normogen/thoughts/research/2026-01-04-1840-normogen-mvp-definition.md

date	git_commit	branch	repository	topic	tags	status
2026-01-04T18:40:30-03:00	N/A (not a git repository)	N/A	normogen	Normogen MVP Definition - Auth + Basic Health Tracking	research mvp planning requirements open-questions	complete

Research: Normogen MVP Definition

Research Question

Define the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) scope for Normogen based on stakeholder decision: basic health tracking + authentication.

Summary

MVP Scope: Authentication system + Basic health tracking features

Critical Decisions Made:

• MVP will include user authentication and basic health tracking
• All other technical choices remain as open research questions

---

MVP Requirements

1. Authentication System

Core Features

• User registration and login
• Secure password storage (hashing + salting)
• Session management
• Password reset flow
• Basic API authentication (JWT tokens)

User Model

User
- id: UUID
- email: string (unique)
- password_hash: string
- created_at: timestamp
- updated_at: timestamp

Security Requirements

• HTTPS only for production
• Password requirements enforcement
• Rate limiting on auth endpoints
• Secure session management

---

2. Basic Health Tracking

Core Health Metrics

Based on introduction.md and mobile health framework research (see 2026-01-05-mobile-health-frameworks-data.md):

Phase 1 - Manual Entry (MVP): Tracked Metrics:

• Weight (with timestamp)
• Height (with timestamp)
• Age (calculated from birthdate)

Phase 2 - Mobile Integration (Post-MVP): Additional metrics available from Apple HealthKit and Google Health Connect:

• Vitals: Heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, SpO2
• Activity: Steps, distance, active energy/calories
• Sleep: Sleep duration and basic stages
• Body Composition: Body fat percentage, BMI

See research document for complete list of 50+ available data types.

Data Model (MVP - Phase 1):

Person
- id: UUID
- user_id: UUID (foreign key to User)
- name: string
- birthdate: date
- created_at: timestamp

HealthMetric
- id: UUID
- person_id: UUID (foreign key to Person)
- metric_type: enum (weight, height)
- value: decimal
- unit: string (kg, cm, etc.)
- recorded_at: timestamp
- created_at: timestamp

Data Model (Phase 2 - Mobile Integration):

-- Additional columns for mobile health framework integration
HealthMetric
- metric_source: enum (manual, healthkit, healthconnect, device)
- source_device_id: string (e.g., "com.apple.health.Health")
- accuracy: decimal (sensor accuracy 0.0-1.0)
- metadata: JSONB (platform-specific data)

-- New tables for sync tracking
health_metric_sources (platform, device_name, sync timestamps)
sync_history (import records, conflicts, errors)

Features (Phase 1 - MVP)

• Manual entry of weight and height
• View health metric history
• Basic chart/visualization of metrics over time
• Multiple person profiles (e.g., tracking children's data)

Features (Phase 2 - Mobile Integration)

• Automatic sync from Apple HealthKit (iOS)
• Automatic sync from Google Health Connect (Android)
• Background sync every 15-30 minutes
• Historical data import (last 30 days)
• Support for 50+ health data types
• Conflict resolution when same metric from multiple sources

---

Out of Scope for MVP

Features from introduction.md that are NOT in MVP:

Not Included (Future Phases)

• Lab results storage
• Medication tracking and reminders
• Medical appointments
• Period tracking
• Pregnancy tracking
• Dental information
• Illness records
• Phone app features (pill reminders, QR scanner, sensors)
• Plugin system
• Data sharing with external users
• Advanced encryption for partial access
• Mobile apps (MVP will be web-only)

---

Technical Architecture for MVP

Backend (Rust)

Still needs research:

• Web framework choice (Actix, Axum, Rocket)
• Database selection (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQLite)
• ORM/database library choice
• Authentication library selection

Frontend (Node.js Web)

Still needs research:

• Frontend framework (React, Vue, Svelte, plain JS)
• UI component library
• State management approach
• Build tool choice

Database Schema (MVP)

-- Users table
CREATE TABLE users (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
    password_hash VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
    updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Persons table (for multi-person tracking)
CREATE TABLE persons (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    user_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    birthdate DATE,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Health metrics table
CREATE TABLE health_metrics (
    id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
    person_id UUID NOT NULL REFERENCES persons(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
    metric_type VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL, -- 'weight', 'height'
    value DECIMAL(10, 2) NOT NULL,
    unit VARCHAR(20) NOT NULL, -- 'kg', 'cm', 'lbs', 'in'
    recorded_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL,
    created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

-- Indexes for performance
CREATE INDEX idx_health_metrics_person ON health_metrics(person_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_health_metrics_type ON health_metrics(metric_type);
CREATE INDEX idx_health_metrics_recorded ON health_metrics(recorded_at DESC);

