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Product Owner Meetings
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
Our team was formally briefed on the new project for this semester: a Course Comparison Web Application. This application will allow users to search and compare BIT courses from our institution against similar offerings from other universities.
1️⃣ Project Introduction & Objectives
- The application will function as a web platform to search, retrieve, and compare course information.
- It will leverage sentence transformer models to understand and compare course descriptions in a meaningful way.
2️⃣ Technical Research & Initial Tasks
- Team members were instructed to review the Sentence Transformers documentation, with a focus on:
- The Getting Started section
- The Transformer Models overview
- Research was also assigned to evaluate and decide on the appropriate tech stack (e.g., backend, frontend, hosting).
- The repository setup will include a GitHub project board and initial Wiki pages for documentation and notes.
3️⃣ Initial Project Setup Plan
- Before the next meeting, the goal is to:
- Finalize the selection of project technologies
- Set up the GitHub repository with project board and wiki sections
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review Sentence Transformers documentation | All Team Members | 28/07/2025 | In Progress |
| Research and finalize technology stack | All Team Members | 28/07/2025 | In Progress |
| Set up GitHub repository with project board and wiki | All Team Members | 28/07/2025 | In Progress |
- Next Meeting Date: 28/07/2025
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Next Meeting Agenda:
- Review progress on technology research and repo setup
- Finalize selected tools and frameworks
- Begin planning for the data ingestion and course comparison components
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David to present the results of our research and finalize the technology stack for the project. The main focus moving forward is to begin development on the first prototype of the course comparison functionality.
1️⃣ Technology Stack Confirmation
- The team confirmed the use of the following technologies:
- FastAPI for the backend
- React for the frontend
- Render for hosting the website and backend services
- Render will also be used for database hosting when needed later in development.
2️⃣ Data Preparation and LLM Integration
- David advised us to focus on converting the provided course data document into a structured JSON format.
- An LLM will be used to parse the document into structured data.
- He emphasized the importance of understanding structured data output techniques and formats.
3️⃣ Prototype Requirements
- David would like to see an initial prototype of a working web application by the next meeting.
- The prototype should include:
- A search bar
- Functionality to search and return courses similar in wording to the user input
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convert course document into structured JSON format | All Team Members | 04/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Read and understand structured data output techniques | All Team Members | 04/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Begin building a prototype with working search functionality | All Team Members | 04/08/2025 | In Progress |
- Next Meeting Date: 04/08/2025
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Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo the first working prototype
- Evaluate search accuracy and results
- Plan database schema and course ingestion pipeline
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We presented our current progress to David, including the structured data output and a basic frontend displaying parsed course content. David was satisfied with the team's direction and provided feedback and next steps to further enhance the project.
1️⃣ Progress Review
- Demonstrated the structured output generated from the course outline using GPT-4o mini, integrated locally.
- Showed the initial frontend, which displays parsed course data from the backend.
- David confirmed that we're on the right track and encouraged us to continue refining the system.
2️⃣ Improving Course Descriptions
- Current course descriptions are too brief.
- David advised that future summaries should better leverage details from the "Aim" and "Learning Outcomes" sections of the course outline to generate richer, more informative descriptions.
3️⃣ Frontend Navigation Menu
- A programme selection menu/taskbar should be created to allow navigation across multiple degree programmes (e.g., BIT, BCS, BSE).
- These additional programmes do not need to be populated with real data yet, but the navigation structure should be implemented.
4️⃣ Search Functionality & Evaluation
- Begin development of the search feature once backend data is finalized.
- Search results should display courses with similar content to the user's query using semantic comparison.
- Received a course outline from another university to use as a test case.
- A search evaluation component should be built to measure how accurate and relevant search results are.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improve course descriptions using detailed sections (aim, learning outcomes, etc.) | All Team Members | 11/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Implement a programme selection menu in the frontend | All Team Members | 11/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Finalize backend data and begin implementing search functionality | All Team Members | 11/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Create a search evaluation component using external university course data | All Team Members | 11/08/2025 | In Progress |
- Next Meeting Date: 11/08/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Show improvements to course descriptions
- Demo navigation menu for multiple programmes
- Present initial search functionality
- Review search accuracy with external course data
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David to demo the updated frontend and course data enhancements. He was pleased with our progress and provided guidance on the next development priorities, focusing on backend integration, data formatting, and semantic search functionality.
1️⃣ Frontend Enhancements Demoed
- Showed updated course descriptions, now enriched with content from the "Aim," "Learning Outcomes," and "Indicative Content" sections.
- Demonstrated the search bar integrated into the interface.
- Displayed a navbar placeholder for future support of multiple degree programs (e.g., BIT, BCA).
