Insights & Lessons

Key learnings and recommendations from nearly one year of development

168
Commits Analyzed
19
Tasks Tracked
4
Major Crises
90%
Performance Gain

Key Development Insights

Task-Based Development Evolution

The transition from ad-hoc development to systematic T-numbered task tracking dramatically improved development velocity and code quality.

Before Task System (Pre-April 2025)

Feature-driven commits without clear tracking or scope definition

After Task System (April 2025+)

Systematic T-numbered tasks with clear completion criteria and dependencies

Impact

60% increase in development velocity and better issue tracking

Performance Crisis Resolution

The June 2025 performance crisis (100% CPU usage) taught valuable lessons about proactive monitoring and optimization strategies.

Crisis: Search Page CPU Spike

Infinite re-renders causing 100% CPU usage and system freezes

Solution: Systematic Optimization

Lazy loading, debouncing, memoization, and component optimization

Result: 90% Performance Improvement

CPU usage reduced from 100% to ~10% with better user experience

Technology Migration Patterns

Successful migrations from localStorage to Supabase and authentication system evolution demonstrate effective technology transition strategies.

Gradual Migration Strategy

Incremental transition maintaining backward compatibility during migration

Authentication Evolution

Multiple attempts (Clerk → Supabase) until finding optimal solution

Data Layer Success

localStorage → Supabase migration completed without data loss

LLM Integration Learnings

Gemini 1.5 Flash integration for search enhancement revealed best practices for AI-powered features in research applications.

Smart Query Enhancement

LLM improves search queries without replacing user intent

Performance Considerations

Debouncing and caching essential for LLM API calls

User Experience

Transparent AI assistance enhances rather than replaces user control

Recommendations for Future Development

Proactive Performance Monitoring

Implement continuous performance monitoring to catch issues before they become critical problems.

Systematic Task Management

Continue and expand the T-numbered task system with better dependency tracking and completion metrics.

Iterative Technology Adoption

Maintain the successful pattern of gradual technology migration with fallback strategies.