Project: COVID Tracker (iOS App)
COVID Tracker was a public-facing pandemic data project Steven joined in 2020 as an iOS developer volunteer. He had followed the founder on Twitter and proposed to contribute by building a mobile app. The project matched several of his core interests at once.
Why it was ideal
He lists the appeal explicitly: “Ça mettait à contribution mon amour pour le design et l’expérience utilisateur, mon envie de contribuer sociétalement, et c’était aussi un bon investissement en termes de reconnaissance.” The project combined design, civic contribution, and public visibility.
He also worked on it during afters at Arthur’s apartment, using the computer as a buffer while the party continued around him. He would show people what he was doing. The work and the social function were linked.
Why it failed
He got stuck in interface decisions. “J’ai mis énormément de temps à avancer sur le simple design de l’application, coincé dans une spirale perfectionniste en termes de choix d’interface.”
This is the executive dysfunction and perfectionism combination: unable to commit to a design decision, unable to ship anything, unable to restart with looser standards. The pandemic wound down before he could complete the work. He is listed in the team credits, but no iOS app shipped.
The project appears in his September 2020 recovery-period journal. He was actively working on it alongside smolRSS and ModernTabbar and treated it as a flagship project.
Significance
CovidTracker is the first clear documentation of his ship-blocking pattern: he takes on a project that fits his skills and values, makes real progress on infrastructure, then loses momentum when design decisions stall. The pattern recurs.
The project also represents his first attempt at what he called “meaningful contribution”: tech work that matters to the world, not just a job. The category matters to him and reappears in PartnerNote.