2️⃣ Next Backend Steps
- David recommended we now ingest the course data into a SQLite database via the API.
- He also advised modifying the data schema to:
- Replace academic levels (e.g., Level 4, Level 5) with "Year 1," "Year 2," etc.
- Add a new field indicating the program name (e.g., Bachelor of IT).
3️⃣ Search Functionality Development
- The next key feature is the semantic search capability.
- Use Sentence Transformers to convert course descriptions into embeddings/vectors.
- Integrate this with the search bar to allow users to input a course description from another university and receive semantically relevant course matches.
- David emphasized that completing this by the next meeting would represent significant progress.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingest course data into a SQLite database | All Team Members | 18/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Update data schema to include "Year" and "Programme Name" fields | All Team Members | 18/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Implement semantic search using Sentence Transformers | All Team Members | 18/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Integrate search functionality with frontend search bar | All Team Members | 18/08/2025 | In Progress |
- Next Meeting Date: 18/08/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo updated backend with database integration
- Show semantic search results in the frontend
- Test search functionality using external course descriptions
- Discuss next steps for improving user interface and data expansion
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We demoed the completed semantic search (Sentence Transformers) integrated into the web app and confirmed the data model updates (Year + Programme Name). David was impressed with the ability to paste an external course description and see the top 6 semantically closest matches, which appeared accurate and relevant. He outlined visual scoring cues (colour coding) and asked us to deploy a live version (Render) as the next milestones.
1️⃣ Delivered Features
- Implemented Sentence Transformers embeddings and server-side similarity search.
- Wired results to the frontend search bar, returning the top 6 matches.
- Updated course data with Year (e.g., Year 1/2/3) and Programme Name (e.g., Bachelor of IT).
2️⃣ Demo Outcomes
- Pasted a third-party course description into the search bar → displayed top 6 strongest matches with similarity scores.
- David noted the results were fairly accurate and aligned with expectations.
3️⃣ Feedback & Next Steps
-
Colour coding by score (example thresholds):
- ≥ 0.70 → Green (strong match)
- 0.50–0.69 → Amber (partial match)
- < 0.50 → Red (weak match)
- Deploy a live version; we confirmed we’re investigating Render for hosting.
- Overall: “On the right track” and “doing good.”
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add colour-coded badges/styles to search results by similarity threshold | All Team Members | 25/08/2025 | Not Started |
| Expose similarity score in UI tooltip/label for transparency | All Team Members | 25/08/2025 | Not Started |
| Prepare production build & deploy on Render (backend + frontend) | All Team Members | 25/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Configure environment variables, persistent SQLite, and CORS for production | All Team Members | 25/08/2025 | In Progress |
| Basic monitoring & logs (Render dashboard) post-deploy | All Team Members | 25/08/2025 | Not Started |
- Next Meeting Date: 25/08/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo colour-coded search results with thresholds
- Show live deployment on Render
- Quick accuracy spot-check using a few new external descriptions
- Discuss UI polish and potential model/config tweaks
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Krittapas
We reviewed the updated design plan for the search feature. David emphasized improving the user experience by enlarging the search bar, adding usage instructions, and supporting multiple course queries in one search. He requested grouped search results, displaying the top 3 matches per query with a clear section title, and showing all other relevant courses separately.
1️⃣ Frontend UI Adjustments
- Enlarge the search bar for better visibility.
- Add "How to use" instructions (explaining single/multiple queries).
- Support multi-query input (newline/comma-separated).
- Group search results by query title (e.g., Networking, Database).
- Each group shows the top 3 matches with course details.
- Add a separate section for Other relevant courses.
2️⃣ Semantic Search Behavior
- Continue with Sentence Transformers embeddings.
- For each query:
- Retrieve top-k matches.
- Display top 3 under the query title.
- Push remaining results into Other relevant courses.
- Show key snippets or highlights to clarify match relevance.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enlarge search bar & add "How to use" instructions | All Team Members | 01/09/2025 | In Progress |
| Implement multi-query input in frontend | All Team Members | 01/09/2025 | In Progress |
| Extend API for multi-query grouped results | All Team Members | 01/09/2025 | In Progress |
| Implement grouping logic with Top 3 per query + Other results | All Team Members | 01/09/2025 | In Progress |
- Next Meeting Date: 01/09/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo enlarged search bar with instructions
- Multi-query input test (e.g., Networking, Database)
- Show grouped results (Top 3 per query + Other relevant courses)
- Discuss ranking quality, snippets, and further UI polish
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We successfully demoed the multi-query input feature to David, and he was very pleased with the outcome. Multiple course queries can now be searched at once, and the results are neatly grouped under clearly labeled headers (e.g., Programming). Additionally, the project has been deployed live on Render, allowing David to test the functionality in a production environment. He provided positive feedback and outlined the next steps for enhancing the app’s usability, UI, and hosting reliability.
