Problem
Visitor management, bell-ringing, queues, attendance and check-ins are each served by a different tool — or by paper. A door at a gate, desk, counter or checkpoint has no identity of its own.
Business Context
The product is a multi-tenant platform where each physical door owns a QR code. Visitors need no app. Owners and operators manage doors through an operations workspace. It must work offline-first in poor connectivity.
Constraints
- Zero install for visitors — a browser page is the whole experience.
- Offline-first behaviour for poor connectivity.
- Multi-tenant per Door: every door is its own isolated context.
- Public routes must be safe for guest submission.
Analysis
The unit of the platform is the Door, not the visitor list. Once every door has an identity, a QR slug, a settings record and an event log, every use case — bell, queue, visitor log, attendance, checkpoint, emergency — becomes a DoorInteraction on that Door.
Architecture
Eight core record types model the platform: Door, settings, members, interactions, replies, event logs, mode templates and form fields. Controllers auto-generate the QR slug and image, log events and publish them over realtime.
Solution
Public routes provide a landing page per door and a status page per interaction. Guests submit through a public API. Owners and operators work through a dedicated operations workspace with defined roles.
Technology
- Business application backend on the development server
- Auto QR slug + QR image generation
- realtime event publishing
- HTTPS routing with SSL redirect
- secure database and task queues
Implementation
Phase 1 delivered the Door Core: records, controllers, public routes, roles and the live site — built and verified against the actual server before moving to later phases.
Challenges
Realtime publishing of interactions, guest submission safety on public routes, and keeping the QR generation automatic so every door is immediately usable the moment it is created.
Outcome
The platform is live over HTTPS with a working Door Core: create a door, get a QR, and visitors can interact from a browser with no installation.
Lessons
When every physical object gets an identity, the use cases stop being separate products. The door is the unit of truth — everything else hangs off it.
Future Improvements
Additional interaction modes, offline-first sync refinement, and per-door configuration through the settings and mode templates.