Real-Time Systems · Master’s Capstone
ChordChat
A course-centered communication platform built around a simple belief: learning becomes easier when questions can turn into conversations.
01 · Purpose
Giving course questions a place to live
Students often depend on scattered messaging groups or delayed email replies when they need help. ChordChat was designed as an e-learning platform where students and instructors could communicate in real time inside course-specific spaces.
The aim was not simply to create a chat box. It was to connect discussion, enrollment, feedback, and course access in one academic environment.
02 · Designing the system
From user needs to working architecture
The project included requirement gathering, stakeholder analysis, functional and non-functional requirements, risk planning, and a ten-week Agile delivery plan.
We documented the system through architecture, use-case, activity, sequence, class, and entity-relationship diagrams before connecting the frontend, backend, database, and real-time communication layer.
03 · What I built
Owning the backend and the path to deployment
My responsibilities included project management, backend development, deployment, and testing. I worked on Node.js and Express services, SQL schema integration, user registration and login, course enrollment, feedback APIs, and Socket.io-based communication.
The platform was deployed to Heroku with GitHub integration. The report also documents Azure SQL integration, connection pooling, and a structured testing plan using tools including Postman, Selenium, Jest, and MySQL Workbench.
04 · Reflection
Connectivity is a design problem, not only a messaging feature
The project showed me that a useful communication system depends on context. A message becomes more valuable when it is connected to a course, a user, a history, and a clear purpose.
It also taught me how project planning, architecture, testing, and deployment fit around code to make a complete product.
05 · The next question
Toward a more intelligent learning space
The original future scope included AI-powered assistance, video and audio classrooms, analytics, multilingual support, persistent chat history, and course-progress tracking.
A careful next step could add retrieval-based academic assistance that points students toward course materials while keeping peer and instructor discussion at the center. The purpose should remain connection and learning—not replacing the people involved.