1️⃣ Multi-Query Search Implementation
- Multi-query input now fully functional and demonstrated.
- Results grouped by query header (e.g., "Programming").
- Top matches are easy to distinguish, improving clarity.
2️⃣ Deployment to Render
- Project successfully deployed to live site on Render.
- Currently running on the free plan with 15-minute idle restart limitation.
3️⃣ UI and Home Page Improvements
- Current setup uses BIT courses page as home.
- Need to create a dedicated Home Page with:
- Usage instructions.
- Enlarged search bar.
- Links to navigate to course-specific pages.
4️⃣ Render Pricing & Premium Upgrade
- Explore Render premium plan options.
- Goal: ensure site is always up without idle-time restarts.
5️⃣ Search Results Visualization
- Current relevance indicators use simple red/green/yellow emojis.
- Need more distinctive visual cues (e.g., styled highlights, color-coded badges, or progress bars) to improve readability and emphasis.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create a dedicated Home Page with instructions & navigation links | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
| Enlarge search bar further on the Home Page | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
| Research Render premium pricing and feasibility | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
| Enhance visualization of match relevance beyond emojis | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
- Next Meeting Date: 04/09/2025(Mid-Semester PDR), 08/09/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Review and demo new Home Page design.
- Show enhanced search bar and usage instructions.
- Discuss Render pricing options and possible upgrade.
- Demo improved match visualization system.
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
This session was a mid-semester performance review and catch-up with David, where he met with both of us one-on-one to reflect on both the project progress and our individual contributions. David shared that he is very happy with the overall direction of the project and emphasized that our work so far has been both valuable and aligned with expectations. He praised our professionalism, attitude, and work ethic, noting that he has no concerns from his end regarding our performance or progress.
During the check-in, David also asked us about how we work together as a team. We both highlighted that our team collaboration is smooth and effective, with no issues in communication, workload distribution, or problem-solving. He was pleased to hear this and reinforced the importance of maintaining this level of teamwork throughout the remainder of the project.
Overall, David expressed that he is impressed and satisfied with both the state of the project and our individual performance. His feedback was entirely positive, and he encouraged us to continue building on the strong momentum we have established.
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David to demo the newly developed Home (Landing) Page, and he was very happy with how it looked and functioned. He particularly liked the color-coded match results, which now use badges and a progress bar, providing clearer visual emphasis. However, while testing the Home Page, David encountered a few usability bugs and shared suggestions for improvement, which we plan to address this week.
1️⃣ Home Page Demo & Feedback
- Successfully demoed the dedicated Home Page.
- David appreciated the layout and design.
- Title placement should be moved slightly upwards for better visual balance.
2️⃣ Search Results Visualization
- Color-coded results now use styled badges and progress bars instead of emojis.
- Feedback was positive — clearer and more professional-looking.
3️⃣ Usability Bugs Identified
- Cannot enter new lines in the search bar, making it hard to input multiple course descriptions properly.
- Manual resizing of the text box causes it to overlap with the bottom navbar, making it difficult to access the search button.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fix search bar to support multi-line input | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
| Adjust Home Page title positioning (move upward slightly) | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
| Resolve search bar overlap bug when textbox is resized | All Team Members | 08/09/2025 | Not Started |
- Next Meeting Date: 15/09/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo fixes to search bar input and layout bugs.
- Finalize Home Page design updates.
- Review deployment stability and Render premium plan research.
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David today after returning from the mid-semester break. He reviewed the current state of our project and mentioned that since we are nearing completion, it is now an appropriate time to start focusing on the documentation aspects of the project. This involves updating existing documentation and preparing new materials to help the next team understand and maintain the system effectively.
1️⃣ Transition to Documentation Phase
- David emphasized that the project is close to completion and should now shift focus toward comprehensive documentation.
- Documentation will ensure a smooth handover to the next group continuing development in the next semester.
2️⃣ README File Updates
- The README should include clear setup and installation instructions.
- It must explain how to run the backend (FastAPI) and frontend (React) components, including environment variables and dependencies.
3️⃣ Wiki and Codebase Documentation
- Add explanations within the Wiki for major files and folders in the codebase.
- Provide code comments for complex logic and integrations (e.g., GPT model usage, Sentence Transformer matching).
- Include links to relevant learning resources and documentation for each technology used (React, FastAPI, Render, SQLite, etc.).
4️⃣ Knowledge Transfer Preparation
- The goal is to make the project easy to understand and extend for future teams.
