Topic · software
Product architecture
How a product is shaped before it is coded - boundaries, data models and the decisions that are expensive to reverse.
Notes
11 published
011Decision models: what Jev, Solar Decide and Span-01 mean for enterprise workflowsIn September 2026 three vendors shipped models that return a typed answer and a probability instead of text. For routing, triage and compliance flags that is a better interface than prose, provided you demand the calibration evidence and build a branch for "unsure".TECH NOTE · 8 MIN010OpenAI DevDay 2026: dots agents get their own computer, a day after OpenAI held back GPT-6.1 AstraOpenAI launched dots, always-on agents with their own cloud computer, browser and rules, on 29 September 2026. The day before, it said the next Astra model would not ship because it did not meet OpenAI's bar for staying within scope and authorization. Read together, those two announcements are the most useful thing DevDay said to anyone building agents.TECH NOTE · 7 MIN009OpenAI switched off the Sora API with no replacement: what a deprecation policy actually promisesOpenAI removed the Videos API and every Sora 2 model on 24 September 2026, exactly six months after notice, and named no successor. The policy was honoured to the letter. That is the part worth reading if you build on someone else's model.TECH NOTE · 7 MIN008Salesforce's 16 September outage: a stalled login service and the dependency nobody listsFor about seven and a half hours on 16 September 2026, Salesforce customers across every region hit severe delays and errors because requests were stalling on an internal login service. The failure pattern is old and well understood. What it asks of companies that run their operations on SaaS is less often written down.TECH NOTE · 8 MIN007MCP went stateless: what the 2026-07-28 spec changes if you run agentsThe Model Context Protocol dropped sessions at the protocol layer. No initialize handshake, no Mcp-Session-Id header, every request self-describing. Here is what actually breaks, what gets easier, and what I would change first.SYSTEM NOTE · 6 MIN006Why Arabic-first software is more than translating an English UIDirection, typography, terminology and information hierarchy all change. Doing it at the end guarantees an interface that reads as a translation, and users notice.ARTICLE · 3 MIN005A CMS is only good if the person using it doesn't need a developerThe complaint was specific - uploading galleries and video was too complicated. That is a better brief than most product requirements.OPINION · 2 MIN004Why internal tools deserve better UXEmployees use internal software for eight hours a day and never get to choose it. That is an argument for more design attention, not less.OPINION · 3 MIN003Building software for receptionists, guards, hosts and admins at the same timeMulti-role UX is a data-modelling problem before it is an interface problem. Get the shared object right and the screens follow; get it wrong and no design rescues it.SYSTEM NOTE · 2 MIN002What I learned rebuilding a Framer site in codeA faithful rebuild is not a pixel copy. The judgement is deciding which details are the design and which are artefacts of the tool.BUILD LOG · 2 MIN001What building visitor management software taught me about physical operationsSoftware that touches a physical space has a constraint most products never meet - there is a queue, and the queue does not wait for your loading state.FOUNDER NOTE · 2 MIN
Work
001AahlanA B2B visitor-management and identity platform - reception, security, hosts and guards working from one record of who is on site.VISITOR MANAGEMENT · SAAS
ACTIVE→002Aahlan Personal & FamilyThe consumer side of Aahlan - QR-driven identity tags for people, families and business cards, with contact handled in-app rather than by handing out a phone number.IDENTITY · SAFETY · SAAS
IN DEVELOPMENT→003Enterprise application hubAn internal application hub for an industrial organisation - one authenticated entry point to the systems employees actually use.ENTERPRISE PLATFORM
ACTIVE→004Enterprise CMMS: maintenance management systemAn enterprise maintenance management system (CMMS) built around one industrial organisation's actual workflows rather than a generic asset-management model.CMMS · ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→005Enterprise IT support systemAn internal IT ticketing system designed so employees actually raise tickets instead of messaging someone directly.ITSM · ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→006Consultation booking platformA booking system for 30-minute consultations that works the same whether the appointment happens in a room or on a video call.BOOKING · MOBILE · SAAS
ACTIVE→007Consultation staff operationsThe operational half of the consultation platform - the tools staff use to run the day rather than the tools visitors use to book.OPERATIONS SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→008Nexel events platformRebuilding a Framer-designed events site as maintainable production code without losing the design it started as.WEB · EVENTS
ACTIVE→009Nexel visual CMSA CMS aimed at the actual problem - uploading a gallery or a video should not require a developer.CMS · PRODUCT
IN DEVELOPMENT→
ACTIVE→002Aahlan Personal & FamilyThe consumer side of Aahlan - QR-driven identity tags for people, families and business cards, with contact handled in-app rather than by handing out a phone number.IDENTITY · SAFETY · SAAS
IN DEVELOPMENT→003Enterprise application hubAn internal application hub for an industrial organisation - one authenticated entry point to the systems employees actually use.ENTERPRISE PLATFORM
ACTIVE→004Enterprise CMMS: maintenance management systemAn enterprise maintenance management system (CMMS) built around one industrial organisation's actual workflows rather than a generic asset-management model.CMMS · ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→005Enterprise IT support systemAn internal IT ticketing system designed so employees actually raise tickets instead of messaging someone directly.ITSM · ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→006Consultation booking platformA booking system for 30-minute consultations that works the same whether the appointment happens in a room or on a video call.BOOKING · MOBILE · SAAS
ACTIVE→007Consultation staff operationsThe operational half of the consultation platform - the tools staff use to run the day rather than the tools visitors use to book.OPERATIONS SOFTWARE
ACTIVE→008Nexel events platformRebuilding a Framer-designed events site as maintainable production code without losing the design it started as.WEB · EVENTS
ACTIVE→009Nexel visual CMSA CMS aimed at the actual problem - uploading a gallery or a video should not require a developer.CMS · PRODUCT
IN DEVELOPMENT→
Case studies
CS-01Building an enterprise visitor management system for Saudi operations→CS-02Designing an Arabic-first visitor management experience→CS-03Architecting multi-tenant legal AI with isolation, roles and audit→CS-04Building an internal CMMS around real operational workflows→CS-05Designing an employee IT support system people actually use→CS-06Designing a booking platform with 30-minute slots, holds and staff operations→CS-07Connecting online and in-person consultations in one booking system→CS-08Rebuilding a Framer website without losing the original design→CS-09Why we reworked a CMS to feel more like Framer or Wix→CS-10Building an Arabic/English corporate website without treating Arabic as an afterthought→CS-11Technical founder workflow: from client problem to production software→