Our company advertises thousands of products online. However, we currently rely on slow modes of communication with our customers. Users have requested the functionality to contact sellers directly via a real-time chat function.

We would like to work with students to create a general chat application that can be easily ported to any other existing system.

This will involve several different steps for the students, including:

• Researching technologies being used for chat applications.
• Selecting the best technologies for creating a real-time application.
• Producing a wireframe or mock-up of the resulting system’s user interface.
• Creating a product roadmap for the system and an implementation plan detailing possible interactions with the system.

Bonus steps in the process would also include:

• Developing an artificial intelligence chatbot.

By the end of the project, students should demonstrate:

• Understanding of technologies currently used for chat applications
• The reasoning behind chosen technologies
• Documentation of models and attributes used
• Plans and recommendations for implementation

Bonus steps would include:

• Developing an automated chatbot

Final deliverables should include

• A final report.
• A presentation.
• Source code for the system, preferably in a source control system such as Git.

Students will connect directly with us for mentorship throughout the project. We will be able to provide answers to questions such as:

• Our current products and services
• Our current platform and understanding of chat function development
• Input on choices, problems or anything else the students might encounter.

We can provide students with:

• A walkthrough / tutorial of our current products and platform