Barplan: From Curriculum Structure to Exam-Ready Practice Engine
Lewis Kiganjo
Product Engineer
Problem framing
Barplan needed to serve Kenyan legal learners as both a content platform and a performance system. The product had to combine curriculum delivery, question practice, timed mocks, and study planning in one coherent flow.
Process I used
- Mapped the domain around Program -> Course -> Module -> Lesson so progress logic stayed predictable.
- Separated practice design into a set builder and an attempt engine to keep responsibilities clean.
- Enforced strict constraints for mock sessions: timed mode, strict grading semantics, and mixed-topic coverage.
- Built planner task reflow so overdue tasks are re-assigned to realistic future days instead of silently accumulating.
Implementation insights
- Enrollment cascades from program to published courses, reducing setup friction for students.
- Attempt state is resumable, with auto-submit on timeout to preserve exam realism.
- Error tagging was designed as structured metadata, enabling dashboard-level diagnostics beyond raw scores.
- Student analytics surfaces were shaped from operational questions: progress, trend direction, and near-term workload.
Core rule: every feature had to improve a student decision, not just add another screen.
Outcome
The final architecture supports both daily learning and high-pressure exam simulation, while keeping content operations manageable for admin and employee roles.
