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Designing Your Tech/AI Stack Isn’t About “Best Practice.” It’s About Best Fit.

If you’ve ever tried to build a business around a tangle of apps, APIs and “one more tool,” you know the truth: there’s no single best practice stack. There’s only the best fit for your goals, budget, skills, and the way you actually work.

At Changeable, we just finished a full architecture design—choosing our core tools, mapping data flows, stress-testing costs, and writing an architectural policy that will guide every upgrade, swap, and new addition. Here’s what we learned, in plain language.

Why this matters (and why it’s easy to get wrong)

If you’ve ever tried to build a business around a tangle of apps, APIs and “one more tool,” you know the truth: there’s no single best practice stack. There’s only the best fit for your goals, budget, skills, and the way you actually work.

At Changeable, we just finished a full architecture design—choosing our core tools, mapping data flows, stress-testing costs, and writing an architectural policy that will guide every upgrade, swap, and new addition. Here’s what we learned, in plain language.

Why this matters (and why it’s easy to get wrong)

Most teams bolt tools together as they grow. It works… until it doesn’t. You end up paying for features you don’t use, recreating the same automations in three places, and dreading platform changes because the whole thing feels glued together with wishes.

A better approach is lean and impactful: fewer tools doing more work, orchestrated around a central stack that everything else must integrate with. You get speed now, and agility later when you need to scale.

Best Fit > Best Practice

“Best practice” is a moving target. Your reality is not a benchmark blog post—it’s your clients, your workflows, your budget, and your tolerance for complexity. Best fit means:

  • It integrates with your centre of gravity (for us: ChatGPT + Google Workspace + Apps Script).
  • It does the job now without forcing expensive upgrades tomorrow.
  • It’s portable. If you need to move on, your data comes with you.

Lean and impactful by design

Lean doesn’t mean barebones. It means no redundant tools and no vanity software. It means designing for:

  • Impact: each tool clearly moves a KPI (leads, delivery speed, quality, cost).
  • Simplicity: one tool per outcome whenever possible (e.g., Podcastle for script → voice clone → video).
  • Automation: default to automations you own (Apps Script internally, n8n when complexity exceeds Script).
  • Observability: logs land in Sheets; dashboards in Looker Studio; you can see what’s happening.

Build a central stack that others must integrate with

Think of your stack like a city with a strong public transport system. Everything should plug into the same tracks:

  • Backbone (non-negotiable): ChatGPT (primary LLM), Google Workspace (forms, sheets, email, Docs, Drive), and Apps Script (internal automation).
  • Optional power-ups must snap in via APIs and webhooks. No integrations? No deal.

Why this matters when changing platforms:

  • You can swap a scheduling tool, CRM, or podcast platform with minimal pain.
  • Data is portable (CSV/JSON exports are a requirement, not a nice-to-have).
  • Your automations keep running because the interfaces stay the same.

The process we used (and you can copy)

Here’s how we designed our architecture and wrote the policy that governs it:

  1. Clarify outcomes
    What must the stack achieve right now? (Leads, content, delivery, reporting.) What needs to scale later?
  2. Choose a backbone (non-negotiable)
    We set ChatGPT + Google Workspace + Apps Script as centre of gravity. Everything else is optional.
  3. Map core flows
    • Forms → Sheets → Apps Script → CRM (Attio) → MailerLite → Sheets log
    • Content (Podbean exports) → Drive → Apps Script → WordPress post + log
    • Social (Hopper CSV) → Sheets → Looker Studio
    • UTM rules → GA4 + Search Console + Sheets for attribution
  4. Tool selection = best fit
    • Attio AI for CRM (clean API, webhooks, low cost).
    • Descript AI for text → voice clone → video (one tool from script to MP4/MP3).
    • Hopper for social scheduling (cheap, simple).
    • DartAI for project management.
    • n8n on Hostinger for heavier automations and client workflows.
  5. Write an Architecture Policy
    Our policy sets the rules: what’s non-negotiable, how we assess tools, how we upgrade or remove, and what we do if a backbone tool hits a roadblock.
  6. Compatibility Contract (the 8 tests)
    Any new tool must provide:
    API, OAuth/API keys, webhooks, Google fit (Sheets/Drive/Gmail/Calendar), data portability, automation-readiness (published limits, sandbox), security/compliance, cost clarity. If a tool fails any of these, it’s out.
  7. Stress test and pricing
    We priced the stack (≈ NZ$199/month for one user). Then we stress-tested: more content, collaborators, or clients. We checked where costs jump and what breaks first (spoiler: quotas and podcasting minutes before anything else).
  8. Migration playbook (so swaps aren’t scary)
    Schema mapping in Sheets, dual-run for 2–4 weeks, cutover, archive exports to Drive, one-click rollback via Script properties.
  9. Governance
    Quarterly review (cost and fit), annual strategic audit (what changed in the market), and every change documented in both the To-Do Log and Task Log.

What this buys you

  • Calm: you know what’s core, and what’s a plug-in.
  • Speed: less time wrestling logins, more time delivering.
  • Resilience: if a tool fails, you have tested procedures to replace it.
  • Clarity: costs are predictable; growth scenarios are modeled.
  • Control: your data lives in Sheets/Drive; your automations are yours.

