Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Turning a shoe store into a tourism guide

April 3, 2024

All happy databases are alike; each unhappy database is unhappy in its own way.

Here's a snapshot of the SoleStyle shoe store app that I built for PowerUp, Microsoft's free program for career-switchers.

SoleStyle app for PowerUp

And here's a very similar snapshot for a brand-new prototype, a tourism app for Convention City Seattle.

Itinerary builder app for Convention City Seattle

That's right, my eagle-eyed friends! It's the same app!

All I did was clone the shoe store and change the labels.

The result is a perfectly functional demo, tasked with putting together itineraries instead of shoe collections.

Guests, through an attendant-guided dialogue, will explore various destinations and receive personalized itineraries with activities to their tastes.

Each itinerary will automatically generate a QR Code linking to personalized, crystal-clear directions that take visitors from one high-quality experience to the next.

The app will also issue QR Code coupons for selected activities, providing value to guests and local businesses alike.

Even when it's sending folks to the Ferris wheel, the underlying code still thinks it's working with SKUs and shoes, and this represents technical debt for Future Ivan*.* I also have to figure out coupons instead of invoices, add QR codes, and put in a map. Nothing my Copilot can't handle.

When you consider that I started building this app just two days ago on Monday morning, you'll have to agree that Q2 is off to a fine start.

See you in Convention City!