BUILD #004LIVE

Project Management

A focused project tool built after every generic tracker was abandoned within a month.

Status: LIVE
Date: March 2026
Stack: Next.js / TypeScript / Tailwind / MySQL

SAASPRODUCTIVITY

The problem

A small team had cycled through four project tools in two years. Each one was abandoned the same way: the setup was fun, the maintenance was not. Boards drifted out of date because keeping them accurate was more work than the work itself.

The idea

Reduce the surface area until maintaining the board is almost free. Four columns, no custom fields, no sub-tasks, no automations. Time tracking that starts with one click because anything slower does not get used.

Building it

How it came together, step by step.

01 / 04

Deleting features on purpose

The first version had labels, priorities, estimates and sub-tasks. All four were removed after two weeks of watching nobody touch them.

Interface

02 / 04

One-click time tracking

A timer attached directly to a card. No modal, no project picker, no description field — those are inferred from the card it belongs to.

Editor

Explorer

app/

Models/

Order.php

Ticket.php

Livewire/

OrderScreen.php

KitchenBoard.php

resources/

views/

order.blade.php

Order.phpOrderScreen.php

1// Order totals are money — never trust a float.

3public function total(): Money

5 return $this->items

6 ->map(fn ($i) => $i->subtotal(),

7 ->reduce(Money::zero(), fn($c, $i) => $c->add($i))

8 ->withTax($this->taxRate);

11// A closed ticket can reopen — the table ordered one more coffee.

12public function reopen(User $by): void

13{

14 throw_unless($by->can('reopen', $this), Forbidden::class);

15 $this->update(['closed_at' => null]);

16 OrderReopened::dispatch($this, $by);

17}

● PHP 8.3mainLn 14, Col 320 problems

03 / 04

Keyboard-first navigation

Every action reachable without a mouse, because the people using it are already living in a keyboard all day.

Terminal

zsh — restaurant

~/builds/restaurant $ php artisan test --filter=OrderTotals

PASS Tests\Unit\OrderTotalsTest

✓ sums line items without float drift

✓ applies reduced tax rate to takeaway

✓ splits a bill four ways to the cent

✓ reopens a closed ticket and re-emits the event

Tests: 4 passed (11 assertions)

Duration: 0.42s

~/builds/restaurant $ npm run build && deploy

▲ compiled successfully in 3.1s

→ 42.1 KB first load JS

✓ deployed · day 14 of building in public

~/builds/restaurant $

04 / 04

A weekly view that fits on a phone

What shipped, what slipped, where the hours went — readable on the commute.

Mobile

Features

What it actually does.

Four columns, fixed

Backlog, This week, In progress, Done. The constraint is the feature.

One-click timers

Start tracking from the card itself. Context is inferred, never typed.

Keyboard navigation

Create, move and close tasks without touching the mouse.

Weekly recap

An automatic summary of what shipped and where the hours actually went.

No notifications

Deliberately absent. The board is checked, it does not chase.

Instant search

Client-side search across every card, resolving as you type.

Tech stack

What it is built with.

Next.js
TypeScript
Tailwind
MySQL

The result

Where it ended up.

Still in use after: 6 mo
Features removed: 4
Setup time: 2 min
Team size: 4

Build in public

Documented from day 1 to day 22.

“Why I deleted four features on purpose.”

CAROUSEL · 19 JUL

See the build on Instagram