Case study · In development
ShiftFlow
Workforce Scheduling & Payroll Modernization
A technology transformation initiative replacing a fragile, undocumented production scheduling process with a maintainable platform designed around workforce operations, payroll realities, and incremental adoption.
- My role
- Strategy, architecture, delivery leadership, and implementation
- Current state
- Core platform in development; production transition planned
- Business Analysis
- Solution Architecture
- Program Leadership
- Technical Delivery
Workforce Scheduling
Complex workforce scheduling, made manageable
21-day period · Mar 10 – Mar 30 · All crews
ShiftFlow
Workforce Operations
Supervisor overview
Operations Command
Scheduled
142
employees this period
Open Coverage
6
needs assignment
OT Offers
11
pending response
Coverage Rate
96.2%
shift fill
4 rotating crews · DuPont cycle
01 · The challenge
A critical process had outgrown its foundation
Production scheduling depended on a Microsoft Access application that had operated for more than two decades. It carried essential business logic, but its lack of documentation, recurring failures, and concentrated knowledge made each issue harder to diagnose and each change riskier to make.
Transformation
Before ShiftFlow · With ShiftFlow
From fragmented tools to unified workforce operations
Before ShiftFlow
- Access databases
- Spreadsheets
- Manual schedule review
- Disconnected employee information
- Manual overtime tracking
- Manual payroll preparation
- Limited visibility
With ShiftFlow
- Centralized scheduling
- Automated validation
- Intelligent coverage recommendations
- Integrated employee context
- Overtime intelligence
- Structured payroll workflow
- Operational visibility
02 · Discovery & constraints
Modernization began with understanding the operating system already in place
The work was not a simple database conversion. Discovery had to separate policy from habit, identify hidden dependencies, reconcile imported records, and preserve payroll continuity while creating a system that could evolve.
Legacy continuity
Years of operational logic and workforce history had to be understood before the old process could be retired safely.
Payroll boundaries
A scheduled shift and its payroll treatment are related, but not identical. Adjustments, pay codes, and review require their own governed workflow.
Identity and data quality
Imported records require durable employee identity and business identifiers instead of relying on names or source-row assumptions.
Operational trust
Supervisors and support teams need explainable rules, visible exceptions, and human approval at consequential decision points.
03 · Solution strategy
Replace the fragile core, then expand through governed workflows
The strategy was to establish trustworthy workforce and schedule foundations first, then layer coverage, overtime, payroll, employee self-service, and reporting around the same shared data. Human review remains explicit where operational or payroll consequences require judgment.
Foundation
Import and normalize workforce data, establish durable employee identity, and model rotations and assignments.
Operational workflows
Turn vacancies, coverage, overtime, PTO, swaps, and adjustments into visible, explainable processes.
Controlled transition
Validate with stakeholders, refine edge cases, and move toward production without forcing payroll into a risky big-bang change.
04 · Architecture & system design
Operational inputs become governed workforce workflows
A typed web application and relational data model connect workforce records, scheduling rules, availability, qualifications, and overtime history to scheduling, coverage, payroll preparation, reporting, and audit history. The stack supports the design; it is not the story.
Technical Architecture
ShiftFlow platform data flow
Verified stack from implementation — no invented technologies
Inputs
ShiftFlow
Application Layer
Outputs
Platform
Next.js
App Router
TypeScript
Domain libs
Prisma
ORM
PostgreSQL / Neon
Database
Vercel
Hosting
Auth.js
Sessions & RBAC
- Next.js
- TypeScript
- PostgreSQL
- Prisma
- Neon
- Vercel
- Auth.js
- Tailwind
05 · Key workflows
The value lives in the decisions between screens
Selected product views use fictional public-demo data. Together they show how ShiftFlow translates operating rules into practical decision support without presenting a giant feature gallery.
Decision Support
Smart coverage recommendations
Ranked candidates — supervisors approve every assignment
Open Shift
Night Shift
7:00 PM – 7:00 AM
Function · Reaction Operator
Crew · Crew B
Date · Thu, Mar 13
Recommended employees
Jordan Miller
Strong MatchScore
94
Alex Carter
Good MatchScore
86
Taylor Brooks
EligibleScore
71
Payroll Preparation
From schedule activity to payroll export
Structured workflow connecting operations to ADP-oriented file preparation
Schedule
CompleteTime Cards
CompleteAdjustments
CompletePayroll Process
Review
Export
Payroll process detail
Generate
DoneReview
In reviewExport
PendingPayroll Review
Human review before export
Pay period Mar 2 – Mar 15 · Pre-export validation
Regular hours
396
Overtime hours
60
Total hours
454
Exceptions
2
| Employee | Regular | OT | Red Hrs | Adj. | Total | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jordan Miller Crew B | 84 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 96 | Ready |
Alex Carter Crew A Schedule mismatch on Mar 11 | 80 | 16 | 8 | -2 | 94 | Exception |
Taylor Brooks Crew C | 72 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 80 | Ready |
Morgan Reed Crew B Manual adjustment pending approval | 84 | 20 | 12 | +4 | 104 | Needs review |
Casey Bennett Crew D | 76 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80 | Ready |
Workforce Context
Employee scheduling profile
Consolidated view for supervisor decisions
Jordan Miller
Operator II
Crew BDay · 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Primary · Reaction Unit 2
PTO balance
64 hrs
OT period
12 hrs
Red hours
4.0 hrs
Certifications
Reactor Operator
Exp Aug 2026
Process Safety
Exp Nov 2026
Forklift
Exp Apr 2026
Upcoming assignments
Recent changes
Mar 10 — Coverage assignment approved for Crew B
Mar 8 — OT offer accepted — 12 hr shift
Eligibility
Eligible for coverage recommendations
Qualifications
Certification-aware scheduling
Only qualified employees appear for coverage requiring specific credentials
Open shift requirements
Reactor Operator
CERT-REACT
Forklift
CERT-FL
Process Safety
CERT-PS
Candidate qualification match
Jordan Miller
All current
Alex Carter
Forklift Apr 2026
Cameron Hayes
Missing Forklift
06 · My role & delivery
Working between the business, users, architecture, and implementation
I owned the connective work that turns an operational need into a deliverable system—not only the application build.
Discover
Worked with production and general-services stakeholders to understand the existing process, failure modes, dependencies, and operating rules.
Design
Defined the solution strategy, domain model, workflows, validation boundaries, and incremental path away from the legacy application.
Coordinate
Connected business users, leadership expectations, data decisions, testing feedback, and deployment planning across the initiative.
Deliver
Moved from architecture into hands-on implementation, testing, refinement, and production-readiness work.
07 · Outcomes & current state
A working modernization foundation, with rollout still ahead
ShiftFlow is in active development. The outcomes below describe completed platform capabilities and the remaining transition work separately; no production savings or adoption metrics are claimed.
Delivered / implemented
- A modern, centralized foundation for workforce scheduling and employee context
- Structured coverage, overtime, payroll preparation, adjustment, and review workflows
- A maintainable data model for imported workforce records and evolving operational rules
- Responsive web access that removes dependence on a single local Access installation
Planned / in progress
- Production rollout and transition away from the legacy scheduling process
- Continued validation of business rules and payroll edge cases with stakeholders
- Future integration opportunities, including authoritative certification data
08 · Decisions & lessons
Modernization succeeds when the transition is designed as carefully as the target
The project reinforced that workforce systems are policy and process systems first. Their credibility depends on data identity, explainable rules, explicit payroll boundaries, and an adoption path that respects the work already happening.
A clean schedule interface is useful. A trustworthy operating model—one that preserves identity, explains exceptions, and protects payroll—is the transformation.
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