People ask me for the same things over and over.
Over my career I’ve built a lot of SharePoint web parts, and the same requests keep coming back. One of the things I really wanted to deliver this year is a collection: the web parts I’ve already built, and the ones people keep asking for, all in one place.
So, heads up: web parts are coming.
Two Are Already Out#
The first two are free on GitHub:
- Company Store: an internal shop where staff browse company merch and place orders.
- Onboarding Checklist: a first-month checklist for new starters, with progress their managers can see.
Next up is Kaizen Board, where staff share ideas to make work better, vote on them, and follow each one through to done.
Why Not Just Ask AI to Build One?#
I know. With AI, anybody can build an app now, and it’s super easy.
The trouble is what you get. A lot of it is flashy on the surface, but the plumbing’s no good. And AI is not great at user interface (UI) work, so if the person driving it doesn’t have those skills either, it shows.
I have a UI and design background, and that’s the part I won’t hand off. When I make an app, I test it myself:
- Does every button work?
- Can you click back?
- Is the navigation easy?
- Are the fonts right?
- Is the spacing right? The padding?
- Are the colors right? I go over them meticulously.
It’s not exciting work, but it’s the difference between something that looks good and something that also works well.
I’m Not Working Alone Anymore#
Here’s what AI does for me. It lets me move faster, and I’m already very busy, so that matters. It helps me develop better patterns because it’s good at keeping me on task. It helps me write test cases and check the code for defects, and it helps with end-to-end testing, which means running through the whole app the way a person would.
So it’s not just me anymore. I have a system in place to make sure these web parts actually work.
Why That Matters to You#
Giving away a web part is the easy part. Supporting it is what’s hard, especially for one busy person.
That’s really why I built the system. If the testing is solid before a web part goes out, I can give it to people and support it without losing my mind.
Take a look at the Projects page to see what’s out so far. And if there’s a web part you keep wishing someone would build, tell me. It might already be on the list.
