Today was go-live day for JKent Motorcycle Parts and Accessories, and we are still a little stunned by how we got here.
The system was scoped as a six-month project. We reached go-live on the internal part of their system in two. That almost never happens, and when Jen and I sat down to figure out why, we realized it was not really about how fast we write code (we try to be quick on every build). It was the JKent team.
Headed by Sir Gilbert David, they are proactive, professional, and sharp, and they test everything. From the boss down to the agents, everyone gives proper scrutiny. The whole engagement turned into a continuous upward spiral: "Neithan, Jen, can we include this?" "Yes Sir, here it is." "We are having trouble with this input, can we do it another way?" "Yes Sir, here it is." "Move this here." "Done po Sir." "Good." "Great." Just boom, boom, boom. Push out code.
We could not help but compare it to our fair share of engagements where the client wants innovation but the feedback loop is slow, where testing gets deprioritized, every approval passes through several desks, and a feature that could ship in a day takes three months to reach production. Reflecting on it, because we genuinely want to replicate JKent's speed with future clients, we think it comes down to this: Sir Gilbert knows the agent work himself. He is the real deal, because he lived the agent life before he ran the business.
So many decision-makers are a few steps removed from the actual floor. Specs come down secondhand, and half the requirements only surface once something breaks. Not here. The ins, outs, and corners of every rule were already in his head. Jen and I simply focused on being good antennas, tuning in to the signal of the ideas in Sir Gilbert's head and giving them form through code.
JKent is now running their new system in parallel with their legacy setup, and they are on track to open their online storefront perhaps within the year. (Diba po Sir Gilbert? Haha. And baka free delivery within Naga City? I am kidding. 😂)
We are sharing the link to JKent's all new modern domain. Please feel free to click and visit if you can. Every visit helps it get indexed sooner, so it is warm by the time the store opens. 🙏 www.jkent.ph
Thank you very much Kuya Ruben Sta Catalina and Ate Michele Agapito Sta Catalina for your help and support throughout the project. Your presence in the meetings helped Jen and me understand the more abstract, business side of what we needed to design for. Thank you Ella, Pao, and Ma'am Weng for your patience and direction as we build your system, and we are excited to ship more quality-of-life modules for JKent. And thank you very much Kuya Sherwin Velasco for connecting us to Sir Gilbert and the merry band at JKent Motorcycle Parts and Accessories.
It has truly been fun coding at 130kph. 🏎️