Welcome to Barn Door Apps
I'm Phil Sacchitella -- a software architect and developer with decades of experience designing and building systems across enterprise, mobile, and web platforms. I specialize in turning complex business requirements into clean, maintainable architectures and integrating modern AI capabilities into existing workflows.
Software Architecture
- C4 Model Diagrams -- System context, container, component, and code-level architecture documentation
- Systems Design -- Scalable architecture for new projects or modernization of legacy systems
- Architecture Reviews -- Evaluate existing systems for performance, security, and maintainability
- Technical Documentation -- Clear, actionable documentation that development teams can actually use
AI Integration & Automation
- LLM Integration -- Integrate Claude, GPT, and other AI models into your existing applications and workflows
- Workflow Automation -- Identify and automate repetitive processes using AI-powered solutions
- Intelligent Applications -- Build AI-driven features into mobile and web applications
- AI Strategy Consulting -- Evaluate where AI can deliver real value in your organization
Interested in working together? Get in touch to discuss your project.
Our Apps
Software Architecture
With over 25 years of experience designing enterprise systems, I bring proven methodology to every engagement. From startups needing their first scalable architecture to enterprises modernizing legacy systems, I deliver documentation and designs that development teams can actually build from.
What I Deliver
- C4 Model Diagrams -- System context, container, component, and code-level architecture documentation using industry-standard notation
- Systems Design -- Scalable architecture for new projects or modernization of legacy systems, including microservices, event-driven, and serverless patterns
- Architecture Reviews -- Evaluate existing systems for performance, security, and maintainability with actionable recommendations
- Technical Documentation -- Runbooks, decision records, and deployment guides that reduce your bus factor
Recent Work
At Xanterra Parks & Resorts, I inherited a 21,410-object Oracle database system spanning 10 national park properties. I built CI/CD pipelines with Flyway migrations, automated AWS infrastructure with Terraform, and reduced monthly cloud costs from $5,500 to $3,200 -- all while maintaining zero downtime for hotel operations across Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Canyon.
At IBM Watson Health, I designed the architecture for clinical decision support systems that processed oncology data at scale, laying groundwork for what the industry would later call RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) patterns.
Ready to talk architecture? Get in touch.
AI Integration & Automation
AI is not magic -- it is engineering. I help businesses cut through the hype and find the places where AI delivers real, measurable value. Whether you need to integrate an LLM into an existing application, automate a manual workflow, or evaluate whether AI is even the right tool for the job, I bring a pragmatic, results-first approach.
What I Deliver
- LLM Integration -- Integrate Claude, GPT, and other models into your existing applications and workflows with proper prompt engineering, guardrails, and cost management
- Workflow Automation -- Identify repetitive processes and build AI-powered solutions that save real hours, not just demos
- Intelligent Applications -- Build AI-driven features into mobile and web applications with production-grade reliability
- AI Strategy Consulting -- Honest assessment of where AI fits in your organization and where it does not
My AI Background
I was building retrieval-augmented generation systems before the term existed. At IBM Watson Health, I worked on DeepQA-derived clinical decision support -- information retrieval, evidence scoring, and natural language processing for oncology treatment recommendations. That experience taught me both the power and the limits of AI in high-stakes environments.
Today I work with modern LLMs (Claude, GPT-4) and tools like AWS Bedrock, building practical integrations that solve business problems rather than chasing the latest model release.
Have a process that needs AI? Let's talk.
Mobile Apps
We build useful and fun software for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Tap an app below to learn more.
CalcTriangle
The new iOS version of CalcTriangle is now available on the App Store!
We created this because we felt it would be a useful tool for carpenters and do-it-yourselfers that needed a fast way to calculate angles and lengths.
Our app is easier to use than others we have seen because you do not use the default numbers screen and you do not have to shift from one screen to another to enter data. Just select any two sides or any side and any angle and enter the dimensions you have. They can be done in foot mode, inch mode or decimal.
All you need to do is touch on the field you want to enter a dimension in the mode you are using. The inch mode will display the results in inches and the foot mode will display in feet and inches. The fractional values are rounded from the nearest decimal value.
You can start from the metric or english side of the application and switch back and forth. There is also different display values for each mode. In the English mode there is foot, inch and inch decimal. In Metric there is meter, centimeter and millimeter mode. The Mode button will cycle through each one.
To start over just push the clear button and it all resets. To clear a single angle or side field, select the field and push the Clear Field button.
Android Version Coming Soon
CalcTriangle for Android
We're bringing CalcTriangle to Android! Stay tuned for the Google Play release.
Choo Choo Whistle
We have created Choo Choo Whistle.
This started out as a way to distract my grandchildren while we were shopping. It works!
It also irritates the heck out of their parents (my children) which is just a bonus :)
A brand new 3D version of Choo Choo Whistle is currently in development!
Why "Barn Door Apps"?
People ask about the name. Here is the short version.
Years ago, my family bought a century-old timber-frame hay barn that had been used as a dumping ground for junk. We filled four 40-yard dumpsters just clearing it out. Then we spent the next 26 years turning it into a home.
We jacked up the entire building, dug out a new foundation, straightened the warped timber frame as best we could, and built multiple levels inside the original shell. Standard off-the-shelf anything did not fit -- not the cabinets, not the plumbing, not the heating. Everything had to be figured out and custom built. We used 22-foot floor joists from a local sawmill, insulated the walls with foam panels and white oak boards, and did most of the work ourselves.
It pushed the limits of our endurance, ingenuity, and resourcefulness. After 26 years of living in it, we eventually sold it and moved on.
The full project is documented on Instructables if you want to see all the gory details.
So when it came time to name a software company, the choice was obvious. Building software is a lot like converting a barn -- you start with a structure, you figure out what fits, and you make it work. The name is a reminder that the best things get built by people who are willing to figure it out as they go.
Contact
Interested in architecture, AI integration, or mobile app development? Have questions about our apps?
Get in Touch
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End of the policy.