Document Management Platform

Overview

The Document Management Platform is a major project developed during my 2nd year of college under the guidance of our Departmental HOD. Built as a team of three, this scalable MERN-stack platform was designed to streamline academic document organization for our college, now adopted by over 1500 students annually. I played a pivotal role in creating the UI to deploying on cloud, crafting RESTful APIs with Node.js and Express.js, while also contributing to a responsive frontend using React.js and Tailwind CSS. This project was a rewarding experience, teaching me teamwork, project management, and the intricacies of building a production-ready application deployed on Google Cloud Platform with a CI/CD pipeline via GitHub Actions.

Features

• Multi-Role Portal: Tailored interfaces for Users (students), Teachers, and Admins to manage MAR and MOOCs certificates.
• Secure Authentication: JWT-based tokens and bcrypt.js hashing for top-tier security.
• Document Uploads: Seamless file management with Multer and Cloudinary integration.
• Real-Time Notifications: Nodemailer for instant submission and approval updates.
• Role-Based Access Control: Granular permissions to ensure data privacy and functionality.
• Responsive UI/UX: Designed a modern, accessible interface with React, Next.js, Redux Toolkit, MUI, and Tailwind CSS.
• Performance Optimization: Redis caching and Express Rate Limit for speed and protection.
• CI/CD Pipeline: Automated deployment on Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run) using GitHub Actions.
• Scalability: Dockerized architecture for consistent environments.

Technology Used

• TypeScript: Static typing for robust, scalable code.
• React.js: Dynamic, reusable components for the frontend.
• Next.js: Optimized performance with SSR and static generation.
• Node.js: Backend runtime for RESTful API development.
• Express.js: Framework for efficient API routing and middleware.
• MongoDB: NoSQL database for flexible document storage.
• JWT: Token-based authentication for secure sessions.
• Redis: In-memory caching for faster API responses.
• Docker: Containerization for deployment consistency.
• Nodemailer: Email integration for real-time notifications.
• Cloudinary: Cloud storage for document uploads.
• Multer: Middleware for handling file uploads.
• bcrypt.js: Password hashing for security.
• Express Rate Limit: Protection against API abuse.
• Redux Toolkit: State management for complex frontend logic.
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS for responsive, custom styling.
• MUI: Material-UI components for a polished UI.
• GitHub Actions: CI/CD pipeline for automated deployments.
• Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run): Serverless hosting for scalability.

Design Screens

My Contributions

• UI/UX Design: Created a responsive, user-friendly interface from scratch using React.js, Tailwind CSS, Next.js, and MUI.
• Backend Development: Crafted RESTful APIs with Node.js, Express.js, and MongoDB, integrating security with JWT and bcrypt.js.
• Deployment: Deployed the platform on Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run), setting up Docker and a CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions.

Challenges Faced

Tackled challenges like designing a scalable UI for diverse user roles, optimizing backend APIs for 1500+ users, and mastering cloud deployment with Docker and GCP as a 2nd-year student. Balancing team responsibilities and ensuring seamless integration across the stack tested my coordination skills.

What I Learned

This project deepened my expertise in full-stack development, from crafting APIs and designing intuitive UIs to deploying on cloud infrastructure. I learned the value of teamwork, effective project management, and delivering a scalable solution under real-world constraints.

Future Improvements

Future enhancements could include document versioning, real-time collaboration with WebSockets, and AI-driven document categorization for smarter organization.

Impact

Adopted by over 1500 students annually, this platform has transformed document management at our college, earning accolades from our HOD and faculty for its usability and efficiency.

And more, including RESTful best practices, secure architecture, and cloud deployment expertise.