2 minute read

TL;DR: AssetTrack is now operable and documented. What’s left is refinement: smoother intake UX, clearer per-scan context, and a few “small” improvements that make the tool feel calm under pressure. Project page: AssetTrack.

Context

When you close an “operational hardening” milestone, you don’t just check boxes — you change what the project is.

Before Milestone 6, AssetTrack was correct. After Milestone 6, AssetTrack is something you can hand to a person and feel decent about it.

But “decent” isn’t the finish line. The finish line is: the operator stays confident even when the day is chaotic.

So here’s what’s left — not in a doom-list way, but in a “this is how it gets better” way.

What changed

Milestone 6 did the unglamorous work:

  • Deployment guidance
  • Scanner expectations
  • Security baseline visibility
  • Operational assumptions spelled out

That matters because it sets the rules of the road. Now we can improve the driving experience without worrying the wheels are going to fall off.

What I learned

  • The real product is the operator’s mental model. If the UI makes sense to me as a developer but not to the person scanning items, I’m building the wrong thing.
  • Reliability is a feeling, not just a property. The system can be “correct” and still feel sketchy if the UI stutters or surprises the operator.
  • Backlog items aren’t “extra.” They’re often the difference between “usable” and “trusted.”

Next

Here’s the backlog I’m intentionally deferring until after the last milestone / MVP, but I’m writing it down now so it doesn’t get lost:

Intake UI micro-improvements (defer)

  1. Client-side auto-lock UI at 0 seconds without refresh
    When the timer hits zero, the UI should lock immediately — no waiting for a reload to catch up.
  2. Subtle pulse/animation under 10 seconds
    Not gimmicky. Just a quiet “hey, you’re about to lock” signal.
  3. Show per-scan timestamps in the queue
    Operators should be able to answer, “Did this just scan, or was that earlier?”

Equipment type handling improvements (defer)

  • Keep the default as laptop (and make it configurable).
  • Ensure equipment_type is stored per scan item so later edits don’t rewrite history.
  • Consider a dropdown/preset list and (optionally) a per-item override workflow when needed.

The deeper theme

All of these point to the same idea: reduce operator surprise.

If the system feels predictable, it gets used.
If it feels unpredictable, it gets bypassed, and then your audit trail becomes fiction.

So the roadmap from here is simple:

  • make intake calmer
  • make the queue more informative
  • make timing behavior obvious
  • keep history honest

That’s how AssetTrack turns into a tool people actually lean on.

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