Product Requirements Document (PRD): SyncShot

1. Executive Summary

SyncShot is an asynchronous video communication platform designed for modern remote teams. It replaces the impersonal nature of text-based standups and the "zoom fatigue" of live meetings with a 30-second daily video update. By utilizing high-performance mobile video processing and automated backend stitching, SyncShot generates a "Weekly Highlight Reel" for teams, fostering personal connection and progress visibility across global timezones.

2. Problem Statement

Remote and distributed teams suffer from a "visibility gap" where text updates fail to convey tone, urgency, or personality. Timezone differences often mean some members are excluded from live syncs. Existing tools are either too heavy (Zoom/Teams calls) or too detached (Slack/Jira text), leading to decreased team cohesion and "information silos."

3. Goals & Success Metrics

• Goal 1: Increase team engagement through asynchronous video.
  • Metric: Average reactions/comments per video > 3.0.
• Goal 2: Minimize the time spent in live status meetings.
  • Metric: 20% reduction in weekly "Status Sync" meeting hours.
• Goal 3: High participation consistency.
  • Metric: 80% of active users posting at least 4 videos per week.
• Goal 4: Performance Excellence.
  • Metric: Video upload and compression time < 10 seconds on 4G networks.

4. User Personas

• Software Engineer (Alex): Focuses on deep work. Hates being interrupted by meetings but wants to know what his teammates are building.
• Product Manager (Sarah): Needs to track progress without micromanaging. Uses the weekly digest to prepare for stakeholder updates.
• Team Lead (Marcus): Manages a team across 4 timezones. Uses SyncShot to check the "vibe" and morale of the team via video sentiment.

5. User Stories

• As a user, I want to record a 30-second video so that I can quickly share my progress without typing a long report.
• As a manager, I want to receive a weekly stitched digest so that I can see a high-level overview of the team's accomplishments.
• As a teammate, I want to leave a reaction or threaded comment on a video so that I can provide feedback or celebrate a win.
• As a global employee, I want to receive notifications only during my working hours so that my work-life balance is respected.

6. Functional Requirements

6.1 Video Capture & Processing

• Daily Recorder: 30-second hard limit with an on-screen countdown.
• Native Compression: Mobile-side hardware acceleration using native Media3/AVFoundation APIs.
• Subtitles: Automated generation of captions for accessibility.

6.2 Team Feed & Social

• Private Feeds: Videos are scoped to specific teams/organizations.
• Interactions: Threaded comments and emoji reactions.
• Search: Keyword-based search through video transcriptions.

6.3 Automated Digest

• Stitching Engine: Backend automation that joins all weekly videos into a single MP4.
• Delivery: Automated delivery to Slack/Teams on Friday afternoons (user local time).

6.4 Notification System

• Timezone Awareness: Smart delivery based on IANA timezone names.
• Batching: Low-priority updates are batched into a single morning digest.

7. Technical Requirements

7.1 Tech Stack

• Frontend: React Native 0.83 (New Architecture/Fabric enabled).
  • Video Library: react-native-vision-camera 4.7.3+ for high-fidelity processing.
  • Compression: react-native-compressor (utilizing Media3 Transformer/AVFoundation).
• Backend: Node.js with Temporal API for timezone-aware logic.
  • Video Stitching: node-av 3.0 (N-API native bindings to FFmpeg 8.0+).
• Database: PostgreSQL 18.
  • Primary Keys: UUIDv7 for index locality and performance.
• Infrastructure:
  • Storage: AWS S3 with Origin Access Control (OAC).
  • Delivery: CloudFront using Signed Cookies for secure streaming.
  • Auth: Amazon Cognito + Lambda@Edge for team-based RBAC at the edge.
• AI Transcription: Deepgram Nova-3 (Speed and cost optimization for < 30s clips).

7.2 Integrations

• Slack: Block Kit for inline video previews and interactive buttons.
• MS Teams: Collaborative Stage View for large-format video playback.

