I created a very basic matching algorithm during a hackathon.

01-MatchingAlgo.md

Lessons Learned

• For Hackathons, emphasizing how a proposed app/product solves a given pain point can be as valuable if not more valuable than the specific details of the technical implementation.
• I discovered a handy way in Ruby to perform Array Intersection with the & operator.

Context

At the end of my bootcamp, we had a small internal hackathon. My team was assigned the hypothetical task of improving AirBnB's site to address issues of racial discrimination by hosts towards guests. Our team decided to utilize IBM Watson's Personality Insights API to analyze AirBnB users' bio descriptions (which our team proposed adding as a requirement upon signup).

The Watson analysis would quantify a user's personality and these values would help inform the matching of hosts with guests. Initially, we wanted to come up with a more involved matching algorithm, but given the short amount of time we had, I suggested a basic matching algorithm, which is what is written above.

02-MatchingAlgo.rb

#Emotional Analysis Helpers

#This method stores the traits for a particular user.
  def traits(user)
      traits = []
      # byebug
      traits << emo_analysis(user.openness, "open")
      # byebug
      traits << emo_analysis(user.conscientiousness, "conscientious")
      traits << emo_analysis(user.extraversion, "extraverted")
      traits << emo_analysis(user.agreeableness, "agreeable")
      traits << emo_analysis(user.emotional_range, "neurotic")
      traits
  end

#This method converts the numerical data obtained from Watson Personality Insights API
#into simple string values for a user's personality traits

def emo_analysis(emo_val, emo_name)
    if emo_val <= 0.2
      "not very #{emo_name}"
    elsif 0.3 <= emo_val && emo_val <= 0.6
      "#{emo_name}"
    elsif emo_val >= 0.7
      "very #{emo_name}"
    else
      "inconclusive"
    end
  end

#These methods check to see if travelers and hosts have three or more personality traits in common.
  def recommend(traveler)
    hosts = Host.all
    matches = []
    hosts.each do |host|
      if (traits(host) & traits(traveler)).length >= 3
        matches << host
      end
    end
    matches
  end

  def host_recommendations(host)
    travelers = Traveler.all
    matches = []
    travelers.each do |traveler|
      if (traits(host) & traits(traveler)).length >= 3
        matches << traveler
      end
    end
    matches
  end