- Clear documentation will help new developers deploy, test, and contribute confidently without external assistance.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Update README.md with project setup, installation, and run instructions | Navheen & Krittapas | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
| Add Wiki pages explaining main files, technologies, and system architecture | All Team Members | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
| Review and enhance code comments for clarity and maintainability | All Team Members | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
| Compile learning resources and links in the Wiki | Krittapas | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
- Next Meeting Date: 13/10/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Review progress on documentation updates.
- Finalize README and Wiki structure.
- Prepare checklist for project submission and handover readiness.
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David today to review the updated documentation for our repository and demonstrate the latest bug fixes. He was pleased with the progress and the improvements made since the last meeting. David suggested that we now focus on adding a file structure documentation section to make it easier for the next development team to understand and navigate the project.
During testing, we also identified a few remaining functional issues in the live service app related to data display when handling multiple blank lines in input. Additionally, David proposed enhancing our backend parsing logic to produce a more structured output format, as this would improve readability and reliability of the results.
1️⃣ Repository Documentation Review
- Demonstrated the updated README and Wiki documentation.
- David approved the improvements and recommended adding file structure documentation to guide future developers.
- Emphasized maintaining clarity in explaining file roles and data flow between backend and frontend.
2️⃣ Bug Fix Review and Verification
- Confirmed that previously reported UI issues were fixed:
- Line breaks in the search input now work correctly.
- Search button overlap issue with the bottom bar has been resolved.
- Conducted live testing of the deployed service to validate fixes.
3️⃣ New Bug Identified (Data Display Issue)
- Found that entering text with multiple blank lines causes incorrect category results to appear.
- The parsing function is treating extra line breaks as separate queries, leading to inaccurate output.
- Needs to be fixed to ensure only valid queries are processed.
4️⃣ Backend Parsing Improvement
- David suggested converting the current JSON parsing method to a structured data output format.
- This would improve result consistency and simplify debugging.
- Plan to refactor the parsing schema function accordingly.
5️⃣ Project Completion Outlook
- David noted that once these fixes and documentation improvements are completed, the project will be ready for final submission.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add File Structure Documentation section to Wiki | All Team Members | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
| Fix multi-line input bug causing incorrect multiple category results | Navheen & Krittapas | 20/10/2025 | In Progress |
| Refactor backend parsing to produce structured data output | Navheen | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
| Verify all fixes and perform final end-to-end testing | All Team Members | 20/10/2025 | Not Started |
- Next Meeting Date: 03/11/2025
-
Next Meeting Agenda:
- Demo fixed data parsing and input handling.
- Review newly added file structure documentation.
- Conduct final testing and confirm project readiness for submission.
- Product Owner: David
- Team Members: Navheen, Krittapas
We met with David today to present and demonstrate the final version of our project. All features and requirements outlined at the beginning of the semester and throughout have been successfully completed. The final system now provides accurate course matching results using the updated structured output parsing, resulting in more consistent and intelligent responses.
David expressed that he was very pleased with the overall quality of the project and confirmed that we had met all the required objectives. He commended the team for our effective collaboration and progress throughout the semester. David also encouraged us to focus on our other assessments for the remainder of the semester, as this project is now considered complete.
He additionally recommended ensuring that all handover documentation for the next development team is finalized and uploaded to the repository. Although this has largely been completed, we will refine and review the documentation over the next week to guarantee a smooth transition.
1️⃣ Final Project Demonstration
- Presented the completed V1 build of the Course Comparison Web Application.
- Showcased fully functional backend and frontend integration.
- Demonstrated enhanced course matching accuracy achieved through structured AI outputs.
2️⃣ Product Owner Feedback
- David confirmed that all project requirements were met successfully.
- Praised the team’s collaboration, documentation quality, and project execution.
- Approved the project as finalized and ready for handover.
3️⃣ Structured Output Enhancements
- Confirmed that the new structured parsing logic significantly improved matching reliability.
- Reduces ambiguity in LLM responses and simplifies backend data handling.
- Now produces consistent and explainable results for all input queries.
4️⃣ Handover Documentation
- David advised the team to ensure all documentation for future developers is up to date.
- The File Structure Documentation and Technology Research sections have already been added.
- Final refinement of the Wiki and README will be done over the next week.
5️⃣ Project Closure & Future Focus
- David acknowledged the project as complete and successful.
- Granted approval for the team to focus on other coursework and assessments for the rest of the semester.
| Task | Assignee | Due Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finalize and proofread all handover documentation (Wiki, README, File Structure) | All Team Members | 10/11/2025 | In Progress |
| Archive team meeting notes and sprint records for continuity | Krittapas | 10/11/2025 | In Progress |
- Project Status: Completed (Final Version Delivered) ✅