DineEase - Bachelor Project

Introduction

A recent study by TouchBistro indicates a notable increase in the frequency of dining out, with nearly half of consumers reporting eating at restaurants 2-4 times per week. The report highlights the growing influence of social factors, such as recommendations from friends and online reviews, on dining decisions. In particular, millennials appear to rely heavily on online feedback, with 67% of respondents indicating that they consider reviews when selecting new dining spots (Krook, 2023).

Users often rely on fragmented sources of information, such as online reviews, recommendations from friends, or simply walking in without prior knowledge (Smith & Johnson, 2021). This fragmented approach not only lacks convenience but also makes the overall dining experience worse Moreover, with the increasing tend of urbanization and globalization, people are frequently traveling to different cities fr work or leisure. By 2050 more than two-thirds of the world's population is projected to be lving in urban areas (Palanivel, 2017).

This urban growth has been accopanied by a significant increase in inernational tourism, with the number of internationa trips more than doubling since the strt of the millennium (Bastian Herre and Veronika Samorska, 2023). In a new city, they ofte face the challenge of finding suitable dining optins that match their preferences and ditary requirements. This can be frustrating, especially hen unfamiliar with the local dining cisine (Travelavidly, 2024).

It's o secret that nowadays mot luxurious restaurants are using somekind of booking syste, which can help clients et a reservation upfront and securely.A booking system must e a reliable and easy-to-se system so that anyone can utilize i without the need for extenive guidance. Most moder restaurants work with reservation sofware. People can easil view and book available ables online or via an app, and the't eed to call to modify or cancel their reservaton. (Smaddalena, 2024). Whether a guet is inspired by a food ost on Instagram, explorig options on Googl Maps,or browsing a restaurant' website, they can act on that impulseimmediately. (Tablin Team, 2024) In the restaurant business customer satisfaction is a priority, making it easier and enjoyable for the customers to find out more about the place and book a stay, which leads to less effort and errors for the restaurant management. Until the late 1990s, all reservations were taken over the phone and manually recorded in a reservation log. Guests dealt with busy signals, double-booked tables, and transcription errors. In spite of these issues, some restaurants still do it this way. (Smaddalena, 2024).

For restaurants, the inefficiencies in reservation management can lead to lost revenue and decreased customer satisfaction. During peak hours, traditional reservation methods may result in long wait times for walk-in customers or overbooking, causing chaos and frustration for both staff and patrons. Additionally, without a centralized and efficient system, restaurants may struggle to gather and utilize valuable customer data for personalized experiences and targeted marketing efforts (Harrison & Smith, 2020).

There are still many restaurants in Denmark that do not use a booking system at all, they mostly rely on the reservations taken manually over the phone. This gives many limitations to the customers, as it is not the most efficient way to reserve a place. Lack of real-time availability or booking for days ahead can bring many challenges for both clients and restaurant management (Plazn, 2023). This also includes more waiting time, and difficulty in finding available slots, and in the end, it could end up messing up the appointments. As of today, several websites are used across the world to book a table such as OpenTable or Dinnerbooking. For example, OpenTable, a popular reservation platform, lists only around 13 restaurants in Denmark, suggesting that many venues in the country may not utilize such services (opentable, 2024). In Denmark, the most used are earlybird and easyTableBooking.

The existing solutions in the market, such as standalone restaurant reservation platforms or review websites, fail to address these challenges comprehensively. They often lack integration, personalization, and real-time capabilities, leaving room for improvement in enhancing the dining experience (Anderson & Brown, 2019). The problem with these solutions is that they only offer a limited number of restaurants, the most probable cause could be the cost of such big systems to use. For cafes and smaller restaurants, the high cost is a dealbreaker which is why many prefer to use the old ways. By improving the reservation system, restaurants can get more customers and be more efficient. It's important to use digital solutions to meet modern customer demands and provide a seamless dining experience.

Requirements

• As a user, I want to register using my credential so that I can access the system.
• As a customer, I want to log in using my credentials, so that I can access my account.
• As a customer, I want to recover my password if I forget it so that I can regain access to my account.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to log in using my credentials so that I can manage my restaurant dashboard.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to recover my password if I forget it so that I can regain access to my account.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to create my restaurant profile so that customers can view my restaurant details.
• As a customer, I want to search for restaurants by city and filter my search so that I can find options that suit my preferences.
• As a customer, I want to be able to view the restaurant profile, so I can see all the restaurant details
• As a customer, I want to view the search results on a map so that I can easily see their locations visually
• As a customer, I want to make a reservation at a restaurant so that I can secure my spot in advance.
• As a customer, I want to modify or cancel my reservation so that I can update my plans.
• As a customer, I want to be able to update my profile information so that I can ensure my details are correct and up to date.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to view all upcoming reservations so that I can manage bookings effectively.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to be able to manage my restaurant profile, so that I can keep my restaurant information up to date.
• As a customer, I want to receive notifications about my reservations so that I am informed of updates.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to receive emails about reservation activity so that I can stay updated.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to ensure my reservations do not exceed capacity so that operations run smoothly.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to set table availability and booking preferences so that customers can make reservations.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to block unavailable time slots so that customers cannot book during those times.
• As a customer, I want to leave reviews and ratings after visiting a restaurant so that I can share my feedback.
• As a restaurant owner, I want to respond to reviews so that I can address feedback or concerns.

