NOTE Prototyping
FeaturedSelf-Service PCBA Prototyping Platform
The Mission
Reduce prototype PCBA quoting time from weeks to minutes through a self-service platform and allow automatic order placement and tracking.
Overview
NOTE Prototyping is a self-service platform designed to remove friction and waiting time from the electronics prototyping ordering process. Customers can upload a BOM, receive instant pricing and availability based on live supplier data and complete orders without sales involvement. The system was designed for environments with incomplete or inconsistent BOMs, prioritising transparency, early validation and predictable outcomes. Internal tools supported order management, stock handling, invoicing and exception resolution.
Reduced quoting turnaround from weeks to minutes using live supplier pricing via REST APIs
Removed sales dependency by enabling full self-service ordering from BOM upload to Stripe checkout
Handled incomplete or inconsistent BOM data through guided resolution paths rather than late-stage failures
Supported operational exceptions with internal tooling for stock, invoicing and customer communication
01 // Discovery & Design
// Discovery
Interviewed engineers and ops staff to uncover friction points in BOM ordering and quoting
// Key Decisions
One shared database and two portals: customers and admin
// Trade-offs
Prioritised customer portal and launched with a functional but scrappier admin portal
🛠️ One thing we changed after launch
Swapped steps 4 and 5 in the user flow so that customers could get a price and lead time BEFORE uploading sensitive data
02 // Technical Execution
// Tech Stack
Node.js backend with MySQL database, JS and jQuery frontend and Stripe integration for payments
// Implementation
Hosted in AWS: database in RDS and applications in Linux EC2
// System Design
BOM selection 'expires' after a configurable amount of time to prevent selecting out-of-stock components
💡 One thing I would do different now
A better strategy for caching components and reducing API calls
03 // Ownership
// Team
One of two developers working closely with the operations manager, sharing ownership across design and delivery
// Timeline
Launched v1 in ~8 months, with ~6 months of iterative improvements based on user feedback
// Ownership
Co-owned backend, frontend and database development, but leaned more towards UX
❤️ The thing I enjoyed the most
This was my first project commercial co-produced full-stack project and I enjoyed every part of it, including dealing with suppliers APIs and sanitising their data!