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Psephos

Psephos

Psephos is a survey and polling backend API that powers multiple CSED tools. It stores and manages survey data, questions, responses, and basic workflow logic, exposing everything over a clean HTTP API (plus WebSockets for real-time updates).

It is designed as a shared service: frontends like UniPoll, course tools like Capstone Survey, and research systems like Test Forge all talk to Psephos instead of re-implementing survey logic.

Where This Project Fits

flowchart LR
  UMACS[UMACS<br/>Auth & Access] --> Psephos[Psephos<br/>Survey Engine]
  Psephos --> UniPoll[UniPoll<br/>Survey UI]
  Psephos --> TestForge[Test Forge<br/>Question Engine]
  Psephos --> Capstone[Capstone Survey]
  • UMACS provides authentication and access control
  • UniPoll uses Psephos for classroom polling and surveys
  • Test Forge can push AI-generated questions into Psephos-managed surveys
  • Capstone Survey uses Psephos to collect student preferences and skill profiles

What You Could Work On

  • Design and implement new survey features (question types, branching logic, scoring)
  • Improve API ergonomics and developer experience (SDKs, examples, docs)
  • Experiment with plugin architectures for custom survey logic or analytics
  • Prototype integrations with tools like Test Forge, SkillNet, or external LMSes
  • Help plan and prototype a next-generation Psephos (e.g., more modular or microservice-based)

Core Concepts & Tech

  • Backend: FastAPI + MongoDB (Beanie ODM) + Redis
  • Concepts: surveys, questions, responses, workspaces, users
  • Interfaces: REST API with OpenAPI schema, optional WebSocket channels

If you want to go deeper into full API details, check the GitHub repo and API docs linked at the top.

  • CSE120 Capstone — The capstone course ecosystem where Psephos serves as the survey engine.