8. Data Model

8.1 Core Entities

• User: id (UUIDv7), email, name, team_id, timezone (IANA string), quiet_hours (JSONB).
• DailyVideo: id (UUIDv7), user_id, s3_key, transcription, created_at (timestamptz).
• Team: id (UUIDv7), org_name, digest_schedule.
• Reaction: id (UUIDv7), video_id, user_id, emoji_code.

8.2 Relationships

• A Team has many Users.
• A User has many DailyVideos.
• A DailyVideo has many Reactions and Comments.

9. API Specification

9.1 Upload Video

• Endpoint: POST /v1/videos/upload
• Auth: JWT Required.
• Request: Multipart Form Data (Video File + Metadata).
• Response: 202 Accepted with video_id and transcription status URL.

9.2 Fetch Team Feed

• Endpoint: GET /v1/teams/{team_id}/feed?limit=20
• Response:

  {
    "videos": [
      {
        "id": "uuid-v7",
        "user": "Alex Smith",
        "video_url": "https://cdn.syncshot.io/path/to/stream.m3u8",
        "transcript_snippet": "Finished the UI...",
        "reactions": [{"emoji": "🔥", "count": 5}]
      }
    ]
  }
  

10. UI/UX Requirements

• Camera Interface: Focused "Record" button, 30s progress ring, and immediate "Review/Re-take" options.
• Feed Design: Vertical scroll similar to "Reels," but optimized for professional context (clear titles and project tags).
• Accessibility: High-contrast text, screen reader support for video transcripts, and forced subtitles on by default.

11. Non-Functional Requirements

• Latency: Video playback must start in < 800ms via CloudFront LL-HLS.
• Security: Video files encrypted at rest (AES-256) and accessible only via signed cookies.
• Compliance: GDPR-compliant "Right to be Forgotten" implementation for user video deletion.

12. Out of Scope

• Live video conferencing or 1-on-1 calls.
• Native Desktop App (Web-only for desktop in V1).
• Advanced video editing (Filters, stickers, etc.).

13. Risks & Mitigations

• Risk: Users find recording daily videos "too much work."
  • Mitigation: Gamification features (streaks) and Slack reminders at the optimal time.
• Risk: High AWS S3/Data egress costs.
  • Mitigation: Mandatory 720p/30fps mobile-side compression and H.265 encoding where supported.
• Risk: Large team digests becoming too long to watch.
  • Mitigation: AI-generated summary bullet points appearing alongside the stitched video.

14. Implementation Tasks

Phase 1: Infrastructure & Mobile Core

• [ ] Initialize React Native 0.83 project with New Architecture enabled.
• [ ] Set up PostgreSQL 18 with UUIDv7 support for primary keys.
• [ ] Configure AWS S3 Bucket with Origin Access Control (OAC).
• [ ] Implement react-native-vision-camera 4.7.3 for basic recording.
• [ ] Build hardware-accelerated compression utility using react-native-compressor.

Phase 2: Backend Services & AI

• [ ] Set up Node.js server with Temporal API for timezone handling.
• [ ] Implement Deepgram Nova-3 API integration for < 30s transcription.
• [ ] Build the video stitching service using node-av 3.0.
• [ ] Configure CloudFront with Signed Cookies and Lambda@Edge for RBAC.

Phase 3: Social & Integrations

• [ ] Build the Team Feed UI with vertical video scrolling.
• [ ] Implement reaction and threaded comment system in PostgreSQL.
• [ ] Create Slack App manifest for Block Kit video unfurling.
• [ ] Build MS Teams Adaptive Cards with "Stage View" invocation.

Phase 4: Polish & Launch

• [ ] Implement background upload resilience (Multipart/Chunked).
• [ ] Conduct load testing for simultaneous 5 PM Friday video stitching.
• [ ] Perform accessibility audit for subtitle rendering and screen readers.
• [ ] Deploy Beta to "Early Adopter" teams.