MERN SCRUM WORKSPACE

Student ID: SN322648 Date: April 2026

OVERVIEW

This is a MERN-stack scrum project management dashboard. The application features user authentication and a dynamic dashboard where users can create teams, manage project assignments, and track prioritized user stories.

FEATURES

• Authentication: User signup, login, and sign-out functionality.
• Team Management: Create teams and build rosters using a multi-select user interface.
• Project Tracking: Assign projects to specific product owners, managers, and teams.
• User Stories: Generate priority-based user stories nested under specific projects.
• Dynamic Dashboard: A conditional UI that renders a user's specific teams, nested projects, and associated user stories upon login.

SETUP AND INSTALLATION

PREREQUISITES

You must have Node.js and npm installed on your computer.

1. BACKEND SETUP (SERVER)

• Open your terminal and go to the directory: source_code/server
• Run the command: npm install
• Create a file named .env in the server folder.
• Inside that file, add your database string: MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
• Start the server by running: node Server.js

2. FRONTEND SETUP (CLIENT)

• Open a second terminal and go to the directory: source_code/client
• Run the command: npm install
• Create a file named .env in the client folder.
• Inside that file, add the API address: REACT_APP_API_URL=http://localhost:9000
• Start the React application by running: npm start

ADDITIONAL MODULES USED

I have implemented the following extra modules to ensure the project functions:

• REACT-ROUTER-DOM: Used to handle client-side routing and navigation across different UI components without page reloads.
• REACT-SELECT: Used to implement the multi-select dropdown feature for team roster assignments.
• AXIOS: Used by the React frontend to send asynchronous HTTP requests to the backend API.
• DOTENV: Used to hide sensitive database passwords and configuration URLs via environment variables.
• CORS: Used to allow the frontend (port 3000) and backend (port 9000) to communicate seamlessly.
• MONGOOSE: Used to connect the Node server to the MongoDB database, define relational data schemas, and execute queries.

SECURITY AND BEST PRACTICES

• Environment Variables: All passwords and API addresses are stored in .env files to keep them private.
• Git Ignore: A .gitignore file is included to prevent large dependency folders (node_modules) and private secrets (.env) from being uploaded to GitHub.
• Clean Architecture: The project is logically separated into client and server directories for maintainability and organization.