A quick checklist you can steal

  • Have you named your non-negotiable backbone?
  • Can every tool export (CSV/JSON) in minutes?
  • Do new tools have APIs + webhooks and Google fit?
  • Is your automation written in Apps Script/n8n (not locked in someone else’s SaaS)?
  • Do you have a dual-run + rollback plan for swaps?
  • Do you review costs and limits quarterly?

Final word

Don’t chase the mythical “best practice” stack. Build the best fit stack for you: lean, impactful, and flexible—with a strong centre that everything else must plug into. That’s how you move fast today and scale cleanly tomorrow.

A better approach is lean and impactful: fewer tools doing more work, orchestrated around a central stack that everything else must integrate with. You get speed now, and agility later when you need to scale.

Best Fit > Best Practice

“Best practice” is a moving target. Your reality is not a benchmark blog post—it’s your clients, your workflows, your budget, and your tolerance for complexity. Best fit means:

  • It integrates with your centre of gravity (for us: ChatGPT + Google Workspace + Apps Script).
  • It does the job now without forcing expensive upgrades tomorrow.
  • It’s portable. If you need to move on, your data comes with you.

Lean and impactful by design

Lean doesn’t mean barebones. It means no redundant tools and no vanity software. It means designing for:

  • Impact: each tool clearly moves a KPI (leads, delivery speed, quality, cost).
  • Simplicity: one tool per outcome whenever possible (e.g., Podcastle for script → voice clone → video).
  • Automation: default to automations you own (Apps Script internally, n8n when complexity exceeds Script).
  • Observability: logs land in Sheets; dashboards in Looker Studio; you can see what’s happening.

Build a central stack that others must integrate with

Think of your stack like a city with a strong public transport system. Everything should plug into the same tracks:

  • Backbone (non-negotiable): ChatGPT (primary LLM), Google Workspace (forms, sheets, email, Docs, Drive), and Apps Script (internal automation).
  • Optional power-ups must snap in via APIs and webhooks. No integrations? No deal.

Why this matters when changing platforms:

  • You can swap a scheduling tool, CRM, or podcast platform with minimal pain.
  • Data is portable (CSV/JSON exports are a requirement, not a nice-to-have).
  • Your automations keep running because the interfaces stay the same.

The process we used (and you can copy)

Here’s how we designed our architecture and wrote the policy that governs it:

  1. Clarify outcomes
    What must the stack achieve right now? (Leads, content, delivery, reporting.) What needs to scale later?
  2. Choose a backbone (non-negotiable)
    We set ChatGPT + Google Workspace + Apps Script as centre of gravity. Everything else is optional.
  3. Map core flows
    • Forms → Sheets → Apps Script → CRM (Attio) → MailerLite → Sheets log
    • Content (Podbean exports) → Drive → Apps Script → WordPress post + log
    • Social (Hopper CSV) → Sheets → Looker Studio
    • UTM rules → GA4 + Search Console + Sheets for attribution
  4. Tool selection = best fit
    • Attio AI for CRM (clean API, webhooks, low cost).
    • Descript AI for text → voice clone → video (one tool from script to MP4/MP3).
    • Hopper for social scheduling (cheap, simple).
    • DartAI for project management.
    • n8n on Hostinger for heavier automations and client workflows.
  5. Write an Architecture Policy
    Our policy sets the rules: what’s non-negotiable, how we assess tools, how we upgrade or remove, and what we do if a backbone tool hits a roadblock.
  6. Compatibility Contract (the 8 tests)
    Any new tool must provide:
    API, OAuth/API keys, webhooks, Google fit (Sheets/Drive/Gmail/Calendar), data portability, automation-readiness (published limits, sandbox), security/compliance, cost clarity. If a tool fails any of these, it’s out.
  7. Stress test and pricing
    We priced the stack (≈ NZ$199/month for one user). Then we stress-tested: more content, collaborators, or clients. We checked where costs jump and what breaks first (spoiler: quotas and podcasting minutes before anything else).
  8. Migration playbook (so swaps aren’t scary)
    Schema mapping in Sheets, dual-run for 2–4 weeks, cutover, archive exports to Drive, one-click rollback via Script properties.
  9. Governance
    Quarterly review (cost and fit), annual strategic audit (what changed in the market), and every change documented in both the To-Do Log and Task Log.

What this buys you

  • Calm: you know what’s core, and what’s a plug-in.
  • Speed: less time wrestling logins, more time delivering.
  • Resilience: if a tool fails, you have tested procedures to replace it.
  • Clarity: costs are predictable; growth scenarios are modeled.
  • Control: your data lives in Sheets/Drive; your automations are yours.

A quick checklist you can steal

  • Have you named your non-negotiable backbone?
  • Can every tool export (CSV/JSON) in minutes?
  • Do new tools have APIs + webhooks and Google fit?
  • Is your automation written in Apps Script/n8n (not locked in someone else’s SaaS)?
  • Do you have a dual-run + rollback plan for swaps?
  • Do you review costs and limits quarterly?

Final word

Don’t chase the mythical “best practice” stack. Build the best fit stack for you: lean, impactful, and flexible—with a strong centre that everything else must plug into. That’s how you move fast today and scale cleanly tomorrow.

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