Katey Diniz

American Pool and Spa

Flagship Case Study · Working Product

Overview

I started with a provisional idea for an app, then refined it by listening closely. A discovery interview brought the actual center of gravity into focus: a simple way to see where each build stood, without turning the product into a broad business platform.

That shift shaped everything that followed. American Pool and Spa is a Working Product, but this story starts before the interface—with the whiteboard-and-memory workflow it needed to clarify. The strongest proof is not that I arrived with a perfect plan. It is that listening closely changed the direction of the product.

Context & Problem

  1. BEFORE

    Status lived on a whiteboard and in memory.

  2. NEEDED

    Make the next meaningful state of a build visible.

  3. NOT NEEDED

    A broad business-management platform.

Katey’s Role

  1. LISTENED

    Found the operational moments creating friction.

  2. NARROWED

    Turned a broad concept into a focused workflow.

  3. BUILT

    Gave phases, blockers, and required transitions a clear place in the product.

Process & Key Decisions

Solution or Current State

The current-state story is a focused field product organized around a fictional status board and representative examples of selection tracking and per-job bring lists. The interface evidence is explicitly recreated and fictional, but the product direction is real: show the build’s place in the workflow, surface what is still needed, and support a quick update when the work moves.

The product remains accurately described as a Working Product. The evidence stays focused on the product behavior and decisions visible in this case study.

Product Evidence

I built the product around three field needs: seeing where each pool stands, spotting what is blocking the next phase, and knowing what to bring to the job.

Selection TrackingCustomer decisions and material delivery are tracked separately, so the team can see exactly what is still pending.
Demo A selections: tile choice requested and waiting four days; plaster choice not yet requested.
Representative selection tracking with fictional dates. A customer choice and a material delivery are distinct states. Not a production screenshot. · Fictional data · Representative · Recreated
Per-Job Bring ListEach job keeps its own checklist of tools and materials, including completed items until the list is cleared.
Demo A bring list with tile samples, work gloves, and a marker unchecked, and measuring tape checked and struck through.
Recreated per-job bring list using fictional items, with a completed item kept visible until cleared. Not a production screenshot. · Fictional data · Representative · Recreated
Done + CostsThe pool-burial flow requires confirmation before marking work Done. Costs and profit remain visible, and late expenses can still be added afterward.
Two American Pool interface recreations: a fictional pool burial's active, confirmation, and completed Done states, alongside a Costs tab with a $5,000 price, $3,500 expenses, and $1,500 illustrative profit.
View full-size image
Recreated completion and Costs-tab fragments with fictional data, showing Done confirmation separately from editable late expenses. Not a production screenshot. · Fictional data · Representative · Recreated

WHAT CHANGED IN HOW I BUILD

  1. Start with a hypothesis, not a conclusion.

    The discovery interview changed a broad platform idea into a focused 14-phase workflow.

  2. Design for the next decision.

    Status, blockers, and bring lists mattered more than digitizing the whole business.

  3. Let the evidence carry the story.

    Recreated interfaces show exactly what the product does without overstating business results.