Nexus
FeaturedSmart Metering Management Portal
The Mission
Create an admin platform for smart metering providers to see live status of meters, sockets, users and comms issues.
Overview
Nexus is an admin portal built to support smart metering operations involving sites, hardware and permissions that change over time. The platform provides a clear, consistent interface for managing configurations in a high-risk environment, where incorrect setup can have real operational consequences. The emphasis was on clarity and predictability in a back-office system used daily by non-technical staff, ensuring the system remained understandable and usable as complexity increased.
Prevented invalid configurations by enforcing dependency-aware admin workflows
Maintained user trust while supporting partial and evolving system states
Improved UX consistency across the product suite through a shared UI style guide
Reduced long-term technical risk by influencing MongoDB data modelling decisions
01 // Discovery & Design
// Discovery
Collaborated closely with staff and stakeholders to identify friction in configuration workflows and surface risks early
// Key Decisions
Improperly configured sites can't be deployed
// Trade-offs
Prioritised system safety and edge case management over faster development; reporting features were deferred to later iterations
02 // Technical Execution
// Tech Stack
Next.js + React frontend with TypeScript and MongoDB backend, deployed in containers with Docker and Portainer
// Implementation
The project was transferred to a dedicated internal team before release; development was done on on-prem Linux servers
// System Design
I advocated for proper use of NoSQL schemas to avoid later technical debt
💡 One thing I would do different now
Add automated testing for edge cases and transitional states, reducing the need for manual QA
03 // Ownership
// Team
Worked in a two-developer consultancy-style team, collaborating closely with the customer through frequent feedback and iteration cycles
// Timeline
Delivered core platform to production-ready state before transitioning to an internal team during a company-wide restructuring
// Ownership
Co-owned full stack and developed style guidelines for this and other projects of the same suite
❤️ The thing I enjoyed the most
Starting with a difficult and multi-step workflow and design a system to guide a non-technical user to complete it successfully, with no training required