CS373

CS373: Software Engineering

Spring 2026: 53375 (58), 53380 (58)
12 Jan - 27 Apr 2026
MWF 10 am & 11 am: RLP 1.106
https://gitlab.com/gpdowning-ut/cs373/
https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~utpc/

Project #3: IDB2

Due: Wed, 11 Mar, 11:59 pm
adapt IDB2 Issues

Specification

Create a cross-platform, responsive, Web app that emulates IMDB to provide helpful information about some topic.
The project must meet several criteria.
- must be unique, first come, first served
- must have at least three data sources that can be programmatically scraped (at least one must be a RESTful API)
- must promote civic engagement about an underserved community
- must have at least three models
- each model must be connected to at least two other models
- every instance of each model must be rich with different media (e.g., feeds, images, maps, text, videos, etc.) (be very sure about this)
This is a group project with four phases and only one public repo will be used across all phases.
The group must collaborate using:
For the purposes of grading, do not change the production website between the time that you submit it and the time that it is graded.

Submission

create a public code repo, https://gitlab.com/GitLab-ID/cs373-group-N/
enable issues here: Settings -> General -> Visibility, project features, permissions -> Issues
create issue labels here: Manage -> Labels (labels are case sensitive)
create issues
add and close new issues as you debug and develop your solution
show the GitLab URL at the top of IDB2.md
submit IDB2.md to Canvas

AI Report

Summary of AI Interactions
- List the tools used (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.).
- Debugging help (error explanation, bug location, runtime issue)
- Conceptual clarification (CS concept, syntax, algorithm idea)
- Code improvement (style, efficiency, readability, testing)
- Alternative approaches (asking “is there a simpler way?”)
- Other (describe)
Reflection on Use
- What specific improvements to your code or understanding came from this AI interaction?
- How did you decide what to keep or ignore from the AI’s suggestions?
- Did the AI ever produce an incorrect or misleading suggestion? How did you detect that?
Evidence of Independent Work
- Paste a before-and-after snippet (3–5 lines max) showing where you changed your own code in response to AI guidance.
- In 2–3 sentences, explain what you learned by making this change.
Integrity Statement
- "I confirm that the AI was used only as a helper (explainer, debugger, reviewer) and not as a code generator. All code submitted is my own work."
put it on GitLab as a IDB.ai.md

Phase II

provide an assessment and at least five more user stories for your developer and put them on their GitLab issue boards with the Customer label
collect data on many instances of each model from sources with a RESTful API
refine and implement the RESTful API using Postman
create a dynamic website with many pages hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
It is your responsibility to not outspend the free credits on either of those systems.
use MySQL or PostgreSQL as a DB
use Python, Flask, Flask-Restless-NG, SQLAlchemy as a Web framework for the backend server using Docker
use JavaScript and React as a GUI framework for the frontend server using Docker
the backend server must provide a RESTful API and the frontend server must consume that RESTful API
add pagination to the model pages
create unit tests of the RESTful API using Postman
create unit tests of the JavaScript code using Mocha or Jest
create unit tests of the Python code using unittest or PyTest
create acceptance tests of the GUI using Selenium
refine the technical report using Grammarly and put it on GitLab as a IDB.tr.md
add the documentation of the RESTful API to the technical report
create a UML diagram using PlantUML and put it on GitLab as a IDB.uml.pdf

Pages

Page	Features
Navbar	every page Splash Model #1 Model #2 Model #3 About
Splash	one page make it beautiful (e.g., a slideshow) with a way to navigate among the pages with useful introduction to the site
Models	three pages one for each model grid of cards each card must have unique image at least five attributes on each card attributes must be filterable and sortable page must show total number of instances and pages cards link to those instances
Model #1	three pages one for each instance data external links embedded images (e.g., Google) embedded videos (e.g., YouTube) embedded maps (e.g., Google Maps) embedded social network feeds (e.g., Twitter) must have at least two of the above media cards to Model #2 cards to Model #3 reuse instance formatting between models, if you can
Model #2	three pages one for each instance data external links embedded images (e.g., Google) embedded videos (e.g., YouTube) embedded maps (e.g., Google Maps) embedded social network feeds (e.g., Twitter) must have at least two of the above media cards to Model #1 cards to Model #3 reuse instance formatting between models, if you can
Model #3	three pages one for each instance data external links embedded images (e.g., Google) embedded videos (e.g., YouTube) embedded maps (e.g., Google Maps) embedded social network feeds (e.g., Twitter) must have at least two of the above media cards to Model #1 cards to Model #2 reuse instance formatting between models, if you can
About	one page description of the site, its purpose, its intended users the group members for each member name photo bio major responsibilities no. of commits no. of issues no. of unit tests stats total no. of commits total no. of issues total no. of unit tests data links to the data sources tools tools used describe their use special focus on optional tools that were not required a link to the GitLab repo a link to the Postman API

Resources

if you discover other useful resources, please post them on Ed Discussion

Rubrics

Assets	Points
1. Build Files `.gitignore` `.gitlab-ci.yml` `makefile` `README.md` name, EID, and GitLab-ID, of all members Git SHA project leader link to website estimated completion time for each member (hours: int) actual completion time for each member (hours: int) comments	5
2. Issues at least 30 issues you must use issue labels (e.g., Backend, Customer, Frontend, Grader, etc.)	5
3. User Stories 5 user stories described in three sentences each estimate them, include assumptions discuss them refine the estimates implement them track how long each took see https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/agile/user-stories/ see https://www.alexandercowan.com/best-agile-user-story/	5
4. RESTful API Postman	10
5. Backend Server backend/main.py produce a RESTful API Flask flask-cors SQLAlchemy formatted with black create a Docker image for backend development	10
6. Frontend Server frontend/index.js consume the RESTful API (above) React Bootstrap or React Bootstrap responsive create a Docker image for frontend development	10
7. Tests frontend/tests.js (Mocha or Jest) frontend/guitests.py (Selenium) backend/tests.py (unittest or PyTest) Postman.json (Postman) GitLab CI	10
8. Website `https://www.website.me` `https://api.website.me` Amazon Web Services (AWS) Google Cloud Platform (GCP) It is your responsibility to not outspend the free credits on either of those systems. custom domain namne navbar splash page	10
9. About Page description members stats (automated) data sources tools GitLab URL Postman URL	5
10. Model Pages three pages grid of cards at least nine cards per page each card must have a unique image five attributes for each card number of cards number of pages pagination: next, previous. first, last	5
11. Instance Pages many pages lots of text embedded multimedia cards (exactly like in the model pages) that link to other instances of other models	10
12. DB/UML diagram `IDB2.db.pdf` DB Diagram `IDB2.uml` `IDB2.uml.svg` PlantUML	5
13. Technical Report: `IDB2.md` motivation user stories RESTful API models tools hosting the audience comprises other software developers, as opposed to users format the report clearly, attractively, and consistently, using good sections, multiple pages, good headers, figures, and grammar Grammarly	5
14. AI Report: `IDB2.md` summary, reflection, evidence, integrity Grammarly	5