Timelyx (Lecture Hall Management System)

Software Engineering Project | MERN Stack

---

1. Project Overview

The Lecture Hall Management System (LHMS) is a web-based application designed to efficiently manage lecture halls, lecture schedules, and user access within a university environment. The system aims to eliminate scheduling conflicts, improve lecture hall utilization, and provide a centralized and reliable timetable management platform.

This project is developed as part of the Software Engineering module and follows a complete software engineering lifecycle, including requirement elicitation, system analysis, design, implementation, testing, and documentation. The development process follows Agile (Scrum) methodology and applies industry-standard software engineering best practices.

---

2. Objectives

The primary objectives of this system are:

• To provide a centralized platform for lecture hall and schedule management
• To prevent lecture hall booking conflicts through an approval-based workflow
• To support multiple stakeholders with role-based access control
• To demonstrate correct application of software engineering principles
• To develop a scalable, maintainable, and well-documented system

---

3. Scope of the System

In Scope

• Lecture hall registration and management
• Lecture and event scheduling with conflict detection
• Role-based access control (Lecturer, Student, HOD, TO)
• Approval-based booking workflow
• Timetable viewing for lecturers and students
• Secure authentication and authorization
• Notification handling for schedule changes

Out of Scope

• Online lecture delivery
• Attendance tracking
• Payment or billing functionality
• External LMS integrations

---

4. Stakeholders and User Roles

• Lecturer
  Requests lecture halls, views personal timetables, and updates booking requests subject to approval.

• Student
  Views personal lecture timetables and allocated lecture halls.

• Head of Department (HOD)
  Reviews, approves, or rejects lecture hall booking requests and oversees departmental scheduling.

• Technical Officer (TO)
  Verifies and approves user account registrations manually before system access is granted.

---

5. Technology Stack

• Frontend: React.js
• Backend: Node.js with Express.js
• Database: MongoDB
• Authentication: JWT-based authentication
• Version Control: Git and GitHub
• Project Management: Jira (Scrum-based workflow)

---

6. System Architecture

The system follows a client–server architecture:

• The React frontend provides role-based user interfaces
• The Node.js/Express backend handles business logic, validation, approvals, and notifications
• MongoDB is used for persistent data storage
• RESTful APIs are used for communication between client and server
• Authentication and authorization are enforced at the server level

This architecture promotes low coupling, high cohesion, and future scalability.

---

7. Repository Structure

Lecture-hall-management/
│
├── client/ # React frontend
│ ├── public/
│ └── src/
│ ├── assets/
│ ├── components/
│ ├── pages/
│ ├── services/
│ ├── context/
│ ├── utils/
│ ├── App.jsx
│ └── main.jsx
│
├── server/ # Node.js backend
│ ├── src/
│ │ ├── config/
│ │ ├── models/
│ │ ├── controllers/
│ │ ├── routes/
│ │ ├── services/
│ │ ├── middleware/
│ │ ├── app.js
│ │ └── server.js
│ └── tests/
│
├── docs/ # Software Engineering documentation
│ ├── PM/
│ ├── RA/
│ ├── QA/
│ └── User_Documentation.md
│
├── tests/ # Integration and system tests
│
├── .github/
│
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
└── package.json

---

8. Software Engineering Practices Followed

• Agile development using Scrum
• Sprint-based development with weekly reviews
• Requirements traceability from SRS to testing
• UML-based system design
• SOLID principles for clean code
• Low coupling and high cohesion
• Continuous testing and refactoring

---

9. Non-Functional Requirements (Summary)

• Usability: Simple and intuitive interfaces
• Performance: Fast response under normal load
• Security: Role-based access control
• Availability: Accessible during university working hours

---

10. Installation and Setup

Prerequisites

• Node.js (LTS)
• MongoDB
• Git

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

git clone Lecture-hall-management

---

2. Install backend dependencies:

cd server
npm install

---

3. Install frontend dependencies:

cd server
npm install

---

4. Configure environment variables (MongoDB URI, JWT secret)

5. Run the application:

npm run dev

---

11. API Overview (High Level)

• POST /api/auth/login – User authentication
• GET /api/halls – Retrieve lecture halls
• POST /api/schedules – Create lecture schedules
• GET /api/schedules – View lecture schedules

---

12. Testing Strategy

• Unit testing for backend services
• Integration testing for scheduling logic
• Manual and automated test cases
• Bug tracking and reporting using Jira

---

13. Project Management

• Scrum-based development
• Weekly sprint planning and reviews
• Task and issue tracking via Jira
• Version control using Git

---

14. Contributors

Developed by a student team as part of the Software Engineering module, Faculty of Engineering.

---

15. Academic Disclaimer

This project is developed strictly for academic purposes and learning outcomes of the Software Engineering course.

---

16. Interface Design & UI Summary

Key Design Features:

• Secure Onboarding: Simplified Sign-Up page by removing role selection; users are now vetted and assigned roles manually by the Timetable Officer (TO).
• Role-Specific Dashboards: Custom-tailored sidebars and views for 4 distinct roles (Student, Lecturer, HOD, and TO).
• Minimalist UX: Removed redundant action buttons and legend sections to provide a cleaner, data-focused workspace.
• Status Visualization: Integrated a color-coded system (Green/Yellow/Red) for instant booking status recognition.
• Optimized Profiles: Created specialized profile views (e.g., "Courses Teaching" for Lecturers) to replace generic statistics.

---