Putting out a fire at 5 PM on a Friday

Putting out a fire at 5 PM on a Friday

It's 5 PM on a Friday. Chris works in warehouse operations, and there is an urgent problem in fulfillment. He's the Ops guru, but he can't write a lick of code. He needs an engineer's help. He calls Tim.

Luckily, Tim has already written two pieces of SQL that solve this problem. Tim shares the SQL with Chris, and Chris fixes the problem. Everyone goes home!

Did anything seem strange about that story?

What about this part?

Tim shares the SQL with Chris

How did Tim seamlessly (and safely) share two pieces of SQL with Chris, who is not an engineer?

Well, I omitted a detail. Tim used Flank to share the stored proc with Chris. How does that work? Well, Flank scans source code and autogenerates UI for backend "tasks" (API endpoints, stored procs, cloud functions). Each "micro app" has role-based access control. Flank has allowed Tim to create dozens of little internal tools in a matter of minutes.

Tim describes Flank as a "beta testing platform" and a "kitchen drawer" for internal tools.

If you're thinking about how to get leaner / faster with internal tools, I'd love to help! Even if it's by recommending a different tool / approach. Ping me. angus@flank.cloud