I build software. I also operate businesses in the physical world — service companies with real customers, real equipment, real schedules, and real constraints.
The gap between what works on a screen and what works in the field is larger than most technologists understand. Field workers need different interfaces than office workers. Customer expectations are shaped by physical interactions, not digital ones. Equipment breaks. Weather changes schedules. Staff calls in sick. The system that works in a demo fails when the internet is slow and the customer is angry.
This is why I maintain real-world operations. Every platform I build is tested against actual field conditions. The Connecticut operating infrastructure is not a side project — it is the validation environment for everything I design. What works there informs what gets built everywhere else.
If you are building software for the real world, spend time in the real world. Ride along with the field workers. Answer the customer calls. See what happens when the system fails. The truth is in the operations.