How to Build a Time Tracking and Auditing System with Automated Weekly Reports

Simple Summary

A comprehensive Time Audit App with Weekly Reports that helps users track their time usage and gain insights through detailed weekly summaries.

Product Requirements Document (PRD)

Goals:

• Create a user-friendly interface for effortless time tracking
• Generate comprehensive weekly reports with visual data representation
• Provide actionable insights to improve time management
• Ensure data security and user privacy

Target Audience:

• Professionals seeking to optimize their time usage
• Freelancers who need to track billable hours
• Teams looking to improve productivity and project management

Key Features:

1. Time Entry System
   • Easy-to-use interface for logging activities
   • Start/stop timer functionality
   • Manual time entry option
   • Activity categorization
2. Weekly Report Generation
   • Automated report creation every week
   • Visual charts and graphs of time distribution
   • Comparison with previous weeks' data
3. Insights and Analytics
   • Identify time-consuming activities
   • Suggest areas for improvement
   • Track progress towards goals
4. User Management
   • User registration and authentication
   • Personal settings and preferences
5. Notifications
   • Reminders to log time
   • Weekly report availability alerts

User Requirements:

• Intuitive and responsive web interface
• Mobile app for on-the-go time tracking
• Data export functionality (CSV, PDF)
• Integration with popular project management tools

User Flows

1. Time Entry Flow:

   • User logs in
   • Selects activity category
   • Starts timer or enters time manually
   • Adds notes (optional)
   • Saves entry

2. Weekly Report Review:

   • User receives notification
   • Opens weekly report
   • Views time distribution charts
   • Analyzes insights and recommendations
   • Exports report (optional)

3. Settings Management:

   • User navigates to settings
   • Customizes categories and tags
   • Sets notification preferences
   • Manages integrations with other tools

Technical Specifications

Frontend:

• React for web application
• React Native for mobile app
• Redux for state management
• Chart.js for data visualization

Backend:

• Node.js with Express.js
• PostgreSQL for data storage
• Redis for caching
• JWT for authentication

APIs and Services:

• RESTful API for client-server communication
• SendGrid for email notifications
• AWS S3 for report storage

Testing:

• Jest for unit and integration testing
• Cypress for end-to-end testing

API Endpoints

• POST /api/auth/register
• POST /api/auth/login
• GET /api/users/:id
• POST /api/time-entries
• GET /api/time-entries
• PUT /api/time-entries/:id
• DELETE /api/time-entries/:id
• GET /api/reports/weekly
• GET /api/settings
• PUT /api/settings
• POST /api/notifications

Database Schema

Users Table:

• id (PK)
• email
• password_hash
• name
• created_at
• updated_at

TimeEntries Table:

• id (PK)
• user_id (FK)
• category_id (FK)
• start_time
• end_time
• duration
• notes
• created_at
• updated_at

Categories Table:

• id (PK)
• name
• color
• user_id (FK)

WeeklyReports Table:

• id (PK)
• user_id (FK)
• week_start_date
• week_end_date
• report_data (JSON)
• created_at

Settings Table:

• id (PK)
• user_id (FK)
• notification_preferences (JSON)
• default_categories (JSON)
• created_at
• updated_at

File Structure

Implementation Plan

1. Project Setup (1 week)

   • Initialize React and Node.js projects
   • Set up version control and project structure
   • Configure development environment

2. Backend Development (3 weeks)

   • Implement user authentication
   • Create API endpoints for time entries
   • Develop weekly report generation logic
   • Set up database and ORM

3. Frontend Development (4 weeks)

   • Build user interface components
   • Implement time entry functionality
   • Create dashboard and report views
   • Develop settings and user profile pages

4. Integration and Testing (2 weeks)

   • Connect frontend with backend APIs
   • Perform unit and integration testing
   • Conduct user acceptance testing

5. Mobile App Development (3 weeks)

   • Port web app to React Native
   • Implement mobile-specific features
   • Test on iOS and Android devices

6. Refinement and Optimization (2 weeks)

   • Optimize performance
   • Enhance UI/UX based on feedback
   • Implement additional features if time allows

7. Deployment and Launch (1 week)

   • Set up production environment
   • Deploy web and mobile apps
   • Perform final testing and bug fixes

Deployment Strategy

1. Backend Deployment:

   • Deploy Node.js server to AWS Elastic Beanstalk
   • Set up PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS
   • Configure Redis caching on Amazon ElastiCache

2. Frontend Deployment:

   • Deploy React app to Amazon S3 with CloudFront CDN
   • Configure custom domain and SSL certificate

3. Mobile App Deployment:

   • Submit iOS app to App Store
   • Publish Android app on Google Play Store

4. CI/CD Pipeline:

   • Implement GitHub Actions for automated testing and deployment
   • Set up staging environment for pre-production testing

5. Monitoring and Maintenance:

   • Use AWS CloudWatch for server monitoring
   • Implement error tracking with Sentry
   • Set up automated backups for database

6. Scaling Strategy:

   • Configure auto-scaling for server instances
   • Implement database read replicas for improved performance

Design Rationale

The chosen tech stack (React, Node.js, PostgreSQL) offers a balance of performance, scalability, and developer productivity. React's component-based architecture allows for easy maintenance and future feature additions. Node.js provides a fast, event-driven backend suitable for real-time updates. PostgreSQL offers robust data integrity and complex querying capabilities necessary for generating detailed reports.

The mobile app using React Native ensures code reusability and consistent user experience across platforms. The deployment strategy leverages AWS services for reliability and scalability, with a CI/CD pipeline to streamline updates and maintain code quality.

The focus on user-friendly interfaces and automated reporting addresses the core need for effortless time tracking and insightful analysis, making the app valuable for individuals and teams seeking to optimize their productivity.