by Joel Limardo
Sun, 12 Jul 2026
Development Methodology
For development projects my primary goal is twofold: a) figure out whether something is worth actually building into a complete product and b) identify what functionality will be most impactful to the user base.
From Concept to Tangible
I use various tools on my website but I start with the diagramming and analysis techniques chronicled in Web Business Engineering by Nick Flor. I was taught to just dive into writing code or to use engineering-specific digramming techniques (UML, etc.) but over the years I realized that lots of functionality is driven by a) who asks for it the loudest or b) (semi) educated guesses. WBE solves those problems. You draw a directed graph where the edges have container:content annotations; assign costs to the interactions, then refactor and compare the financial results. Done correctly you can identify big wins that you can translate directly into white papers post initial deployments.
There may be some time and several iterations between raw concept and what I refer to as 'model readiness.' These will result in aforementioned diagramming but also some scratches of the UI built in various tools. Depending on how much feedback I am getting from prospective users I may (or may not) be able to publish all of this intermediate work. Do not be surprised if a diagram or two changes drastically.
From Tangible to Market Fit
There's an old saying that no plan survives the first minute of battle so there is a temptation is to pivot the MVP depending on who shows interest. However, after watching some interesting videos from Harvard Business I learned about a new term -- a minimum viable (market) segment (MVS). The idea behind an MVS is to avoid changing the product at all -- even to resist changing it and look for customers that have the same or nearly identical problem instead.
Market Timing versus R&D
This weblog is more about research and development than 'external market psychology' and 'entry windows' that one would expect to find in most discussions about product development. The focus here is on capability building and long-term innovation. Some projects take months, sometimes years, to get the 'green light' which is 2-3x cost/benefit ratio which covers all of the adoption costs (training, migrating data, etc.).
Tue, 07 Jul 2026
MeatVendor App
Information
I read an article about this guy who travels to Chicago bars giving away samples and selling meat. After reading up a few articles on this fellow I learned that he works really long days. It has given me an idea for a software system that should make it easier to keep track of inventory, contacts, and orders for individuals in this profession.
Business Activity Map :: Current State / MeatVendor App
Learn more about this design methodology.Suppliers/Wholesalers
Separate wholesalers/vendors are common. They are closer to the market and have big warehouses to store meat in the necessary refrigeration state (refrigerated versus frozen). A small seller can make arrangements to pick up a few boxes to several pallets of meat from one of these local brokers. Of course a meat seller can also pay for cold storage as well. As sellers get familiar with buyer patterns it may make sense to 'buy in bulk' and take advantage of cold storage options.
Inventory Systems
From what I have seen virtually all of the meat wholesalers/suppliers have their own inventory systems that might allow for the independent meat seller to access for prices but I did not find any examples. For instance, you can get an Elysian Fields lamb leg from Chicago Wholesale Meats as a single piece (nice photo on the site) but there is no price. So if you are going to shop around you will get X number of prices from different wholesalers for a particular date possibly good for a certain period of time (perhaps a week) and must store that perhaps in a book, spreadsheet, or commit it to memory.
Another focal point should be the age of the product. Meat that is not frozen is either cryovac packaged or not. The fore lasts longer than the latter but we are still talking about weeks in a refrigerated state before it is no longer sellable. I'm not certain how these existing sellers are keeping track of meat nearing disposal date.
Seller
This is the focal point of the system rather than the meat processors or wholesalers.
Buyers
For the fellow in question looks like he does a lot of direct-to-consumer selling but he visits bars so my guess is that some bar owners will also be customers. The goal should be to maintain regular buying for institutional customers that conforms to buyer preferences. Right now this appears to be done via memory or by scanning previous order forms.
Refrigeration Units
A bar is not likely to have a walk-in cooler so orders might have to be delivered to a different facility (like cold storage). That cooler must meet the minimum storage condition needed for the meat -- 0 degrees for frozen and around 32 degrees for everything else.
/technical/upstream/meatvendor Permanent Link Project Sitemap Top
Sun, 05 Jul 2026
General Utils
External Site Tools
- W3CSS - Standard CSS
- Scrum Reference Card - Scrum overview in a single PDF
- Board.net - Online collaborative document editing tool
- PlantUML Salt
- Planttext.com - Online PlanText UML Editor
- Git for Windows -- has bash!
- Gridulator - Make grids
- Emacs/Vi Commands Table
- HTML Validators
Samples From (Old) Posts
Useful Linux Commands
- wget --spider -r http://localhost
- wget --continue URL
- fc -l <some history #> <some history #>
- curl https://api.weather.gov/points/41.8926,-87.6102
- curl -d "param=somevalue" http://www.example.com
Cool Other Sites
- Perl Language
- Perlmonks
- MetaCPAN
- Mira - Static Site Generator
- Sjoerd Langkemper - Web Application Security
Recommended Books
Upstream
Upstream contains products under investigation. In other words, a problem has been identified that might have a technical solution.
Fri, 11 Feb 2022
The Blog About the Blog
Rewritten 2026/07/05- This weblog was originally about learning by teaching people things.
- I may actually create a sub-site with that aim in mind but I have a different need at this point.
- I need a way to communicate with product collaborators on designs and prototypes so that is the major thrust of the site nowadays.
Upstream and Downstream
Topics on this site are in two main sections -- upstream or downstream. I borrowed some terminology from my days in petrochemicals -- upstream means raw materials; downstream means finished products. My investigation cycle is as follows:
Upstream
- Problem Identification
- Cost/Benefits Analysis
- Proof of Concept and Dependencies
- Market Identification
- Minimum Viable Product
Downstream
- MVP Refactoring and Market Alignment
- Sales and Marketing Activites
A lot of older content from the previous site was of the 'upstream' variety so it will now go under that folder from now on. For (many) years I was a 'developer for hire' which meant whatever I produced belonged to my client(s). I have not worked in that capacity for some time and am free of those constraints so now I am now producing solutions for the public at large.
RSS
Every folder has an RSS file at the index.rss so it is easy to keep up to date on anything at this site. Here are some online resources for different RSS readers available online for free.
Disclaimers
Legal:Things at this site may cite cases or legal documentation. However, nothing on this site is meant to replace qualified legal advice. If you are in need of legal help seek the advice of a licensed attorney. You might start your search at Lawyers.com
Investing:This site does not provide investing advice. Articles may discuss securities or trading opportunities purely from an informational point of view. All securities involve risk. Seek qualified financial assistance before making investments.
CopyrightAll rights for the content on this site are reserved.