Sometimes an off-hand comment will plant itself in a person and grow into something new.
In the case of MAVIS, my wife mentioned that she and her colleagues were looking for
alternatives to a spreadsheet for tracking lot numbers and expiration dates on medications
at her place of work, a veterinary clinic. I, a terminal problem solver, said “let me see what I can do.”
The rough draft was a simple CRUD app with a login. Crude, but it pulled me in.
Moving from a spreadsheet anyone could edit to a web app with an audit log opens a lot
of doors. Instead of a printed report, MAVIS can send an email when something is about
to expire or when stock runs low. It’s not perfect (it’s still a proof of concept) but
it’s a meaningful step up from a spreadsheet, and a much cheaper one than the inventory
plug-in offered by the same company that distributes the medications and conveniently
integrates with their patient management software.
I’ve started apps before, and I always learn something. Frameworks evolve, new versions
bring new patterns, and there’s always something worth picking up. This time I also leaned
on AI to help implement features and build out test coverage. I still enjoy writing code,
but I can see the appeal of letting AI handle the scaffolding. I’ll be honest, I’m not
a natural writer, and I’ve used AI to help organize my thoughts here too.
Where is MAVIS heading? Honestly, I’m not sure. My wife wants to try it at her clinic,
and I want to get it in front of more people; get real feedback on whether this is
something worth building out or just a good learning exercise. It wouldn’t be the first
time I’ve chased something that didn’t pan out.
Either way, I believe in learning by doing, and MAVIS has already taught me enough to make it worthwhile. But if you need a way to track medications, expiration dates, or inventory in general, I’d genuinely love to hear from you.