From Reports to Real-Time: Building Practical Systems with Django, Data, and a Little Funk
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6 min
#django#data-engineering#ui#tabulator#plotly#ssrs#enterprise#caribbean-tech
I build software that pays rent in the real world.
I'm Melissa—full-stack developer and data report whisperer. Most of my day is translating "we just need this one little thing" into systems that are stable, auditable, and friendly. Think Django + Postgres on the backend, with UI patterns that help people finish tasks faster (Tabulator tables, HTMX/Alpine sprinkles, and Plotly/Chart.js visuals).
What I work on
- Enterprise apps: Hauliers Management System and a PPE Management System (v2 in progress) with role-based access, audits, and history trails.
- Data pipelines & reports: SSRS, SQL (PostgreSQL primary, with MySQL/MSSQL in the mix), and exports (CSV/Excel/PDF) tuned for real operations.
- Auth & APIs: DRF, JWT/MFA (via Allauth), clean API design, and pragmatic logging.
- UI that helps, not hypes: Tailwind + Alpine + HTMX + Tabulator for fast filtering, grouping, exports, and inline edits.
My product rules
1. Latency beats luxury. A fast plain table beats a slow shiny dashboard.
2. Explain the "why." Every button and chart earns its spot with a task it shortens.
3. Make ops happy. Reliable exports and clear audit trails reduce drama.
4. Document decisions. Specs, diagrams, and "what changed" notes make future-me grateful.
Recent lessons
- Tabulator > DataTables for my use case.
- Cleaner advanced filtering and better export ergonomics for admin users who live in spreadsheets.
- Small, composable APIs. DRF endpoints per real business action are easier to secure and to reason about.
- Push notifications are worth it. Even a simple "status changed" nudge (FCM + service worker) reduces email chasing.
- Edge cases are features. "Rejected but approvable later" is a workflow, not a bug—so I model it.
What's coming next
- A public demo of the advanced Tabulator reports UI: dynamic multi-field filters, date ranges, per-column search, exports, and chart/table toggle.
- A mini data pipeline walk-through (HR/ETL) using dbt-only first, then Airflow+dbt, with downloadable boilerplates.
- Design system snippets (Tailwind + Alpine + HTMX) you can rip and reuse.
If you like practical software, stick around. I write about what I build, why it works, and where it broke first. 😊
*P.S. If you're in Trinidad & Tobago (or remote), I occasionally take on small projects and process clean-ups. Reach out → Contact.*
I'm Melissa—full-stack developer and data report whisperer. Most of my day is translating "we just need this one little thing" into systems that are stable, auditable, and friendly. Think Django + Postgres on the backend, with UI patterns that help people finish tasks faster (Tabulator tables, HTMX/Alpine sprinkles, and Plotly/Chart.js visuals).
What I work on
- Enterprise apps: Hauliers Management System and a PPE Management System (v2 in progress) with role-based access, audits, and history trails.
- Data pipelines & reports: SSRS, SQL (PostgreSQL primary, with MySQL/MSSQL in the mix), and exports (CSV/Excel/PDF) tuned for real operations.
- Auth & APIs: DRF, JWT/MFA (via Allauth), clean API design, and pragmatic logging.
- UI that helps, not hypes: Tailwind + Alpine + HTMX + Tabulator for fast filtering, grouping, exports, and inline edits.
My product rules
1. Latency beats luxury. A fast plain table beats a slow shiny dashboard.
2. Explain the "why." Every button and chart earns its spot with a task it shortens.
3. Make ops happy. Reliable exports and clear audit trails reduce drama.
4. Document decisions. Specs, diagrams, and "what changed" notes make future-me grateful.
Recent lessons
- Tabulator > DataTables for my use case.
- Cleaner advanced filtering and better export ergonomics for admin users who live in spreadsheets.
- Small, composable APIs. DRF endpoints per real business action are easier to secure and to reason about.
- Push notifications are worth it. Even a simple "status changed" nudge (FCM + service worker) reduces email chasing.
- Edge cases are features. "Rejected but approvable later" is a workflow, not a bug—so I model it.
What's coming next
- A public demo of the advanced Tabulator reports UI: dynamic multi-field filters, date ranges, per-column search, exports, and chart/table toggle.
- A mini data pipeline walk-through (HR/ETL) using dbt-only first, then Airflow+dbt, with downloadable boilerplates.
- Design system snippets (Tailwind + Alpine + HTMX) you can rip and reuse.
If you like practical software, stick around. I write about what I build, why it works, and where it broke first. 😊
*P.S. If you're in Trinidad & Tobago (or remote), I occasionally take on small projects and process clean-ups. Reach out → Contact.*