OneMINDS Project Story

Inspiration

We were inspired by MINDS’ mission to provide holistic support for participants across programmes. Seeing how staff, volunteers, and caregivers struggled with fragmented registration systems and manual processes motivated us to build a solution that reduces friction, saves time, and strengthens community engagement.

What it does

OneMINDS centralizes event management for MINDS. It streamlines registrations, automates attendance tracking with QR codes, manages waitlists, and generates consolidated reports. Staff, volunteers, and participants all benefit from a unified platform that improves efficiency and interaction.

How we built it

• Front-end: ASP.NET Core MVC with Bootstrap 5 for responsive design
  
• Back-end: .NET 6 (C#) with Firebase Admin SDK for authentication
  
• Database: Firebase Firestore for scalable, real-time data storage
  
• Authentication: Firebase Authentication with role-based access control
  
• Features implemented:
  
  • Event creation and management
    
  • Participant and volunteer registration
    
  • Attendance check-in via QR code scanner
    
  • Centralized reporting with Excel export
    
  • Event forum with notifications
    

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was task management and coordination. Without proper Scrum practices, tasks quickly became scattered and difficult to track. We learned that structured sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and backlog tracking are essential to keep the team aligned and avoid chaos.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a fully functional prototype that integrates staff, volunteer, and participant workflows
  
• Implemented QR code attendance check-in seamlessly
  
• Designed a centralized reporting system that reduces manual effort significantly
  
• Created a platform that directly addresses MINDS’ operational pain points
  

What we learned

• The importance of Scrum methodology in managing complex projects
  
• How to integrate Firebase services with .NET applications
  
• The value of user-centered design in building tools for diverse stakeholders
  
• That small automation features (like automated emails or waitlist management) can have a huge impact on efficiency

What's next for 404 Squad

• Develop a mobile-friendly interface for participants and staff
  
• Add push notifications for real-time event updates
  
• Implement personalized event recommendations using analytics
  
• Enhance volunteer scheduling and task assignment features
  
• Build an analytics dashboard to visualize participation and engagement trends
  

Built With

• .net
• asp.net
• auth
• firebase