Product Requirement Document: HostelPulse v1
Version: 1.0 Date: February 25, 2026 Status: Draft
1. Problem Statement
Hostel management today is fragmented, paper-based, and inefficient. Students struggle with:
- Lack of transparency in room assignments, payment status, and complaint resolution
- Manual, time-consuming processes for leave requests and grievance filing
- No centralized communication with hostel administration
- Attendance tracking that's prone to proxy/cheating
Administrators face:
- Manual workload managing student records, payment verification, and leave approvals
- Poor visibility into outstanding grievances and operational issues
- No audit trail for attendance and leave records
Guards and staff lack:
- Digital tools for attendance tracking and work assignment visibility
- Real-time information on approved leaves
HostelPulse v1 aims to digitize and streamline core hostel operations with a mobile-first platform that connects students, administrators, guards, and staff.
2. Target Users
Primary Users
-
Students (Hostel Residents)
- Age: 18-25
- Tech-savvy, mobile-first users
- Need: Self-service access to information, quick request submission
-
Warden/Admin
- Age: 30-55
- Moderate tech comfort
- Need: Centralized dashboard for approvals, monitoring, and management
Secondary Users
-
Guards
- Age: 25-50
- Basic smartphone literacy
- Need: Simple attendance tracking interface
-
Support Staff
- Age: 25-55
- Basic smartphone literacy
- Need: View assigned tasks
User Base (Initial): Single hostel, 200-500 students
3. Core User Flows
3.1 Student Flows
A. Onboarding & Profile Access
Student signs in → Views dashboard → Sees room details (room no, block, floor, roommates) → Access profile (read-only, uploaded by warden)
B. Leave Request Submission
Student navigates to Leave Request → Fills form (name, address, hostel name, room no, year, semester, registration no, phone, parent phone, leave type, dates, place of visit, extra details) → Uploads mentor confirmation document → Submits → Receives confirmation → Waits for warden approval → Receives notification on status
C. Grievance Filing
Student selects "Room Settings/Grievance" → Chooses category (Electrical, Cleaning, Plumbing, Carpentry, Connectivity, Electronics, Food, Safety, Emergency) → Selects sub-category → Sets priority (High/Medium/Low) → Writes description → Uploads image (optional) → Submits → Receives ticket ID → Tracks status
D. Payment View
Student navigates to Payments → Views hostel fees, dues, payment history → (V1: View only)
E. Message Warden
Student opens frontdesk chat → Sends message to warden → Receives response → Ongoing chat thread
F. QR Attendance
Student opens app at designated time → Guard displays QR on their device → Student scans QR → System verifies location proximity (within 2 meters of guard) → Attendance marked → Student receives confirmation with timestamp
3.2 Warden/Admin Flows
A. Student Data Entry
Warden logs in → Navigates to Student Management → Adds new student → Enters details (name, registration no, room assignment, year, semester, phone, parent phone, address) → Uploads documents (Aadhaar, etc.) → Assigns room → Saves
B. Leave Request Approval
Warden views pending leave requests → Reviews details and uploaded document → Approves/Rejects with comments → Notification sent to student → Approved leaves visible to guards
C. Grievance Monitoring
Warden views grievance dashboard → Filters by priority/category/status → Reviews grievance → Assigns to staff (Future) OR marks as resolved → Student notified
D. Frontdesk Messages
Warden receives notification → Opens frontdesk inbox → Views student message → Replies → Ongoing conversation
E. Payment Verification (V1: Manual)
Warden receives offline payment info → Marks payment as verified in system → Student's payment status updated → (Future: Auto receipt generation and email)
3.3 Guard Flows
A. QR Attendance Generation
Guard logs in → Selects "Night Attendance" → Chooses block and year → System generates time-bound QR code (First year: 7:30PM-9:00PM, Second year: 7:30PM-10:00PM) → Guard displays QR on device → Students scan → Guard views live attendance list → Guard marks attendance period closed → System flags absent students
B. Leave Monitoring
Guard views approved leaves for the day → Checks student details (name, room no, leave dates) → (Future: Marks departure/arrival)
C. Late Entry QR (Future V1.1)
Guard generates late entry QR for specific student → Student scans → Late entry logged
3.4 Staff Flows (Minimal V1)
A. View Assigned Work
Staff logs in → Views assigned tasks/grievances → (Future: Updates status)
4. Feature List
4.1 MVP Features (V1 - Must Have)
Authentication & User Management
- Role-based login (Student, Warden, Guard, Staff)
- Basic profile view for all users
- Session management
Student Features
- Dashboard with room details (room no, block, floor, roommates)
- Read-only profile (data entered by warden)
