Pocket-i
Campus-Wide Student Platform • Team Leadership
Role: Lead Developer
Duration: Sept 2022 – Jan 2023
The Problem
University students were juggling multiple disconnected systems for basic campus needs - separate apps for dining menus, recreation center bookings, class scheduling, and campus information. This fragmentation led to poor user experience and low engagement with campus services.
Challenge
The challenge was to create a unified platform that could integrate with various university systems while being reliable enough to serve 2,000+ graduate students daily. Additionally, leading a team of 4 developers required establishing clear development processes, deployment pipelines, and maintenance protocols.
Solution
I led the development of a comprehensive campus platform using a microservices architecture deployed on Google Cloud Platform. The solution included OAuth integration with university systems, automated cron jobs for real-time data updates, and a responsive web interface that consolidated four major campus services into one seamless experience.
Process
- Discovery & Planning (Month 1): Conducted user research with graduate students to identify pain points. Mapped university system APIs and integration possibilities.
- Team Setup & Architecture (Month 1-2): Assembled development team and established workflows. Designed microservices architecture with Docker containerization strategy.
- Core Development (Month 2-4): Built OAuth integration with university email system. Developed dining menu updates, recreation center booking system, and class scheduler features.
- DevOps & Launch (Month 4-5): Implemented CI/CD pipelines with GCP cron jobs. Deployed microservices architecture and launched to campus-wide audience.
Challenges Overcome
- Team Coordination: Implemented agile development practices with clear sprint planning and established code review processes for quality assurance
- University System Integration: Navigated complex university IT policies and built robust API integrations with proper error handling and fallback mechanisms
- Scale & Reliability: Designed fault-tolerant microservices architecture with health monitoring and automatic scaling capabilities
Impact & Results
- User Adoption: Fragmented usage across systems → 2,000+ daily active users (Campus-wide engagement)
- System Reliability: Manual updates and downtime → 99%+ uptime with automation (Automated, reliable service)
- Development Efficiency: No standardized processes → CI/CD with Docker deployment (Streamlined development workflow)
- Feature Integration Time: Monolithic deployment challenges → Independent microservice updates (Faster feature delivery)
Key Achievements
- Led team of 4 developers in creating platform used by 2,000+ graduate students campus-wide
- Implemented robust CI/CD pipeline with GCP cron jobs and Docker microservices architecture
- Successfully integrated OAuth with university email system and multiple campus services
- Delivered comprehensive platform including dining menus, recreation booking, and class scheduling
Tech Stack
Docker, Google Cloud Platform, OAuth Integration, Microservices, CI/CD, Cron Jobs, University APIs, Team Leadership, DevOps