FlowTrack

This project is a submission for the "Engineering Software-as-a-Service" (Fall 2025) course, Group 11.

1. Team Members

• You Wu (yw4643)
• Jiawen Lyu (j17257)
• Zhijing Wu (zw3155)
• Robert Fornos (rf2830)

2. Project Description

The modern job search is fragmented and requires unsustainable manual tracking. FlowTrack solves this by using the employer's final "Apply" URL as a unique anchor for each application.

Our platform automatically parses key metadata and feeds every application into a live Sankey diagram. This flow-first visualization replaces static lists, allowing users to instantly see bottlenecks and track progress from Applied to Offer.

3. Tech Stack

• Framework: Ruby on Rails (MVC)
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Testing: RSpec (TDD) & Cucumber (BDD)
• Deployment: Heroku

4. Live Deployment (Heroku)

The live SaaS prototype is deployed to Heroku:

[INSERT YOUR HEROKU DEPLOYMENT LINK HERE]

5. GitHub Repository

The source code is available on GitHub:

https://github.com/Real-Time-Job-Search-Tracker/proj-iter1

6. Local Development Instructions

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• A specific Ruby version (e.g., as defined in .ruby-version)
• Bundler
• PostgreSQL (must be running)

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/Real-Time-Job-Search-Tracker/proj-iter1.git
   cd proj-iter1

2. Install dependencies: This command installs all the required gems specified in the Gemfile.

   bundle install

3. Create and setup the database: This creates the development and test databases and runs all migrations.

   rails db:create
   rails db:migrate

4. (Optional) Seed the database: If your project has seed data, run this command:

   rails db:seed

5. Run the application: This starts the Rails server (Puma) on localhost:3000.

   rails s

   You can now access the app at http://localhost:3000.

Testing

1. Run RSpec (Unit/Model/Controller Tests): This executes all tests in the spec/ directory.

   bundle exec rspec

2. Run Cucumber (User Stories / Acceptance Tests): This executes all features in the features/ directory.

   bundle exec cucumber

7. Heroku Deployment Instructions

Prerequisites

• You must have a Heroku account.
• You must have the Heroku CLI installed.

Initial Deployment

1. Log in to the Heroku CLI:

   heroku login

2. Create a new Heroku application: You can either let Heroku pick a name or specify your own.

   # Let Heroku pick a name
   heroku create
   
   # Or specify a name (must be unique)
   heroku create your-app-name-here

   This also adds a new heroku git remote to your local repository.

3. Provision a PostgreSQL Database: Our app requires a database. This command adds the free hobby-dev tier.

   heroku addons:create heroku-postgresql:hobby-dev

4. Push your code to Heroku: This pushes your main branch to Heroku. Heroku automatically detects it's a Rails app, runs bundle install, and precompiles assets.

   git push heroku main

5. Run database migrations on Heroku: Your code is deployed, but the database is empty. This command runs the db:migrate task on the Heroku server.

   heroku run rails db:migrate

6. (Optional) Seed the production database: If you need to seed your live database, run this command:

   heroku run rails db:seed

7. Open your application: This will open your newly deployed application in your web browser.

   heroku open

Subsequent Deploys

For any future updates, you only need to:

1. Push your new code: git push heroku main
2. Run migrations if you added any new ones: heroku run rails db:migrate