HoundStack

Translate a deeply specific operational industry into a product, without building a generic scheduling tool with a dog on the logo.

Owner-operators

One system that runs the business so they can be in the field instead of in the office.

Office staff

Scheduling, billing, and customer communication that does not require re-entering the same information three times.

Field technicians

A route view that works in a back yard with poor signal and takes seconds, not minutes.

Commercial and HOA clients

Per-unit tracking, compliance records, and reporting they can hand to a property board.

Stated by specific verb, so it is clear what I did rather than what the project did.

• DefinedProduct vision and the principles the product is judged against.
• LedIndustry research and competitive analysis across generic and specialized field-service tools.
• DesignedWorkflow architecture for scheduling, routing, dispatch, and the field technician experience.
• DefinedRequirements, acceptance criteria, and edge cases for each feature area.
• ManagedFeature prioritization against operator impact rather than build convenience.
• DefinedPricing strategy, including per-dog and service-frequency models.
• DesignedThe client lifecycle: onboarding, active service, pause, cancellation, and win-back.
• DefinedBilling logic, including recurring billing against variable service delivery.
• DefinedRole-based access for owners, office staff, technicians, and franchise operators.
• LedQuality assurance and regression review across releases.
• BuiltProduct documentation and the specifications engineering works from.

1. 1

   The route is the atomic unit

   Most field-service software starts with the job. In this industry the route is the thing that determines whether the business is profitable, so the product model starts there and works outward to scheduling, billing, and customer management.

2. 2

   Design for the worst environment, not the demo

   The technician workflow was specified for a back yard with one bar of signal and a phone in one hand. Offline capability was treated as a core requirement, not a later enhancement.

3. 3

   Make the edge cases explicit

   Weather rescheduling, a customer adding a third dog mid-cycle, an HOA unit changing hands, a skipped visit that should not be billed. These were written into requirements as first-class flows rather than discovered in production.

4. 4

   Growth features belong to operations

   Referrals, review requests, and neighborhood density are growth mechanics, but they are driven by route data. Building them inside the operational model rather than bolting on a marketing module keeps them accurate.

1. 1Lead and quoteProspect enters with an address, dog count, and desired frequency. Pricing resolves from those three inputs.
2. 2OnboardProperty details, access notes, gate codes, and service zone assignment captured once.
3. 3ScheduleRecurring visits generated from frequency, then placed into route sequence by zone.
4. 4DispatchDaily routes assigned to technicians, with capacity and drive time accounted for.
5. 5ServiceTechnician completes the visit in the field, offline-tolerant, with proof of service captured.
6. 6BillRecurring billing reconciles against what was actually delivered, including skips and weather moves.
7. 7Retain and growReview requests, referrals, and neighbor targeting driven by completed route data.

• Product vision and positioning for a specialized vertical
• Workflow architecture across customer management, scheduling, routing, and dispatch
• Offline-tolerant field technician workflow specification
• Per-dog and service-frequency pricing model
• Billing logic reconciling recurring charges against delivered service
• Commercial and HOA operations, including property-unit workflows and DNA compliance
• Service zone model and route optimization requirements
• Referral, neighborhood growth, and review request mechanics
• Weather rescheduling behavior
• Role-based access across owner, office, technician, and franchise roles
• Franchise functionality requirements
• AI-assisted office workflow requirements
• Reporting requirements for operators and commercial clients
• Product documentation and QA process

Recurring scheduling engine

Generates visits from frequency and service zone

Route optimization

Sequences daily work by zone and capacity

Offline field workflow

Technician completion without reliable connectivity

Billing and payments

Recurring billing reconciled to delivered service

Role-based access control

Owner, office, technician, and franchise permissions