Task Management App

A comprehensive task management application designed for teams and individuals to organize projects, track progress, and collaborate effectively in real-time.

Key Features

Project Organization

• Workspaces: Organize tasks into different workspaces
• Project Boards: Kanban-style boards for visual task management
• Custom Categories: Create custom task categories and labels
• Priority Levels: Set task priorities with visual indicators

Real-time Collaboration

• Live Updates: See changes instantly across all connected clients
• Team Chat: Built-in messaging for project discussions
• Activity Feed: Track all project activities and changes
• User Presence: See who's currently online and working

Task Management

• Drag & Drop: Intuitive task movement between columns
• Due Dates: Set and track task deadlines
• Assignments: Assign tasks to team members
• Subtasks: Break down complex tasks into smaller items
• File Attachments: Upload and share files with tasks

Technical Architecture

Frontend (React)

Built with React using functional components and hooks for state management. Material-UI provides a consistent and professional design system.

```jsx // Example: Task card component with drag and drop import { Draggable } from 'react-beautiful-dnd' import { Card, CardContent, Chip, Avatar } from '@mui/material'

function TaskCard({ task, index }) { return ( <Draggable draggableId={task.id} index={index}> {(provided, snapshot) => ( <Card ref={provided.innerRef} {...provided.draggableProps} {...provided.dragHandleProps} className={task-card ${snapshot.isDragging ? 'dragging' : ''}} > <CardContent> <h4>{task.title}</h4> <p>{task.description}</p>

        <div className="task-meta">
          {task.priority && (
            <Chip 
              label={task.priority} 
              color={getPriorityColor(task.priority)}
              size="small"
            />
          )}
          
          {task.assignee && (
            <Avatar 
              src={task.assignee.avatar}
              alt={task.assignee.name}
              sx={{ width: 24, height: 24 }}
            />
          )}
          
          {task.dueDate && (
            <span className="due-date">
              Due: {formatDate(task.dueDate)}
            </span>
          )}
        </div>
      </CardContent>
    </Card>
  )}
</Draggable>

) } ```

Backend (Node.js + Express)

RESTful API with Socket.io for real-time features. MongoDB stores all application data with proper indexing for performance.

```javascript // Example: Real-time task updates const io = require('socket.io')(server)

io.on('connection', (socket) => { socket.on('join-project', (projectId) => { socket.join(projectId) console.log(User joined project: ${projectId}) })

socket.on('task-updated', async (data) => { try { const updatedTask = await Task.findByIdAndUpdate( data.taskId, data.updates, { new: true } ).populate('assignee', 'name avatar')

  // Broadcast to all users in the project
  socket.to(data.projectId).emit('task-changed', {
    task: updatedTask,
    action: 'updated',
    user: socket.user
  })
  
  // Log activity
  await Activity.create({
    projectId: data.projectId,
    userId: socket.user.id,
    action: 'task_updated',
    details: data.updates
  })
  
} catch (error) {
  socket.emit('error', { message: 'Failed to update task' })
}

}) }) ```

Database Design

MongoDB collections are designed for flexibility and performance:

```javascript // Task schema const taskSchema = new mongoose.Schema({ title: { type: String, required: true }, description: String, status: { type: String, enum: ['todo', 'in-progress', 'review', 'done'], default: 'todo' }, priority: { type: String, enum: ['low', 'medium', 'high', 'urgent'] }, assignee: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'User' }, project: { type: mongoose.Schema.Types.ObjectId, ref: 'Project', required: true }, dueDate: Date, createdAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now }, updatedAt: { type: Date, default: Date.now } })

// Indexes for performance taskSchema.index({ project: 1, status: 1 }) taskSchema.index({ assignee: 1, dueDate: 1 }) ```

Real-time Features Implementation

WebSocket Connection Management

```javascript // Client-side socket management class SocketManager { constructor() { this.socket = io(process.env.REACT_APP_SERVER_URL) this.setupEventListeners() }

setupEventListeners() { this.socket.on('task-changed', (data) => { // Update local state this.updateTaskInStore(data.task)

  // Show notification
  this.showNotification(`Task "${data.task.title}" was ${data.action}`)
})

this.socket.on('user-joined', (user) => {
  this.updateOnlineUsers(user)
})

}

joinProject(projectId) { this.socket.emit('join-project', projectId) }

updateTask(taskId, updates, projectId) { this.socket.emit('task-updated', { taskId, updates, projectId }) } } ```

Performance Optimizations

Frontend Optimizations

• React.memo: Prevent unnecessary re-renders of task components
• Virtual Scrolling: Handle large lists of tasks efficiently
• Debounced Search: Optimize search input performance
• Lazy Loading: Load project data on demand

Backend Optimizations

• Database Indexing: Optimized queries for common operations
• Connection Pooling: Efficient database connection management
• Caching: Redis for frequently accessed data
• Rate Limiting: Prevent API abuse

Security Features

Authentication & Authorization

• JWT Tokens: Secure user authentication
• Role-based Access: Different permissions for team members
• Project Privacy: Private and public project options
• Input Validation: Comprehensive data validation

Data Protection

• Encrypted Passwords: bcrypt for password hashing
• HTTPS Only: Secure data transmission
• CORS Configuration: Proper cross-origin resource sharing
• SQL Injection Prevention: Parameterized queries

Deployment & DevOps

Frontend Deployment

• Netlify: Automated deployment from GitHub
• Environment Variables: Secure configuration management
• Build Optimization: Webpack bundle optimization

Backend Deployment

• Heroku: Scalable backend hosting
• MongoDB Atlas: Cloud database with automatic backups
• Error Monitoring: Sentry for error tracking
• Performance Monitoring: New Relic for application insights

Results & Impact

The application successfully serves:

• 500+ active users across multiple organizations
• 10,000+ tasks managed monthly
• 99.5% uptime with robust error handling
• <100ms average API response time
• Real-time updates with <50ms latency

Lessons Learned

Technical Insights

• WebSocket Management: Proper connection handling and reconnection logic
• State Synchronization: Challenges of keeping client and server state in sync
• Performance at Scale: Optimizations needed for large datasets
• Error Handling: Importance of graceful degradation

User Experience

• Intuitive Design: Simple drag-and-drop interface increases adoption
• Real-time Feedback: Users expect immediate visual feedback
• Mobile Responsiveness: Significant portion of users access via mobile
• Offline Support: Need for offline functionality in future versions

This project showcases full-stack development skills, real-time application architecture, and user-centered design principles.