System Architecture

Displays the system architecture. The System architecture is design with having React.js as frontend framework using Typescript and .NET C# as the backend for the system.Both frontend and backend are wrapped into the container using Docker. The React.js frontend is used as the user interface for the system and communicates with the backend through a REST API.Backend uses CLEAN architecture and it handles all the business logic and operations necessary for the system. Docker files are inside of both frontend and backend and are used to form the application into the container ready for deployment.

The backend interacts with multiple outside services to provide extra functionality for the system.There are different external services that backend is managing , for image storage for what is utilised Azure Blob Storage to safely and securely store images.For the location functionality is utilises MapBox Location API to fetch requested information regarding mapping. For the data storage database Azure SQL Database is used to store the data and manage it in a safe manner.Also MailTrap email service is used to handle email for sending notifications about reservation.

To automate the process for deployment , the project is integrated with GitHub Actions that is automating the CI/CD workflow of the system. Whenever a push or pull request is made to the main branch in the GitHub repository , the pipeline is triggered , triggering the workflow. The workflow starts by Logging in to Azure with required credentials that are safely stored at GitHub Secrets. After all the authentication is finished with Azure credentials it proceeds to build the Docker images for both of the images , so for backend and frontend, it reads it from the GitHub repository finding its location.One the images are build they are pushed to the Azure Container Registry where they are stored for deployment.

Next, pipeline is performing the final step that is deployment by pushing the docker images to the Azure Web Apps. The deployment process creates two separate web applications each of them hosting docker images , one for backend and one for frontend.

The whole process of the Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) is automated , reducing manual work and ensuring less error will be made by developers and providing more consistency.

CLEAN Architecture

Displays the design of the backend system.The system follows the clear separation of responsibilities.The WebAPI layer serves as entry point , where in this example ReservationController handle API requests and it will interact with the Application Layer, the IReservationsLogic interface is implemented by ReservationLogic class, which contains the logic for handling reservations. This layer also handles and interacts with the Services, such as ReservationEmailService and EmailService, for handling email notification.

The system follows key principles of SOLID , such as Single Responsibility , Interface Segregation and Liskov Substitution. Single Responsibility Principle was followed by having each of the classes to be responsible for a specific part of the functionality. Interface Segregation principle was followed by having defined only required methods in the interfaces , avoiding having big bloated interfaces. Liskov Substitution Principle was followed to ensure that for example derived classes , such as ReservationLogic can replace the IReservationLogic without changing behavior expected by the rest of the system.

The Application layer depends on the EfcDataAccess layer, where the ReservationsEfcDao interacts with the database through the ReservationContext.This makes sure that data is retrieved and persisted , which is following the Dependency Rule , relying on abstractions like IReservationsDao.Also the backend uses Domain entities such as Reservation and its data access objects such as ReservationDto and ReservationNotificationDto, which is core data structure and its also reused across the layers.

By applying the Clean Architecture to the backend, it ensures that the key principles are applied.This approach allows the logic to be independent of the external services such as databases or user interface frameworks, also it makes it easier to integrate additional functionality which improves the maintainability of the codebase.

UI Design

Authentication - Frontend

Shows an Auth useState hook initialises the auth state by taking the JWT token from localStorage. setAuth function checks if the user is authenticated by checking if the token exists and if it exists then the user is authenticated and role and id are extracted from the token and set for the user useState. If the auth is false then it will clear the user useState , remove the token from the localStorage and reset the authentication.

Authentication - Backend

Explains the process of Login in the logic layer. Starting off with the LogicUser method that is validating the user and if the user exists gives it to the GenerateJwt method. The GenerateJwt method is called to create a list of claims that represent the user's data.SymmetricSecurityKey is a key that is created using _jwtKey that is taken from the environment variable.The key is used to sign JWT using an algorithm which will ensure the authenticity of the token.JwtHeader contains the signing credentials , specification of the algorithm that is used. Payload contains claims, and additional data. A JwtSecurityToken object is called that will take in the Header and Payload.Then the token is being serialised into the string format using the JwtSecurityTokenHandler().WriteToken which returns the final JWT token.GenerateClaims method generates the claims about the user and some additional data and returns it as a list.

Update reservation - Frontend

Shows an updateDialog component that provides a user interface for updating reservation details. It utilizes useState to manage the input from the form, and when submitted it calls this handleUpdate function which makes a reservation object that is sent to backend through onUpdateSuccess function , if successful then calls the API , otherwise it will display an error.

Project future

The project is missing five planned requirements , so the next logical step would be to implement those missing ones.Also new features could be added if in the future there are customers that require certain requirements , perhaps quality of life changes. Regarding the frontend , the group could've made custom user interface design with good responsiveness for different screens with figma , also server side rendering could be added using technology such as Next.js.Also frontend deployed application that should not have any console.log due to security risks. When it comes to the backend , a lot of optimisation could've been done in the database such as making better LINQ in order to have faster time or retrieving data. Adhere to all of the SOLID principles. Moving on to the Azure , more things could've been utilized such as their email service or their azure maps api, the deployment of the entire system should been done once for the development in order to test new features with a test database , and one should be deployment for the production when all the features are working as intended. Addressing the remaining requirements and exploring additional ones would enhance project usability and functionality. Further optimisation in design , implementation and deployment process could improve performance and also security.