I would find anything worth researching for my senior thesis?

It wasn’t until the class focusing on HCI aka Human Computer Interaction that I began to understand that programmers are tasked with solving not math but human problems.

One case in particular resonated with me strongly. The case of the Therac-25 talked about a medical radiation machine that glitched and killed a number of people due to poor understanding of software development and safe practices.

The case’s story also intrigued me and I couldn’t help wondering how the people involved in those incidents felt and how their lives intertwined.

Since I had written various stories and poems over the years, I looked into how I can make a more interwoven piece to show this tangled web of mistakes and how it affected those involved.

Thanks to the internet, I found the world of hypertext fiction which used the formatting options of HTML (HyperText Markup Language) to make new reading experiences.

Encouraged by my inspiration and discovery, I went back to one of my HCI instructors Professor Mark Ackerman during his office hours and pitched him my idea. He was interested and agreed to be my advisor!

Towards the end of my last senior year, however, I realized I wouldn’t be able to finish the story I had in mind. I had finished three character arcs but at least 2 more were incomplete and I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed and nervous. Also, even though I had hyperlinked the arcs together at relevant points in their stories, I really didn’t interweave them as much I would have liked. But I was proud of what using HTML had given me in formatting range. Besides the cool homepage and hyperlinked table of contents, I could add so much emotion by having colored text and separating lines - even one word - into their own pages.

I don’t remember how I decided, but I manned up and turned in what I had to Professor Ackerman with my report and crossed my fingers.

Lo and behold, I passed and got an A! I had to admit I was flabbergasted at the A but very happy I passed. (Thank you, Professor Ackerman!)

I survived my CHP senior thesis!

And as corny as the statement is: You can, too!

My advice to you is:

  1. Keep your eyes peeled and your heart open. As much as you want to hurry up and get your thesis done, you won’t get anywhere just focusing on the worry. Continue to take your classes, even find some inspiration outside of class. You won’t get anywhere unless you live it up and get some life experience.

  2. Communicate with your advisor. Don’t leave them out of the loop. Keep them informed of your progress and be open to listening to what they have to say. I ended up not really talking to my advisor much, but maybe there could have been some more to talk about.

  3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I did most of the research myself, but I also asked for access to articles I may not have had in a standard library. CHP also has peer advisors whose brains you can pick.

  4. Yet don’t be afraid to say no to the advice and help you’re offered. Sometimes, things offered just don’t fit your vision. Recognize that, but be nice about it.

  5. Don’t be afraid to experiment. I had tried a new form of writing that I never thought to do before. HTML had always been a means to publish writing on the internet, but as its own writing style, I learned a lot more of what such a language is capable of. (Just look at HTML 5 now.)

  6. Don’t be a perfectionist. Remember, this is research, which often is a work in progress, anyway. What matters to the advisor, I think, is that you do the work of researching, even if your result doesn’t turn out perfect. I ended up passing with an incomplete story, and I think I passed because Professor Ackerman saw the passion I put into the project.

All in all, I had enjoyed my CHP thesis experience. No joke. I think you have a very good chance of enjoying yours, too. Find a subject you at least like or are intrigued by and see how far that and some hard work will take you.

However far you go, you will always learn something, most likely outside of the proverbial box of your standard coursework.

And I think that’s what a CHP thesis is for: to get yourself thinking out-of-the-box.

Some references:

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