A log of progress for the week of August 25, 2025.
The first week of development is always a special one. It’s where an idea transitions from a concept into a tangible codebase. This week was all about establishing a solid foundation and making a critical, early architectural decision on user authentication that will shape the rest of the project.
Laying the Groundwork (August 27)
The project officially began with the foundational commits. More than just creating an empty folder, this involved:
- Configuring a monorepo workspace to efficiently manage the frontend, backend, and shared code.
- Initializing the Git repository for version control.
- Committing the official project brief and requirements document, ensuring every line of code serves a clear purpose from day one.
A Critical Pivot to Secure Auth (August 29-30)
By the end of the week, I made a decisive pivot. The initial plan for simple API keys was discarded in favor of a much more robust and scalable solution: AWS Cognito User Pools. This was a significant but necessary undertaking.
This shift immediately provided:
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): I established distinct Landlord and Tenant user groups, a core requirement for the application’s security and logic.
- Secure API Integration: The new authentication system was tied directly into the API layer using AWS AppSync, ensuring that only authenticated and authorized users can access the correct data.
- Frontend Scaffolding: With security in place, I built the first visual pieces of the application, including the header and sidebar layout components.
By the end of its first week, the project had a defined scope, a secure user management system, and the beginnings of a user interface. A strong start.