---

API Endpoints (MVP)

Authentication

POST   /api/auth/register       - Register new user
POST   /api/auth/login          - Login user
POST   /api/auth/logout         - Logout user
POST   /api/auth/refresh        - Refresh JWT token
POST   /api/auth/forgot-password - Initiate password reset
POST   /api/auth/reset-password  - Complete password reset

Persons

GET    /api/persons             - List all persons for current user
POST   /api/persons             - Create new person profile
GET    /api/persons/:id         - Get person details
PUT    /api/persons/:id         - Update person details
DELETE /api/persons/:id         - Delete person profile

Health Metrics

GET    /api/persons/:id/metrics           - Get all metrics for a person
POST   /api/persons/:id/metrics           - Add new metric
GET    /api/persons/:id/metrics/:type     - Get metrics by type (weight/height)
DELETE /api/persons/:id/metrics/:metricId - Delete a metric entry

---

User Stories (MVP)

Authentication

1. As a new user, I can register with email and password
2. As a registered user, I can login with my credentials
3. As a logged-in user, I can logout securely
4. As a user who forgot their password, I can reset it via email

Health Tracking

5. As a user, I can create profiles for myself and family members
6. As a user, I can record weight for any person in my account
7. As a user, I can record height for any person in my account
8. As a user, I can view a history of weight/height changes over time
9. As a user, I can see a simple chart showing weight trends

---

MVP Success Criteria

Functional Requirements

• User can register and login
• User can create multiple person profiles
• User can add weight and height measurements
• User can view historical data in a list
• User can see basic trend visualization
• Data persists across sessions
• User can delete their own data

Non-Functional Requirements

• All passwords are hashed (never stored plaintext)
• API is secured with authentication on all endpoints
• Responsive web interface works on mobile browsers
• Application can handle 1000+ users
• Database queries complete in <100ms
• API response time <200ms for 95% of requests

Security Requirements

• HTTPS in production
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS protection
• CSRF protection
• Input validation on all endpoints
• Rate limiting on auth endpoints

---

Open Questions Requiring Further Research

Priority 1 (Blocking for MVP)

1. Rust Web Framework

   • Options: Actix, Axum, Rocket
   • Criteria: Performance, ecosystem, learning curve, async support
   • Research needed: Benchmark comparison, community adoption

2. Database Selection

   • Options: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQLite
   • Criteria: Query complexity, scaling needs, deployment simplicity
   • Research needed: Data modeling comparison, hosting costs

3. Authentication Library

   • Options: Custom JWT implementation, existing auth crates
   • Criteria: Security audit history, maintenance status
   • Research needed: Available crate reviews

4. Frontend Framework

   • Options: React, Vue, Svelte, plain JavaScript
   • Criteria: Bundle size, learning curve, ecosystem
   • Research needed: Performance comparison for simple apps

Priority 2 (Important but Not Blocking)

5. ORM vs Raw SQL

   • Options: Diesel, SeaORM, sqlx, raw SQL
   • Research needed: Type safety vs flexibility tradeoff

6. Testing Framework

   • Unit tests, integration tests, E2E tests
   • Research needed: Best practices for Rust + web testing

7. Deployment Strategy

   • Docker setup, hosting provider (AWS, DigitalOcean, Railway?)
   • Research needed: Cost comparison, ease of deployment

8. UI Component Library

   • Material UI, Tailwind, Chakra UI, custom CSS
   • Research needed: Speed of development for MVP

Priority 3 (Nice to Have)

9. Monitoring & Logging

   • Application performance monitoring
   • Error tracking (Sentry, etc.)

10. CI/CD Pipeline

    • GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.
    • Automated testing, deployment automation

---

Next Steps

1. Research Priority 1 questions (Rust framework, database, auth library, frontend)
2. Initialize Git repository
3. Create project structure with chosen tech stack
4. Implement authentication system (register, login, JWT)
5. Design and implement database schema for users, persons, health metrics
6. Build basic CRUD API for persons and metrics
7. Create simple web frontend for auth and health tracking
8. Add basic chart visualization for trends
9. Test end-to-end user flows
10. Deploy MVP

---

File References

Design Document:

• /home/asoliver/desarrollo/normogen/introduction.md:1-82 - Complete project vision

Research Document:

• /home/asoliver/desarrollo/normogen/thoughts/research/2026-01-04-1739-normogen-codebase-documentation.md - Initial codebase assessment

This Document:

• /home/asoliver/desarrollo/normogen/thoughts/research/2026-01-04-1840-normogen-mvp-definition.md

---

Notes

• MVP is intentionally simple to validate core concepts
• Future phases will add features from introduction.md
• Plugin system and advanced encryption deferred to post-MVP
• Mobile apps deferred to post-MVP (web-only for now)
• Focus on getting working code into users' hands quickly