Product Development FAQ
Development Phases
What has been the journey of your product from the MVP stage to its current state?
The Pupilfirst LMS began development on in late 2013, originally as a tool for an initiative to train college students nearing graduation to build startups.
Initially focused on team-based activities, the platform has evolved over the years to emphasize training students in industry-relevant skills, particularly in technical fields. Recently, the focus has expanded to support the teaching of soft skills and humanities, which requires significant enhancements to the LMS‘s capabilities, including the integration of AI-powered features.
What core features and functionalities were included in your original MVP, and how has your platform expanded since?
The original MVP was designed with a heavy emphasis on team-based activities and hitting targets on time, catering primarily to startup training. Over time, the LMS has evolved to support a broader range of educational objectives, including AI-driven student assessment and re-engagement tools.
The LMS is now a robust platform used globally, with continuous contributions from an international community. Additionally, a secondary application, AppEngine, has been developed to handle non-learning-related features and to experiment with new functionalities before they are integrated into the main LMS codebase.
How is beta testing conducted for new features, and how is feedback collected and implemented?
Beta testing is performed with both internal teams and teaching assistants, who are hired from the student pool. Given that these groups are relatively small, feedback is collected through forms and manually processed to identify areas of improvement.
For more extensive testing, all users, including students, are encouraged to file issues on the LMS's GitHub repository. This approach provides transparency and direct visibility into the development process, allowing for continuous iteration based on user feedback.
What are your plans for full-scale deployment, particularly regarding scaling and the use of AI-driven systems?
Full-scale deployment will focus on significantly increasing the number of students interacting with AI-driven systems. This will require extensive monitoring - both automated and manual - to ensure that these systems function as expected. Partnerships with AI model providers will be crucial to removing usage limits and ensuring access to the most powerful models.
Technology Stack
What technologies and frameworks do you use for the frontend, and how have they benefited your platform?
The frontend of the Pupilfirst LMS is built using ReScript with React for complex UI components. This combination ensures high reliability, especially for features that require intricate user interactions, such as the curriculum editor. The strong typing and functional programming nature of ReScript acts as a safeguard against many common bugs, resulting in a highly stable user experience.
What technologies do you use for the backend, and how do they align with your platform‘s needs?
The backend is primarily developed using Ruby on Rails (RoR), chosen for its maturity, large developer community, and strong security track record. RoR‘s emphasis on quick development aligns well with the platform‘s needs for scalability and performance monitoring.
The backend is supported by PostgreSQL, a robust and scalable RDBMS, which is used for data storage and management. All applications are deployed on DigitalOcean, which provides the necessary infrastructure for availability, scalability, and cost-efficiency.
How do you ensure the security and compliance of your platform, and what are your plans for industry certifications?
Pupilfirst‘s security measures are modeled after ISO 27001, though the company has not yet pursued certification. Compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) of 2023, which is aligned with GDPR, is a priority.
Annual security audits are conducted by a CERT-In empaneled auditor, and there are plans to eventually obtain ISO 27001 certification once all guidelines are fully implemented. The platform also benefits from documented security processes that are updated regularly to reflect the latest industry standards.
What disaster recovery measures are in place, and how do you ensure data integrity?
All business-critical data is stored in versioned or regularly backed-up systems. This ensures that restoration is possible in case of data loss. The platform‘s backup processes are robust, with databases being restorable to any point in time up to seven days in the past, and manual backups are kept in cold storage for up to five years. This approach minimizes the risk of data loss and ensures that the platform can recover quickly from any potential disruptions.
Risk Management
With regards to data security, what risks have you identified, and how do you manage them?
Pupilfirst has identified several key risks through a thorough risk assessment process:
Leak of user data across schools: Mitigated by rigorous code reviews for PRs affecting user data. The overall risk is assessed as low.
Leak of user data by employees: Mitigated by documented security policies, minimum necessary access protocols, and planned yearly training. The overall risk is assessed as very low.
Misuse of user data by partners: Mitigated by following a documented Third-Party Risk Management policy before granting data access. The overall risk is assessed as low.
School data corruption or loss: Mitigated by regular code reviews, data integrity checks, and mandatory backups before any potentially destructive migrations. The overall risk is assessed as very low.