Internal Apps for Every Team Role
One base, five role-specific apps — so each team member only sees the work that's actually theirs.
The Problem
Every team role had a different mental model of "the work" — but everyone was looking at the same generic interface. Designers waded through ad ops fields. Account managers scrolled past creative briefs. SOPs lived in docs no one opened twice. The system existed; people just couldn't get to the part that was actually theirs.
The Approach
Stop expecting people to filter the right view themselves. Build dedicated interfaces — one per role — that surface only what that person needs to do today. Treat each role's workflow as a small app, not a tab in a giant base.
What I Built
A set of role-specific apps inside Airtable Interfaces, all running on the same underlying base:
- Creative Ops App — brief queue, current shoot list, asset upload, naming conventions surfaced inline
- Ad Ops App — daily campaign status, budget pacing, alerts when CPL drifts past threshold
- Account Manager App — client overview, installment reminders, deal status, one-tap notes
- Founder Dashboard — high-level pulse: leads in, sales out, this week vs. last
- Embedded SOPs — relevant SOPs surfaced inside the apps where the work happens, not in a separate library
The Result
Onboarding gets faster because new hires only learn the one app for their role. Cross-role confusion drops because no one is exploring data that isn't theirs. SOPs get read because they show up at the moment of work, not buried in a separate doc.
What I'd Do Differently
Build the founder dashboard first. The team apps got polished while the leadership view stayed scrappy — and leadership visibility is what unlocks budget for the next layer.