- Leave request submission with document upload
- Grievance submission with category, priority, description, image upload
- Frontdesk messaging (chat with warden)
- Payment status view (read-only, no gateway)
- QR attendance scanning with location verification
- Notifications (leave status, grievance updates)
Warden Features
- Student data entry and management (manual input with document upload)
- Leave request review and approval/rejection
- Grievance monitoring dashboard with filters (category, priority, status)
- Manual grievance resolution (mark as resolved, add comments)
- Frontdesk messaging inbox
- Manual payment verification (mark as paid)
- Room assignment management
- View attendance reports
Guard Features
- QR code generation for attendance (block + year selection, time-bound)
- Live attendance tracking during scanning window
- View approved leaves for current/upcoming dates
- Location services enabled for proximity verification
Staff Features
- View assigned grievances/tasks (read-only)
- Submit task status updates
System Features
- Location-based attendance verification (2-meter proximity check)
- Document upload and storage (leave confirmations, student documents)
- Basic notification system (in-app)
- Attendance time windows (configurable by year: 1st year 7:30-9PM, 2nd year 7:30-10PM)
4.2 Future Features (Post-V1)
Phase 2 (V1.1)
- Payment gateway integration (online payments)
- Automated payment receipt generation and email
- Late entry QR generation by guards
- Staff task status updates (in-progress, completed)
- Room change request submission by students
- Room change assignment by warden
- Push notifications (Firebase/OneSignal)
- Email notifications
Phase 3 (V1.2+)
- Grievance assignment to specific staff members
- Staff work completion workflow
- Leave departure/arrival logging by guards
- Analytics dashboard for warden (attendance trends, grievance patterns)
- Event announcement system
- Multi-hostel support
- Parent portal (view student details, payments)
- Mess menu and feedback
- Visitor management
5. Edge Cases & Validation Rules
5.1 Attendance System
- Location spoofing: Use device location + additional verification (device fingerprinting in future)
- QR sharing: Proximity check ensures student is within 2m of guard's device
- QR expired: Time-bound QR invalidates after window closes
- Student scans multiple times: System accepts first valid scan only per session
- Poor network during scan: Queue scan locally, sync when online (with timestamp validation)
- Guard phone dies mid-session: Guard can log in on another device, regenerate QR for same session
- Student forgets to scan: Marked absent, can request manual correction from warden
5.2 Leave Requests
- Overlapping leaves: System allows (students can extend leaves)
- Leave without mentor confirmation upload: Form validation requires file upload
- Retroactive leave requests: Allow (common use case), but flag for warden review
- Leave cancellation: Student can cancel pending requests; warden can revoke approved leaves
5.3 Grievances
- Duplicate complaints: Allow, track by unique ticket ID
- Emergency complaints: High priority grievances send urgent notification to warden
- Image upload fails: Allow submission without image, student can add later
- Grievance re-opening: Students can comment on resolved grievances to reopen (Future)
5.4 Payments
- Partial payments: Warden can record partial amount, dues updated accordingly
- Payment disputes: Student can message warden via frontdesk
- Late payment fees: Manual calculation by warden in V1
5.5 Room Management
- Over-capacity: System validates max occupancy per room during assignment
- Room swap: Requires warden approval (Future - room change request feature)
- Mid-semester room change: Warden can reassign, student profile updates
5.6 Messaging
- Abusive messages: Manual moderation by warden, option to flag (Future)
- Message flood protection: Rate limiting (max 10 messages per hour per student)
- Warden offline: Messages queue, warden sees all on next login
5.7 User Management
- Student graduation/checkout: Warden can deactivate account
- Forgotten password: Password reset via email/phone OTP
- Concurrent logins: Allow, track last active device
6. Non-Goals (Out of Scope for V1)
❌ Multi-hostel management - V1 supports single hostel only ❌ Payment gateway integration - V1 is payment tracking only, no online payments ❌ Automated receipt generation - Manual process in V1 ❌ Parent portal - Future feature ❌ Advanced analytics - Basic reports only in V1 ❌ Mess management - Separate module for future ❌ Visitor management - Not in V1 ❌ Staff task workflow - Staff has read-only access in V1 ❌ Room change requests - Manual process via frontdesk messaging in V1 ❌ Event management - Basic notifications only ❌ Attendance biometric integration - QR-only in V1 ❌ External system integrations - Standalone app in V1 ❌ iOS app - Android + Web only in V1 ❌ Offline mode - Requires internet connection (except queued attendance scans)
