I had the pleasure of working with Solidus Systems getting their beta app dashboard ready for initial launch, Solidus One. This app serves as the Do-It-All Backend for gun ranges. It was a very different project than anything I have ever worked on, but it taught me a lot.

I took on a 1-month role with the team of developers to help them in their sprint to close all their issues before launch date, and along this journey I got to learn a lot:

The more meetings the better: Developers want to lock in and get going on everything they have been told is their responsibility, getting it done as fast as they can. Often, I cannot get past 3 steps before realizing I don't know what the client wants here. I found that having more meetings and asking more questions fixed this.

Apps can be complicated: You might be thinking I'm a bad app developer now if I am only now realizing apps can be complicated. But the thing is, this is the first app that I have worked on that I wasn't there for it's conception. When I am working on an app that I brainstormed or I planned with a client, everything falls into place as it should, all questions arise naturally and are put to sleep. But working on someones project who I was thrown in at the second act, I was clueless for a lot of my month working on the project.

Workflows are not efficient: Now, I do not mean not efficient at all. I mean, we know what has been built with workflows. But I am saying that they do slow you down. Each client and project manager has to decide how much they want to be slowed down and what is worth slowing down for. I think thanks to this project, I know a lot more of my own workflow.

I did not do perfect on my first attempt jumping into an app, but I did love it and I am glad I could work on it.

I was tasked with building out the training sections of clients apps. Making sure ever flow wired up correctly, every course had the right restrictions, and it was an easy product for clients. I learned the architecture behind store catalogs, having to declare items as entities before having any stock, including customizability for clients with different needs. Working on a product that was currently being used 9-5 meant having to work in preview environments and developer environments before pushing to a main at EOD.