System Requirements Document (SRD)

Project Name: urban-ai

1. Introduction

Welcome to the System Requirements Document (SRD) for urban-ai, a cutting-edge AI-driven platform designed to empower users in achieving their financial goals. This document outlines the system's objectives, features, and technical specifications to ensure a seamless and impactful user experience.

Chris Aucoin, based in the United States, envisions urban-ai as a platform that combines conversational AI with actionable insights, offering users an overall dashboard to visualize their financial health and interact dynamically with tailored advice.

2. System Overview

urban-ai is an AI-powered financial planning tool that provides users with a holistic view of their financial status through an interactive dashboard. The system combines conversational AI capabilities with real-time charting and data visualization to help users understand their financial health, set goals, and improve their probability of success.

Key features include:

• AI-driven text interactions for personalized financial advice.
• An overall dashboard displaying savings, investments, debts, and other financial metrics.
• Dynamic charting to visualize probabilities and outcomes based on different financial strategies.
• Support for both preset goal categories and custom user-defined goals.

The platform is designed to cater to individuals seeking personal financial guidance, with a focus on usability, clarity, and actionable insights.

3. Functional Requirements

Story Points:

• As a User, I should be able to view an overall dashboard that displays my financial health, including savings, investments, debts, and other metrics.
• As a User, I should be able to interact with AI to receive personalized financial advice based on my goals.
• As a User, I should be able to set preset financial goals (e.g., retirement, buying a house, debt repayment).
• As a User, I should be able to create custom financial goals tailored to my needs.
• As a User, I should be able to view dynamic charts that simulate probabilities and outcomes based on different financial strategies.
• As a User, I should be able to adjust savings rates or investment allocations and see the impact on my goals in real-time.

4. User Personas

1. Individual User

• Description: A person seeking personal financial guidance to achieve specific goals such as saving for retirement, buying a house, or paying off debt.
• Needs: Clear visualization of financial health, actionable advice, and interactive tools to simulate outcomes.
• Goals: Improve financial literacy, make informed decisions, and achieve long-term financial stability.

2. Guest User

• Description: A visitor exploring the platform without creating an account.
• Needs: Limited access to features like preset goal categories and basic dashboard visualization.
• Goals: Understand the platform's capabilities and decide whether to sign up for full access.

5. Visuals Colors and Theme

Color Palette:

• Background: #F5F9FC (Soft Sky Blue)
• Surface: #FFFFFF (Pure White)
• Text: #2E4057 (Deep Slate Gray)
• Accent: #4CAF50 (Vibrant Green)
• Muted Tones: #B0BEC5 (Calm Steel Blue)

Theme Direction:

The theme reflects clarity, professionalism, and trustworthiness, aligning with the financial planning domain. The soft sky blue background evokes calmness, while vibrant green accents highlight actionable elements like charts and buttons.

6. Signature Design Concept

Interactive Financial Universe

The homepage of urban-ai will feature an Interactive Financial Universe. Users will be greeted by a dynamic 3D visualization of their financial ecosystem, represented as a constellation of stars and planets. Each financial metric (e.g., savings, investments, debts) will be a celestial body, with size and brightness proportional to its importance or value.

Key Features:

• Hover Interaction: Hovering over a star or planet reveals detailed metrics and advice.
• Dynamic Animations: Celestial bodies subtly orbit and pulse, creating a sense of movement and engagement.
• AI-Driven Insights: Clicking on a star triggers conversational AI advice tailored to that metric.
• Time-Based Transitions: The background shifts from day (light blue) to night (dark navy) based on the user's local timezone.

This design concept ensures the homepage is not only visually stunning but also deeply interactive, making users feel immersed in their financial journey.

7. Non-Functional Requirements

• Performance: The system must support real-time data updates and AI interactions without noticeable lag.
• Scalability: The platform must handle increasing user traffic and data volume efficiently.
• Security: Ensure robust encryption for user data, especially financial information.
• Usability: The dashboard and AI interactions must be intuitive and user-friendly.
• Accessibility: The platform must comply with WCAG 2.1 standards for accessibility.

8. Tech Stack

Frontend:

• React for Web

Backend:

• Python
• FastAPI

Database:

• MySQL or MariaDB (preferred for relational data)
• MongoDB (for NoSQL data)

AI Models:

• GPT 5.4 for user-friendly responses
• Claude 4.6 Opas for academic or coding work
• Gemini 3.1 Pro for friendly responses
• Google Nano Banana for image generation

AI Tools:

• Litellm for LLM Routing
• Langchain

Orchestration:

• Docker for local orchestration
• Kubernetes for server-side orchestration

9. Assumptions and Constraints

Assumptions:

• Users will primarily access the platform via web browsers.
• The platform will cater to individual users in the US, with locale-specific defaults like USD currency and EST timezone.
• Users will have basic financial literacy.

Constraints:

• The system must comply with US financial data regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA).
• Real-time charting and AI interactions require high-performance backend infrastructure.
• The platform must support scalability for future expansions.

10. Glossary

• AI Interaction: Conversational guidance provided by artificial intelligence.
• Dashboard: A visual interface displaying financial metrics and insights.
• Preset Goals: Predefined financial objectives like saving for retirement or buying a house.
• Custom Goals: User-defined financial objectives tailored to individual needs.
• Dynamic Charting: Real-time visualizations that update based on user inputs or financial strategies.

This document serves as the foundation for the development and implementation of urban-ai. Let me know if there are additional features or refinements you'd like to include, Chris!