7. Success Metrics
7.1 Adoption Metrics (First 3 Months)
- 80%+ student active users (logged in at least once per week)
- 100% warden adoption (daily active use)
- 90%+ guard adoption (using QR attendance daily)
7.2 Operational Efficiency Metrics
- Leave request processing time: < 24 hours average (from submission to approval/rejection)
- Grievance acknowledgment: < 4 hours (warden views complaint)
- Attendance completion: 95%+ students marked present/absent within designated time window
- Attendance accuracy: < 5% proxy/cheating incidents
7.3 Engagement Metrics
- Average student session time: 3-5 minutes
- Frontdesk messaging: 70%+ messages receive warden response within 24 hours
- Grievance submission rate: 10-20 complaints per week (indicates trust in system)
- Leave request completion rate: 95%+ (students complete form and upload document)
7.4 Quality Metrics
- App crash rate: < 1%
- QR scan success rate: > 95% (on first attempt)
- Document upload success rate: > 90%
- User-reported bugs: < 5 critical bugs per month
7.5 Satisfaction Metrics (Quarterly Surveys)
- Student satisfaction: 4/5 average rating
- Warden satisfaction: Features save 5+ hours per week vs manual processes
- Guard satisfaction: QR system faster than manual roll call
8. Technical Considerations (High-Level)
8.1 Platform
- Mobile: Android app (React Native / Flutter)
- Web: Admin dashboard for warden (responsive web app)
- Backend: REST API (FastAPI/Django)
8.2 Key Technical Requirements
- Location services: GPS accuracy ±2 meters for attendance proximity check
- QR generation: Dynamic, time-bound QR codes with encryption
- File storage: Cloud storage for documents/images (50MB limit per file)
- Database: Relational DB for structured data (student records, attendance logs)
- Authentication: JWT-based, role-based access control (RBAC)
- Real-time: WebSocket for live attendance updates and messaging
8.3 Security & Privacy
- Data encryption: In-transit (HTTPS) and at-rest
- Document access: Role-based (only warden can access student documents)
- Location data: Used only during attendance, not stored long-term
- GDPR compliance: Student data export/deletion on request
9. Open Questions & Risks
Open Questions
- Payment gateway preference? (Razorpay, Paytm, Stripe) - Parking for V1.1
- Notification infrastructure? (Firebase Cloud Messaging vs OneSignal)
- Document retention policy? How long to store student documents after graduation?
- Attendance correction workflow? How do students request manual attendance correction?
- Multi-language support needed? Regional language support in V1?
Risks
| Risk | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Students bypass location check (VPN, spoofing) | High | Implement device fingerprinting, random spot checks |
| Low internet connectivity in hostel | High | Offline queue for attendance scans with server-side timestamp validation |
| Warden overwhelmed with notifications | Medium | Implement notification batching, daily digest emails |
| Guards resist QR system | Medium | Training sessions, emphasize time savings vs roll call |
| Data privacy concerns | High | Clear privacy policy, minimal data collection, student consent |
| Scalability issues with QR scans | Medium | Load testing before rollout, CDN for QR image delivery |
10. Launch Plan
Phase 1: Internal Testing (Week 1-2)
- Deploy to staging environment
- Test with 20 volunteer students + 1 warden + 1 guard
- Gather feedback, fix critical bugs
Phase 2: Pilot Rollout (Week 3-4)
- Deploy to single hostel block (50-100 students)
- Monitor adoption and performance
- Iterate based on feedback
Phase 3: Full Rollout (Week 5-6)
- Deploy to entire hostel
- Training sessions for wardens and guards
- 24/7 support for first week
Phase 4: Stabilization (Week 7-12)
- Monitor metrics
- Fix bugs
- Gather feature requests for V1.1
11. Appendix
11.1 Grievance Categories & Sub-Categories
Electrical
- Light not working
- Fan issue
- Socket/switchboard problem
- Power outage
Cleaning
- Room cleaning required
- Corridor/washroom cleaning
- Garbage disposal issue
- Pest control needed
Plumbing
- Tap/faucet leak
- Toilet/flush issue
- Water supply problem
- Drainage blockage
Carpentry
- Furniture repair (bed, chair, table)
- Door/window issue
- Cupboard/almirah problem
Connectivity
- WiFi not working
- Slow internet speed
- Network coverage issue
Electronics
- Geyser issue
- Cooler/AC problem
- Other appliances
Food
- Meal quality complaint
- Hygiene concern
- Menu feedback
Safety
- Security concern
- Fire safety issue
- First aid needed
Emergency
- Medical emergency
- Urgent repair needed
- Safety threat
11.2 Leave Types
- Home leave
- Medical leave
- Academic (conference, workshop, exam)
- Personal emergency
- Festival/cultural event
- Other (specify)
Document Owner: Product Manager Stakeholders: Development Team, Hostel Administration, Student Representatives Next Review: Post-pilot rollout (Week 4)