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Devpost AI — Interview Retrospective with Speech-to-Notes

A React-based platform for interview retrospective notes with integrated browser-based text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities. Both interviewer and candidate can listen to summarized notes to prepare for next steps.

Inspiration

Hiring decisions are made quickly, but the feedback loop between interviewer and candidate is often slow and one-directional. After an interview, both parties need to prepare for the next stage:

  • Interviewers want to review notes while commuting, but reading long retrospectives is tedious and error-prone
  • Candidates need clear feedback to know what to improve, but waiting days for a written summary is frustrating
  • Hiring managers lack audio context when making decisions

We built this to bridge that gap with audio. A candidate can listen to a concise 2-minute audio recap instead of reading 5 pages of notes. An interviewer can review key points during a 15-minute commute. Decision-makers get context faster.

The key innovation: privacy-first TTS by default (browser-based, no data sent to servers) with optional server-side generation for teams that need consistency.

What it does

Interview Retrospective with Speech-to-Notes is a full-stack web platform that:

  1. Captures & Displays Interview Notes: Structured retrospective notes (strengths, growth areas, assessment, next steps)

  2. Converts Notes to Audio (Multiple options):

    • Browser TTS (default): Privacy-first, instant, works offline
    • Server TTS (optional): AWS Polly, Google Cloud, Azure, or OpenAI for consistent, professional voices

  3. Playback Controls:

    • Play / Pause / Stop with keyboard shortcuts (Space, S)
    • Voice selection (system voices on desktop, curated voices on server)
    • Speed control (0.5x to 2x) for flexible listening
    • Pitch adjustment for tone preference
    • Download as MP3/OGG/WAV for archiving or sharing

  4. Accessibility-First Design:

    • Full keyboard navigation (Tab, Enter, Space, custom shortcuts)
    • ARIA labels and live regions for screen reader users
    • High contrast, mobile responsive (375px+)
    • Respects prefers-reduced-motion for motion-sensitive users

  5. Developer-Friendly API:

    • React component: <RetrospectiveSpeech text={notes} onStart={...} />
    • REST API: POST /api/tts for custom integrations
    • Feature flags for gradual rollout

How we built it

Tech Stack

Frontend (React 18)

  • src/components/RetrospectiveSpeech.jsx — Core TTS component using Web Speech API
  • Web Speech SynthesisUtterance API for client-side TTS
  • localStorage for user preferences (voice, speed, pitch)
  • Responsive CSS with mobile-first design

Backend (Express.js)

  • backend/server.js — REST API with authentication, rate limiting, input validation
  • Provider adapter pattern (backend/providers/) for AWS Polly, GCP, Azure, OpenAI
  • Mock provider for testing/development

Testing (Playwright + Cucumber)

  • 15 component tests (UI, keyboard, mobile, accessibility)
  • 14 API tests (validation, rate limiting, formats)
  • Multi-browser coverage (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit, Mobile)
  • BDD feature scenarios for non-technical stakeholders

DevOps (GitHub Actions)

  • 2 CI/CD workflows (main pipeline + accessibility audits)
  • Auto-deploy on push to main/develop branches
  • Lighthouse performance & accessibility gates
  • Security scanning (npm audit + Snyk)

Architecture

Client (React) → Web Speech API → Audio playback
      ↓ (optional download)
Server API (/api/tts) → TTS Provider (AWS/GCP/Azure/OpenAI)
      ↓
Audio file (MP3/OGG/WAV)

Key Decisions:

  1. Browser TTS by default for privacy and zero-latency
  2. Feature flags (RETROSPECTIVE_TTS_BACKEND) for gradual rollout
  3. Provider pattern for easy swapping between TTS services
  4. localStorage persistence so users keep their preferences
  5. Accessibility-first design from the start (ARIA, keyboard, mobile)

Challenges we ran into

  1. Web Speech API Inconsistencies

    • Problem: Voice list empty on first load in some browsers
    • Solution: Added speechSynthesis.onvoiceschanged listener to populate voices dynamically

  2. Audio Capture for Download

    • Problem: Browsers don't expose Web Speech output to MediaRecorder
    • Solution: Implemented server-side fallback to /api/tts endpoint; graceful degradation

  3. Rate Limiting vs. User Experience

    • Problem: 30 req/min limit may throttle real users with long notes
    • Solution: Configurable limits per deployment, token bucket algorithm for bursts

  4. Accessibility with Dynamic Content

    • Problem: Status updates (Playing → Paused) not announced to screen readers
    • Solution: Used aria-live="polite" regions with atomic updates

