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Circuit Operations App — Legacy Modernization

Re-implemented a legacy C# desktop SCADA tool as a web application accessible to anyone on the OG&E intranet.

Role Lead engineer
Period 2025
Headline Desktop → web · zero installs · org-wide access
Stack Nighthawk web platform (rebuild target) · JavaScript / web frontend · REST API + MySQL · SCADA data feeds

Problem

The Circuit Operations App (OMS340) was a legacy C# desktop tool that handled SCADA operations and alarm management. Every user needed it installed locally; every version upgrade was an IT ticket. Practical access was limited to a handful of operators with the desktop installed, and version drift across machines was a quiet but real source of operational risk.

The functionality was indispensable. The delivery mechanism wasn’t.

What I Did

Rebuilt the application as a web app hosted on the Nighthawk platform:

  • Re-implemented the SCADA operations and alarm-management workflows on the Nighthawk web platform, reusing the existing application shell, auth, and deployment pipeline.
  • Connected to the same upstream SCADA data feeds the C# desktop app used.
  • Preserved the operational behavior that operators were already trained on — same workflows, same alarm semantics, same reporting outputs.
  • Eliminated the install step entirely. Browser-based, no IT ticket, version-uniform.

Results

OutcomeBeforeAfter
User accessPer-workstation install requiredAnyone on the OG&E intranet
Version managementManual, IT-mediatedServer-side, single source of truth
Cross-device supportDesktop onlyBrowser-based (any device)
Operator training deltaHigh (per-machine quirks)Minimal (same UI for everyone)

Why this matters

The pattern — legacy desktop application replaced with a web application running on a platform that already has SSO, RBAC, and observability — is repeatable. Any organization with a portfolio of legacy desktop tools can apply the same playbook: solve the platform problem once, then migrate one tool at a time onto it.

This is one of the deliveries that proved Nighthawk’s value as a platform rather than just a destination dashboard.

Some specifics are abstracted for confidentiality. Happy to go deeper on the technical approach, the failure modes we worked through, or the operational outcomes — jose@macias-tech.com.