Dwolla Dashboard Modernization

The existing codebase had inconsistent patterns, outdated dependencies, and tightly coupled components. Touching one thing risked breaking three others.

Fix. Strangler fig pattern — new components replace old ones piece by piece while the existing functionality stays live. Storybook documentation for every new component so the next engineer knows exactly what they're working with before they start.

Initial page loads over 8 seconds, driven by large bundle sizes and data fetching that blocked rendering instead of loading in the background.

Fix. Route-level code splitting, lazy loading for heavy components, and optimistic UI updates so the interface responds immediately. React Query for caching and background refetching so data is never stale without the user noticing.

A financial platform handling payment data has a different relationship with the frontend than a typical SaaS product. Every user interaction that touches sensitive data is a compliance surface.

Fix. Secure token handling, XSS prevention, CSP headers, and encrypted channels with audit logging on every sensitive operation. The compliance requirements became a forcing function for better security patterns across the whole codebase.