HRCAN I VIBECODE
When I Work?
BUILD FIRST
- One specific customer type and one primary use case
- A vertical slice that completes the main job without manual workarounds
- Visible limits, review steps, and a fallback when an external dependency fails
LEAVE FOR LATER
- Broad third-party integrations
- High-scale collaboration, syncing, and permissions
- Automation that can cause harm without human review
RESEARCH NOTES
What this tool actually does.
When I Work is a cloud-based employee scheduling and workforce management platform for shift-based teams such as retail, restaurants, and healthcare. Managers build day/week/month schedules with a drag-and-drop Scheduler plus a positions view; auto-scheduling assigns shifts from employee availability and qualifications; schedule templates accelerate recurring staffing; multi-location and multi-week scheduling prevent double-booking. Employees set availability preferences, submit time-off requests requiring approval, and manage coverage through OpenShifts (published unassigned shifts any eligible user can pick up), shift swap, drop, release, and find-replacement flows. Built-in attendance and time tracking feed scheduled-versus-actual hours, with overtime alerts, thresholds, and labor forecasting against budgeted hours. Task lists attach shift checklists with completion tracking; in-app t
RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT
Give this to your coding agent.
Build 'ShiftDesk', a focused web replacement for the shift-based team scheduling workflow popularized by When I Work, for managers and hourly employees.
Workflow: A manager creates positions, collects employee availability and time-off requests, then builds a weekly schedule using (1) drag-and-drop on a week grid with a positions view and (2) an auto-scheduler that assigns shifts from availability, position qualifications, and max-hours/overtime limits, flagging conflicts before publish. After publish, employees view their schedule (mobile-first) and can submit time-off and availability changes, request shift swaps that require manager approval, and pick up published OpenShifts on a first-eligible-pickup basis with an optional manager approval toggle. Built-in clock-in/out captures actual hours; an analytics view shows scheduled vs. budgeted hours per employee and department with overtime warnings. Add per-shift task checklists with completion timestamps, and thread- or shift-scoped team messaging.
Technical requirements: role-based access (admin/manager/employee), REST or GraphQL API, PostgreSQL persistence, a constraints-based scheduler (backtracking or greedy-assign-then-repair over availability/qualification/overtime rules), real-time notifications (WebSockets or polling), iCal export for calendar sync, and a mobile-first responsive UI with offline-tolerant list views. Suggested stack: Next.js + TypeScript front end, Node.js (Fastify) or Python (FastAPI) API, Postgres, Docker Compose for local setup. Include seeded demo data and unit tests for scheduling and approval logic.
Out of scope (do not build): payroll/paystub processing, POS/payroll integrations, native iOS/Android apps (a responsive PWA suffices), billing, and paid shift-marketplace features.
Do not copy When I Work's brand, logo, copy, or UI design; create an original visual identity while preserving this workflow. Include a README covering setup, seeded accounts, the constraint model, and known limitations (e.g., no guarantee of optimal schedules, no clock-in offline sync).