Inspiration
As student leaders at the University of Toronto, we have found managing work and projects for both school, personal time, and club initiatives very difficult. Our association, the Rotman Commerce FinTech Association, takes on both technical and non-technical initiatives and comprises members from all academic backgrounds. Due to this, we have found that our budgetary constraints, large team size, use of several platforms for communication, and diverse initiatives have lead to sheer confusion and disarray. This is a project born from our frustration and need for better team management software.
What it does
Oversight does a few things, very well. First, it keeps track of tasks. Users can enter their personal tasks and share a centralized set of tasks with their associated teammates. Secondly, calendars across Google and Outlook can be combined into one central calendar or can be separated by project. Any reminders and tasks assigned to teams are synced and a Facebook message is also sent to the respective team. Lastly, given the current state of the world, all meetings are hosted online. Rather than linking Zoom, users can join meetings directly on the platform.
How I built it
Our backend was built using the Django REST Framework. All of our data processing and handling was done using this framework. The backend communicates with our frontend using API calls. Our Front End is built in Vue.Js using JavaScript and the Vuetify component library. The backend is hosted on Heroku.
We used several tools to bring this project to life.
- Facebook API: To send messages for reminders.
- Vonage API: Used for video conferencing.
Challenges I ran into
Our main challenge was centered around communication and delegating work. We were able to ensure that everyone was working at all times and the project moved smoothly. Technical issues were mainly centered around the Vonage API and its integration with the Django framework and the front end. Eventually, we were able to tinker with the backend's HTML templates to appropriately implement the solution. All in all, challenges would come and go but our team worked together to tackle every issue and moved on.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
We are proud of the fact we were able to complete our project. We were able to implement almost all of the features we had planned!
What I learned
One thing of particular interest to us was the Vonage API and its videoconferencing tools. Now that we know how to use this service, we can use it on other projects in the future!
What's next for Oversight
Oversight's next major milestone will be to use it at our association! We will work towards improving the software and making it a part of our daily lives!
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