Product Vision
HRMS SaaS platform vision, scope, and use cases
Product Vision
Vision
We are building a modern HRMS SaaS platform with AI capabilities for small-to-medium businesses. The platform manages employees, time-off, documents, and team communication with an AI assistant that answers policy questions.
Target Scale
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Tenants | 500-1,000 companies |
| Users | 50,000-100,000 total |
| Response Time | < 3 seconds |
| Uptime | 99.9% SLA |
Scalability Goals
- Concurrent Users: 1,000 supported
- Throughput: 1,000 requests per second
- Database Connections: 100 pool size
Key Principles
- Enterprise-Ready - Production-grade from day one
- AI-Native - Built for AI, not retrofitted
- Simple Architecture - Monolith over microservices
- Clear Boundaries - HRMS data vs AI data separation
Core Features
- Employee Management - profiles, org structure, departments, custom fields
- Time-Off Tracking - requests, approvals, balances
- Document Management - storage, access control, AI search
- Team Feed - Instagram-style posts with AI summaries
- Goals/OKR - basic goal tracking with AI suggestions
- Workflows - onboarding/offboarding checklists
- Analytics - headcount, activity, AI insights
- AI Assistant - natural language queries, RAG
- Tagging System - flexible categorization across all assets
Out of Scope
We are NOT building payroll, recruitment, time tracking, or benefits management. These may be considered in future phases.
System Actors
The HRMS platform serves different user types with varying permissions and capabilities:
| Actor | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Platform Admin | System-wide administrator managing all tenants | SaaS operations team |
| Tenant Admin | Organization administrator with full access within their tenant | HR Director, Office Manager |
| Manager | Manages team members, approves requests | Dev Manager, Department Head |
| Employee | Regular user with access to own data and team info | Any staff member |
| AI Assistant | System AI component for queries and insights | RAG-powered chatbot |
Key Scenario: Dual-Role Users
A Development Manager exemplifies the dual-role nature of the system:
- As an Employee: Has own profile, submits leave requests to CTO, views own data
- As a Manager: Approves leave for developers, views team profiles, tracks team metrics
- Dashboard shows both: Personal profile section AND managed team section
This hierarchical structure supports complex org charts:
CEO
└── CTO
└── Development Manager (employee of CTO, manager of developers)
├── Senior Developer
├── Developer
└── Junior DeveloperUse Cases
Detailed use cases are organized by feature area. Each use case includes actors, preconditions, main flow, alternative flows, and postconditions.
-
Authentication & Tenant Administration — User login, tenant creation, user management, tagging configuration, and system administration.
-
Employee Management — Employee profiles, custom fields, org chart, directory search, and tagging employees.
-
Time-Off Tracking — Leave requests, approvals, balance management, and team calendar.
-
Document Management + AI Search — Document upload, tagging, traditional and AI-powered search, policy Q&A.
-
Analytics Dashboard — Company metrics, team dashboards, pending approvals, and AI insights.
-
Workflows — Onboarding/offboarding checklists, task tracking, and equipment management.
Cross-Cutting Features
Flexible Tagging System
The platform includes a tenant-configurable tagging system for organizing assets:
| Asset Type | Example Tags |
|---|---|
| Employee | "Expat", "Remote", "Part-time", "Contractor", "VIP" |
| Document | "Contract", "Policy", "Onboarding", "Confidential", "Template" |
| Department | "Cost Center", "Revenue", "Support" |
| Goal | "Strategic", "Personal", "Team" |
Tag Properties:
- Name (unique within asset type)
- Color (for visual distinction)
- Description (optional)
- Active/Inactive status
Custom Fields
Tenant Admins can add custom fields to employee profiles for organization-specific data:
| Field Type | Example Use Case |
|---|---|
| Text | Company laptop serial number, mobile phone model |
| Dropdown | Uniform size (S, M, L, XL), T-shirt size |
| Date | Visa expiry date, certification renewal |
| Checkbox | Has parking permit, completed training |
| Number | Employee extension, floor number |
Document Visibility Model
Documents support granular visibility controls based on best practices from Google Drive, SharePoint, and enterprise HRMS platforms:
| Level | Access | Default For |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Owner only | Employee uploads |
| Manager | Owner + direct manager | - |
| Team | Owner + team members | Manager uploads |
| Department | All department members | - |
| All Managers | All users with Manager role | - |
| All Employees | Everyone in tenant | - |
| Company | Everyone + featured in company docs | HR/Admin uploads |
| Specific People | Custom list of users/roles/depts | Confidential docs |
Key Principles:
- Safe defaults: Employees default to Private, HR defaults to Company
- Explicit sharing: Owners must explicitly expand access
- Role-based shortcuts: "All Managers" saves selecting individuals
- Audit trail: All sharing actions are logged
See Document Management Use Cases for detailed visibility workflows.
Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| User Adoption | 80% monthly active | Users logging in at least once/month |
| AI Query Success | 90% answered | Questions answered without HR escalation |
| Approval Time | < 24 hours | Average time for leave approvals |
| Onboarding Completion | 95% | New hires completing all onboarding tasks |