System Requirements Document (SRD)

zen-website

1. Introduction

The zen-website project is a career counseling and guidance platform designed to assist individuals at various stages of their professional journey. From students exploring career options to mid-career professionals seeking a pivot, the platform aims to provide tailored resources, assessments, and live counseling sessions to empower users with informed decision-making.

This document outlines the system requirements for the zen-website, ensuring clarity and alignment with the project's goals.

2. System Overview

The zen-website will serve as a comprehensive career counseling platform. It will provide:

• Career assessments to help users identify their strengths and interests.
• A library of resources, including articles, videos, and guides, tailored to different career stages.
• Live counseling sessions with certified professionals.
• A personalized dashboard for users to track their progress and access recommendations.

The platform will cater to a broad audience, including students, early-career professionals, and mid-career individuals. It will be accessible across devices, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Locale-specific defaults will be implemented for Indian users, such as IST (Indian Standard Time) for scheduling and INR for any monetary transactions.

3. Functional Requirements

Career Counseling Features

• As a User, I should be able to take career assessments to identify my strengths and interests.
• As a User, I should be able to browse a library of career resources, including articles, videos, and guides.
• As a User, I should be able to book live counseling sessions with certified professionals.
• As a User, I should be able to receive personalized career recommendations based on my profile and assessment results.

User Management

• As a User, I should be able to create and manage my profile.
• As an Admin, I should be able to manage user accounts and monitor platform activity.

Dashboard and Tracking

• As a User, I should have a dashboard to track my progress, view recommendations, and access saved resources.

Localization

• As a User in India, I should see all monetary transactions in INR and schedule sessions in IST.

Accessibility

• As a User, I should be able to access the platform on both desktop and mobile devices.

4. User Personas

1. Student

• Description: High school or college students exploring career options.
• Needs: Career assessments, beginner-friendly resources, and guidance on education pathways.

2. Early-Career Professional

• Description: Individuals in the first 1-5 years of their career seeking growth or clarity.
• Needs: Advanced resources, skill-building recommendations, and live counseling.

3. Mid-Career Professional

• Description: Professionals with 5+ years of experience looking to pivot or advance.
• Needs: Tailored guidance, industry-specific resources, and career transition support.

4. Admin

• Description: Platform administrators managing user accounts and content.
• Needs: Tools for monitoring activity, managing resources, and ensuring platform security.

5. Visuals Colors and Theme

Color Palette

The zen-website will use a calming yet professional color palette to reflect its focus on career guidance and personal growth:

• Background: #F5F9FC (Soft Sky Blue)
• Surface: #FFFFFF (Pure White)
• Text: #2C3E50 (Deep Charcoal)
• Accent: #3498DB (Vibrant Blue)
• Muted Tones: #BDC3C7 (Soft Gray)

6. Signature Design Concept

Interactive Career Pathway Map

The homepage of the zen-website will feature an Interactive Career Pathway Map, a visually stunning and engaging design element.

• What Users See: A dynamic, animated map with branching pathways representing different career options. Each branch is labeled with a career field (e.g., Engineering, Arts, Business).
• Interaction: Users can hover over a branch to see a brief description of the field. Clicking on a branch zooms into a detailed view, showing sub-paths (e.g., Software Engineering, Civil Engineering) and associated resources.
• Animations: Smooth transitions as users navigate the map, with subtle glowing effects on hovered elements.
• Color Shifts: The map's colors shift slightly based on the time of day (e.g., warmer tones in the evening).
• Micro-Interactions: Small animations, such as icons gently pulsing or pathways lighting up, create a sense of exploration and discovery.

This concept ensures the homepage is not only visually captivating but also immediately useful, setting the tone for the rest of the platform.

7. Non-Functional Requirements

• Performance: The platform should load within 3 seconds on a standard broadband connection.
• Scalability: The system must support up to 100,000 concurrent users.
• Security: All user data must be encrypted, and the platform should comply with GDPR and Indian data protection laws.
• Availability: The platform should have 99.9% uptime.
• Accessibility: The platform must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.

8. Tech Stack

Frontend

• React for Web

Backend

• Python
• FastAPI

Database

• MySQL (with Alembic for migrations)

AI Models

• GPT 5.4 for user-friendly responses
• Google Nano Banana for image generation

AI Tools

• Langchain
• Litellm for LLM Routing

Orchestration

• Docker
• Kubernetes

9. Assumptions and Constraints

• The platform will initially target users in India, with potential for global expansion.
• All live counseling sessions will be conducted in English or Hindi.
• The platform will require users to have an active internet connection.
• Payment integration will be limited to Indian payment gateways initially.

10. Glossary

• Career Assessment: A tool to evaluate a user's strengths, interests, and aptitudes to suggest suitable career paths.
• Dashboard: A personalized interface for users to track their progress and access resources.
• Localization: Adapting the platform to meet the specific needs of a region, such as language, currency, and time zone.
• WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a set of standards for making web content accessible to people with disabilities.