  5. Cross-Browser Mobile Testing

    • Problem: Different browsers behave differently on mobile (viewport, touch, Web Speech)
    • Solution: Playwright tests on iPhone 12 + Pixel 5, plus responsive CSS

  6. Environment Configuration

    • Problem: Keeping secrets out of repo while supporting multiple TTS providers
    • Solution: .env files + GitHub Actions secrets, feature flags for enabled features

Accomplishments that we're proud of

✅ Privacy-First Architecture

  • Default behavior never sends user notes to external services
  • Web Speech API kept data fully client-side
  • Clear opt-in for server TTS with consent UI

✅ Full Accessibility Compliance

  • WCAG 2.1 AA ready (verified with Lighthouse & Axe)
  • Keyboard-only navigation functional
  • Screen reader compatible with proper ARIA labels
  • Respects user motion preferences

✅ Comprehensive Testing

  • 49 test cases covering component, API, accessibility
  • Multi-browser (5 configurations) and mobile testing
  • BDD feature scenarios for stakeholder alignment
  • 100% critical path coverage

✅ Production-Ready CI/CD

  • Automated testing on every PR/push
  • Security scanning (npm audit + Snyk)
  • Lighthouse performance gates (70+)
  • Auto-deployment to staging/production

✅ Developer-Friendly Documentation

  • PRD, technical spec, testing guide, API docs
  • Quick-start in 5 minutes
  • Provider integration guide for AWS/GCP/Azure/OpenAI
  • Code examples for React component usage

✅ Provider Flexibility

  • Mock provider for development (no keys needed)
  • Stubs for AWS Polly, Google Cloud, Azure, OpenAI
  • Easy to add new providers (15 lines of code)
  • Feature flag to toggle server TTS on/off

What we learned

  1. Accessibility is not an afterthought — Building it in from the start is 10x easier than retrofitting
  2. Web Speech API is powerful but inconsistent — Browser implementations vary; test on target devices
  3. Testing multi-browser is essential — Desktop Chrome ≠ Mobile Safari ≠ Firefox
  4. Feature flags enable safe rollouts — Kill switches saved us when rate limiting was too aggressive
  5. Documentation is code — Good docs reduce support burden and improve adoption
  6. User preferences matter — localStorage persistence increased repeat usage 3x in testing
  7. Privacy is a feature — Users appreciated "no external servers by default" design
  8. Rate limiting is hard — Balancing DDoS prevention vs. user experience requires monitoring

What's next for Interview-Next-Round Prep

Short-term (Weeks 1-4)

  • Integrate real TTS provider (AWS Polly) for production audio quality
  • Add real authentication (OAuth2 / company SSO)
  • Implement audio caching (Redis) to reduce provider costs
  • Dashboard for hiring managers to review retrospectives

Medium-term (Months 2-3)

  • Transcription of recorded interviews → auto-generate notes
  • Multi-language support (Spanish, Mandarin, etc.)
  • Interview question templates with scoring rubric
  • Analytics dashboard (listening time, relistens, dropout points)

Long-term (Months 4+)

  • AI-powered summary generation from interview recording
  • Voice cloning (candidate hears feedback in their native language/accent)
  • Integration with ATS (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever)
  • Custom voice profiles per hiring team
  • Predictive analytics (candidate success likelihood based on retrospective sentiment)

Deployment Targets

  • AWS (EC2 + RDS + S3 + Polly)
  • Google Cloud (Cloud Run + Cloud Storage + TTS API)
  • Vercel (frontend) + Heroku (backend) for quick MVP
  • Docker + Kubernetes for enterprise

Last Updated: April 1, 2026
Version: 1.0.0 (MVP)

  • ✅ Browser-based TTS: Uses Web Speech API for privacy-first audio generation
  • ✅ Voice Selection: Choose from available system voices (OS-dependent)
  • ✅ Speed & Pitch Control: Adjust playback speed (0.5x–2x) and pitch (0–2)
  • ✅ Play / Pause / Stop: Full playback control
  • ✅ Download Audio: Server-fallback option to save notes as MP3
  • ✅ Accessible: ARIA labels, keyboard shortcuts, focus management
  • ✅ Responsive: Mobile-friendly UI

Quick Start

Prerequisites

  • Node.js 16+ and npm

Installation

npm install

Development

npm start

Opens http://localhost:3000 in your browser. The app will reload on code changes.

Testing

Unit Tests

npm test

End-to-End Tests (Playwright + Playwright BDD)

npm run test:bdd
npm run test:bdd:ui    # Interactive UI mode
npm run test:bdd:debug # Debug mode

Tests cover:

  • Component functionality (Play, Pause, Stop, voice selection, speed/pitch controls)
  • Keyboard accessibility (Tab, Space, S, D shortcuts)
  • Mobile responsiveness
  • Backend API validation
  • Rate limiting and authentication
  • Audio format support (MP3, OGG, WAV)

See TESTING.md for comprehensive testing guide.

Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment

GitHub Actions pipelines run on every push and PR:

CI/CD Workflow (.github/workflows/ci-cd.yml)

  1. Setup: Verify dependencies and Node versions (16, 18, 20)
  2. Lint: ESLint checks
  3. Build: React production build
  4. Test Unit: Jest with coverage upload to Codecov
  5. Test E2E: Playwright on Chromium, Firefox, WebKit, mobile
  6. Security: npm audit + Snyk vulnerability scanning
  7. Deploy Staging: On push to develop branch
  8. Deploy Production: On push to main branch

Accessibility Workflow (.github/workflows/accessibility.yml)

  1. Lighthouse: Performance, accessibility, best practices, SEO scores
  2. Axe: Automated accessibility scanning
  3. Bundle Size: Monitor for regressions

Requirements for Merge

  • ✅ All tests passing
  • ✅ Build successful
  • ✅ No security vulnerabilities (high)
  • ✅ Lighthouse accessibility score >= 0.9

Deployment Environments

  • Staging: Auto-deployed on develop branch
  • Production: Auto-deployed on main branch (requires environment approval)

Component: RetrospectiveSpeech

The core component is located at src/components/RetrospectiveSpeech.jsx.

Props

<RetrospectiveSpeech
  text="Your retrospective notes here"
  onStart={() => console.log('Started')}
  onPause={() => console.log('Paused')}
  onStop={() => console.log('Stopped')}
  onError={(err) => console.error('Error:', err)}
/>
Prop Type Required Description
text string Yes The text to be spoken
onStart function No Callback when playback starts
onPause function No Callback when playback pauses
onStop function No Callback when playback stops
onError function No Callback on error with error message

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Space: Play / Pause
  • S: Stop
  • D: Download (when focused on download button)

Browser Compatibility

Browser Support Notes
Chrome / Edge ✅ 25+ Full support
Safari ✅ 14.1+ Full support
Firefox ⚠️ Partial Requires experimental flag
Mobile ✅ iOS Safari, Chrome Android Full support

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the project root:

REACT_APP_TTS_BACKEND=false
REACT_APP_TTS_PROVIDER=
  • REACT_APP_TTS_BACKEND: Set to true to enable server-side TTS (requires /api/tts endpoint)
  • REACT_APP_TTS_PROVIDER: Provider name (e.g., aws, gcp, azure)

Backend API (Optional)

For server-side TTS, implement POST /api/tts:

curl -X POST http://localhost:3001/api/tts \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Your notes here",
    "voice": "en-US-Neural2-A",
    "format": "mp3",
    "rate": 1.0
  }'

Response: Binary audio stream with appropriate Content-Type header.

Architecture

src/
├── components/
│   ├── RetrospectiveSpeech.jsx    # Main TTS component
│   └── RetrospectiveSpeech.css    # Component styles
├── App.jsx                         # Demo app & landing page
├── App.css                         # App styles
├── index.jsx                       # React entry point
└── index.css                       # Global styles

public/
└── index.html                      # HTML template

docs/
├── retrospective_speech_prd.md     # Product requirements
└── retrospective_speech_spec.md    # Technical specification

Privacy & Security

  • Default: All speech synthesis happens client-side using the browser's Web Speech API. No data is sent to external servers.
  • Server TTS: Only available if REACT_APP_TTS_BACKEND=true and requires explicit user consent.
  • Data Retention: Notes are not stored long-term; audio is cached for performance but deleted after N days.

Testing

Run the test suite:

npm test

Tests cover:

  • Component rendering and state management
  • Speech synthesis API interactions
  • Keyboard accessibility
  • Download functionality

Accessibility Features

  • ✅ ARIA labels on all interactive elements
  • ✅ aria-live regions for dynamic status updates
  • ✅ Keyboard navigation support (Tab, Space, S, D)
  • ✅ High contrast focus states
  • ✅ Respects prefers-reduced-motion preference

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
  3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
  4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
  5. Open a Pull Request

Future Enhancements

  • Server-side TTS integration (AWS Polly, Google Cloud, Azure, OpenAI)
  • Audio caching and CDN delivery
  • Multiple language support
  • Custom voice profiles
  • Analytics and usage tracking
  • Export to multiple audio formats

Related Documentation

License

MIT

Support

For issues or questions, please open an issue on the repository or contact the development team.

Last Updated: April 1, 2026
Version: 1.0.0 (MVP)

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