Case study · 2021–22

Fieldnotes

Offline-first inspection app

Fieldnotes — summary

Problem
Inspectors worked without reliable signal and re-entered notes when they returned to the office.
Role
Full-stack developer
Years
2021–22
Stack
Svelte · SQLite · Python · FastAPI
Report turnaround
5 days to same day
Human sync review
under 1%

Fieldnotes.md

This case study is sample content. Replace it with verified work before production deployment.

Offline is a product state

The application treated the local database as the primary working copy. Connection state changed what could be promised, but it never prevented an inspector from finishing a report.

Conflict rules people could understand

Each field had an explicit merge policy. Append-only observations merged automatically. Safety-critical edits requested review when two versions disagreed. The interface showed what happened and why instead of presenting a generic sync error.

Field work changed the interface

A week of observation removed half the screens. Large targets, durable drafts, and a clear last-synced state did more for reliability than another round of visual polish.

Make the hard choice visible.

A durable decision leaves enough context for the next person to understand the tradeoff, not merely the outcome.

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