Fixing Mock Exam Bugs & Enhancing User Experience

Addressing Critical Bugs in the Mock Exam System

Hey there! Let's dive into some key issues and proposed solutions to enhance your mock exam experience. We're going to tackle several problems, including display glitches, timer malfunctions, data saving, and UI improvements. Let's make sure everything works smoothly! First off, the mock exam itself isn't presenting questions correctly, immediately displaying the first answer box instead of the actual question. This is a big problem because it confuses the user and prevents them from starting the exam properly. Imagine beginning a test and immediately seeing the answer options without the question – not ideal, right? The core fix here involves verifying the initial display logic to ensure the question content loads correctly before showing the answer fields. The initial view should show the question, and only then the answer options. This requires a review of the component responsible for rendering the question and answer boxes. This includes checking the conditions that govern the display of these elements and validating that the question data is correctly fetched and rendered before the answer options are displayed. This should be a high-priority bug because it directly affects the functionality of the exam and can disrupt the user experience.

Moving on to a crucial element: the timer. The current implementation has several flaws. Primarily, the main timer should reflect the total duration allocated for all questions, a sum of each question's duration. Additionally, it appears the individual question timers aren't resetting correctly, and the 'move up' and 'move down' navigation shouldn't affect the timer's functionality. The current system needs to accurately calculate the overall exam duration based on the question durations provided in the database. When a new question loads, the timer should automatically reset to its specific duration. This ensures each question is timed independently and that the main timer continues without interruption. The navigation buttons should only trigger question changes, not the overall timer. There may also be bugs with the local storage management of the timer and question's information, it should be verified as well. To remedy this, we'll need to rewrite the timer logic, ensuring it sums question durations, resets individual question timers upon loading, and maintains its integrity throughout question navigation.

Database Integration and Data Integrity

Database integration is a key issue. Currently, the system leverages localStorage to handle drafts, locks, and disabled features. This is bad because localStorage is not reliable for storing critical exam data. Any data stored in localStorage could be accidentally or intentionally modified, lost, or corrupted. Moreover, the practice of storing session-specific data in the database will ensure consistent, reliable data management. All drafts, question locks, and feature disabling should be managed exclusively by the backend using the database. The backend should handle all the state management, question statuses, and draft saves, making sure the user's progress is safely and consistently stored. This approach is key to the data integrity and synchronization across multiple devices. The implementation will involve updating the database with question states and providing the ability to fetch the same data when the user reloads the exam page or accesses the exam from a different device.

User Interface (UI) Enhancements and Functionality Fixes

Regarding the user interface, we'll need to remove redundant features and refine the user experience. The 'Review' button, along with the 'Flag for Review' and the 'Review' blue button at the bottom of the exam page, and associated underlying features are problematic. These features often clutter the interface and can confuse the user, therefore, should be removed. We want to streamline the user interface to reduce unnecessary distractions. This decision prioritizes a cleaner interface that supports a more intuitive user experience. The 'Save Draft' button should save the data to the database without also triggering marking. This provides a clear distinction between saving work and submitting it for evaluation. This separation helps students to better manage their time and progress. Then, the 'Confirm' button needs a makeover. Instead of using a JavaScript popup, the confirmation should use an HTML-based popup. HTML popups offer better control over style and behavior, resulting in a more user-friendly interface. In terms of user feedback, these improvements aim to provide a more intuitive and straightforward exam-taking process. Also, they will improve the overall usability of the system.

Fixing Answer Submission and Exam Completion

Lastly, let's address the issues with answer submissions and exam completion. The answer submissions are not functioning correctly, and this is a critical issue. The submissions are not being sent to the backend, and the second question sometimes shows as submitted when the first is locked. This means that the answers aren't recorded or saved. This prevents students from completing the exam effectively. The solution involves re-implementing the answer submission process to ensure that each answer is correctly transmitted to the backend for storage and validation. In order to solve the problem, we need to inspect the form submission logic and ensure that it correctly handles both single-answer and multiple-choice questions, also checking that each answer is correctly saved. Furthermore, the submission logic should verify the connection between the frontend and backend. Also, the backend needs to correctly process the data received from the frontend. Make sure that the correct answers are properly validated, stored, and saved.

Then, the 'Submit & Lock' button is currently performing the same function as the 'Next' button. However, it should finalize the question and lock it to prevent further modifications. To fix this, you will need to separate the 'Submit & Lock' function from the 'Next' button action. Implementing a system where the 'Submit & Lock' action is triggered, sending the answer data to the backend. Afterward, disable editing of the question and moving to the next question. And finally, 'End Exam' should trigger the submission and locking of all questions. The 'End Exam' feature needs to submit and lock all unanswered questions. The process needs to correctly aggregate all responses, transmit them to the backend, and then lock the exam for the final grading. These changes will provide a consistent user experience during the exam's completion.

Summary of Changes and Improvements

To summarize, we are addressing critical bugs and implementing key improvements in our mock exam system. The fixes include display issues, timer malfunctions, and incorrect answer submissions. The key goal is to improve the user experience and ensure the exam runs flawlessly. The improvements include database integration for reliable data management and eliminating the use of localStorage. The planned UI enhancements aim for a cleaner, more intuitive user interface. Also, implementing the corrected submission mechanisms. These steps will result in a more user-friendly and reliable exam experience, ensuring our users can focus on their studies without technical disruptions. It's really all about making the exam process as smooth and effective as possible!

Conclusion and Next Steps

By fixing these bugs and implementing the planned changes, we're aiming to create a much more reliable and user-friendly mock exam experience. The changes range from simple user interface adjustments to deeper backend changes, all designed to enhance performance and user satisfaction. The next steps include detailed testing, code reviews, and user feedback to ensure everything works as intended. We will focus on testing the fixes and confirming that all the changes have the intended effect. We're looking forward to seeing the positive impact these improvements will have. Thank you for your patience and support as we continue to improve the platform. Your feedback is crucial to our ongoing effort to enhance the educational tools we provide!

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