AI and software case studies: projects delivered and results
AI platforms, critical systems upgraded without downtime, store checkout and ERP. Each case study starts with the client's problem, shows how we solved it and gives the numbers.
The Hackett Group (NASDAQ: HCKT)AI-native data-strategy platform for enterprise clients
DIAL: an AI platform designed to cut data projects from 6 months to 3
Scope
AI architecture and engineering
The problem
The Hackett Group sells data-strategy engagements to large companies, and each one took 6 months. DIAL was designed to deliver the same in 3, with the platform doing the first pass over the client's data.
How we solved it
The platform finds and analyzes the client's data: it discovers the datasets, flags duplicate records, even when they are spelled differently, and scores data quality on 6 dimensions, with rule-based cleansing.
It connects to Hackett's data-assessment engine (Kimball Assess) and keeps each client isolated from the others, with data-access credentials stored encrypted.
AI inside the product (Anthropic Claude), with the model's answer filtered before it reaches the user.
Delivery every week: AI coding agents work from written specs under human review, and ~50 tasks were delivered per week (406 in total).
~380 end-to-end usage scenarios tested across browsers and automated security checks before every release.
Results
198releases in 8 weeks: improvements every week
~50tasks delivered per week, 406 in total
~4,000automated tests check every change, with 95% coverage gates
Quilt Software / PosNationDesktop app of a cloud POS for liquor retail
Bottle POS: the checkout of 3,000+ liquor stores, printing receipts and updating itself
Scope
Desktop app architecture
The problem
Quilt Software's cloud POS serves 3,000+ liquor stores with $2.7B+ in annual sales, and runs in the browser. The checkout needed an app installed on the store's computer: print the receipt straight to the thermal printer, show the total to the customer and work alongside the web system the stores already use.
How we solved it
Receipts print straight to the thermal printer, with no print dialog; the app finds the printer on its own and can also print to PDF.
A customer-facing display with the purchase total, and an alert when the store goes offline.
Updates without anyone touching the store's computer: each version reaches a group of stores first and then all of them, through a self-hosted release server.
Different permissions for cashiers and managers, and gift-card sale and activation at the checkout itself.
The app talks to the web POS the stores already use, and automated checks run before every change to the system ~18 engineers share.
Results
3,000+liquor stores run on the cloud POS, with $2.7B+ in annual sales
60versions in 11 weeks, for Windows, macOS and Linux
1,455automated tests within 3 weeks, up from 540, guarding the checkout on every change
Regal Rexnord: critical systems upgraded without stopping operations
Scope
Legacy modernization
The problem
Regal Rexnord Brazil's critical applications ran on PHP 5.6, a version that no longer gets security updates, two of them on CodeIgniter 2. The code had no documentation, and operations could not stop.
How we solved it
AI (Claude Code) reading the undocumented legacy code to rebuild what each part does before any change.
Automated tests that prove everything still works the same before each version cutover.
Upgrade from PHP 5.6 to 8.4, across 10 versions, and of two systems from CodeIgniter 2 to 3.
A standardized Docker development environment.
Earlier: order modules integrating the applications with the Logix ERP and SQL Server, and financial modules.
Results
5.6 → 8.4PHP: from an unsupported version to a supported one, across 10 versions
2systems migrated from CodeIgniter 2 to 3
Zerodowntime in the cutovers, backed by automated tests
Mahout ERP CloudMulti-tenant ERP SaaS for SMBs, e-commerce retailers and franchise networks
Mahout ERP: a cloud ERP with NF-e e-invoicing and store, payment and shipping integrations
Scope
Product, architecture and engineering
The problem
A cloud ERP for SMBs, online stores and franchise networks, with finance, POS, orders, purchasing, inventory, CRM and e-invoicing in one system. Each company signs up on its own and gets its own environment. We built and ran the platform.
How we solved it
NF-e electronic invoices issued straight to SEFAZ, inside the ERP.
Online-store orders (Magento 2), payments (Moip/Wirecard, Asaas), shipping (Melhor Envio) and OFX bank reconciliation in the same system.
Finance, POS, purchasing, multi-warehouse inventory, CRM, help desk, logistics and real-time BI dashboards.
A database and subdomain per company, and self-service signup to start the trial without waiting on anyone.
Modular platform (~417K lines of code, ~1,400 endpoints) on AWS and GCP, with infrastructure as code (Terraform, Ansible).
