Case Study
Internal Business Applications
Designed and built four internal applications (commission tracking, project management, CRM, and a vendor marketplace) with access and workflow safeguards built in.
- Focus
- Application controls
- Context
- Four internal business applications
- Tools
- Supabase, Vercel, GitHub, SQL
- Role
- Operations Intelligence Manager
Overview
I designed and developed four internal business applications for a technology advisory firm: commission tracking, project management, CRM, and a vendor marketplace platform. They are built with Supabase and Vercel, and I use GitHub for version control.
Risk & objective
Manual spreadsheet workflows are hard to control. There are no limits on who can see or change data, no change history, and no consistent way to check calculations or payment status. The objective was to move these workflows into applications that have the controls built in.
Approach
- Understand the workflow. Gather requirements from the people who do the work, and identify where manual steps cause errors or lack visibility.
- Design the application. Define the data, the roles, and the approvals that the workflow needs.
- Build on Supabase and Vercel. Develop the application with a database behind it and deploy it to the web.
- Build in controls. Add role-based access, approval workflows, activity logs, two-factor authentication, and data restrictions.
- Manage change. Keep the code in GitHub so that changes are tracked and can be reviewed.
- Review and improve. Review access and activity across the applications and adjust as the workflows change.
Controls
| Control | Risk it addresses | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Role-based access and data restrictions | Users seeing or changing data beyond their role | Roles and restrictions defined in each application |
| Approval workflows | Changes made without review | Approval history |
| Activity logs | Changes that cannot be traced | Log of user actions |
| Two-factor authentication | Account compromise | Two-factor sign-in enabled |
| Version control (GitHub) | Untracked or unreviewed changes to the code | Commit history |
Application overview
Users
- By role
Applications
- Commission tracking
- Project management
- CRM
- Vendor marketplace
Platform
- Supabase (data)
- Vercel (hosting)
Alongside
- GitHub (version control)
Controls across the layers
- Role-based access
- Approvals
- Activity logs
- Two-factor authentication
- Data restrictions
| Application | What it does |
|---|---|
| Commission tracking | Tracks commissions, variances, and payment status across contracts, clients, and vendors, replacing manual spreadsheet workflows |
| Project management | Manages internal project work |
| CRM | Manages client and vendor relationships |
| Vendor marketplace | Platform for working with vendors |
Result
Four internal business applications with access and workflow controls built in, including a commission tracking system that replaces manual spreadsheet workflows.
Through an audit lens
IS auditors assess how applications are designed, how they restrict access, how data is processed, and how changes are made. Having built these systems, I understand the choices behind each of those areas and where weaknesses usually appear. That helps me ask better questions and recognize good answers.
Skills demonstrated
Details are anonymized to protect confidential business data. Figures are limited to those on my resume.
← Back to all projects