Proof of Concept Results and Technical Decision

VisualBase vs. .NET 10 + ABP for the Inventory and Production System

02 September 2026 Engineering Decision Assessment

Current Recommendation

Do Not Start Strategic Development on VisualBase

Start a Greenfield implementation using .NET 10 LTS and ABP. Keep VisualBase only as a conditional option if it passes explicit engineering and contractual gates.

01

Functional Evidence Is Not Enough

The POC proved screens and functions, not transaction correctness under concurrency, failure, and rollback.

02

Business Logic Is Distributed Inside the Database

Procedures, views, rule tables, and metadata make behavior harder to trace, test, and release.

03

Source Handover Is Conditional Mitigation

It does not remove lock-in unless NCGR can independently build, operate, and upgrade the platform before final acceptance.

Context

What Decision Was the POC Asked to Support?

Select the technical foundation before developing a long-lived inventory and production system.

Functional Fit

Can the option support inventory, production, approvals, reporting, and integrations?

Engineering Assurance

Can rules be reviewed, tested, released, rolled back, and monitored?

Ownership and Independence

Can NCGR operate, maintain, and upgrade the system without critical vendor dependency?

Lifecycle Cost and Risk

Does initial speed justify the long-term cost of customization, upgrades, skills, and exit?

Decision rule: functional fit alone is insufficient; strategic systems must also pass engineering assurance, independence, and operational gates.

Method

Evidence Register and Assessment Boundaries

Direct Observation

POC and Development Recording

Menus, modules, Quick Table, Formula Editor, approvals, generated forms, and SQL Studio. [S4][S11]

Vendor-Documented

Dynamic Architecture

Runtime screen generation, SQL-centered customization, and rules and behavior stored in a database repository. [S1][S2]

Contractual Commitment

Platform Source Handover

Based on the provided context, the vendor will hand over the no-code platform source after project completion; legal scope and buildability require verification.

Not Proven

Production Readiness

Actual source, independent build, testing, performance, security, DR, APIs, observability, and the exact product version were not proven in this assessment.

This is an engineering architecture assessment. The 80:08 recording was reviewed as visual workflow evidence, not a source audit or production-readiness certification.

Positive Finding

What Did the POC Actually Prove?

VisualBase is effective at rapidly creating standardized administrative data applications.

Proven

Broad Functional Scope

Eleven modules were visible, including inventory, procurement, finance, planning, and operations.

Proven

Fast Screens and Workflows

Quick Table, fields, approvals, and a generated form were assembled in the recorded session.

Proven

Arabic and RTL Support

The runtime model is designed for bilingual interfaces and an Arabic context.

Proven

Centralized Object Administration

Fifteen tabs configure source, rules, events, security, approvals, and tools.

Partial

Local Formula Testing

Formula Editor provides Test and Validate; comprehensive automated coverage was not shown.

Partial

Runtime Flexibility

It accelerates change, but requires strong controls to prevent bypassing the release lifecycle.

Source: NCGR VisualBase environment [S4] and development UX recording dated 27 August 2026 [S11].

Recorded Evidence

The Recording Proves Delivery Speed—and Reveals the Change Path

Quick Table showing SQL DDL for the LeaveRequest table

≈ 40:00

Physical Table Creation

Quick Table generates SQL structure and default audit columns inside the platform.

Formula Editor with Test and Validate actions

≈ 50:00

Field Logic

Formula Editor provides local testing and validation while composing a formula.

SQL Studio showing direct editing of an approval stored procedure

≈ 72:30

Business Logic

SQL Studio allows an approval stored procedure to be edited directly in the session.

Finding: Clear functional acceleration, but the recording did not show Git/PR controls, a regression suite, signed artifacts, environment promotion, or rollback.

Critical Gaps

A Working Screen Does Not Prove Production Fitness

Concurrency Correctness

No evidence demonstrated prevention of double issue or conflicting reservations against the same balance.

Automated Testing

Test and Validate are local helpers; no evidence showed metadata, SQL, and workflow regression coverage in CI.

Reproducible Release

The session showed DDL, metadata, SQL, and generated runtime behavior without proving Git/PR controls, artifacts, or environment promotion.

Database Security

Least privilege, service-bypass prevention, and dynamic SQL safety were not reviewed.

Operations and Recovery

Performance, monitoring, backup and restore, DR, and RPO/RTO were not proven through testing.

Integration Contracts

There is insufficient evidence of owned APIs, explicit versions, idempotency, and safe reprocessing.

Assessment Rule

An unproven capability remains an open risk; for a strategic system, it cannot be converted into a positive assumption.

Engineering

Where Does Business Logic Live?

VisualBase — Observed Model

Generated UI & Workflow

Runtime Engine / Metadata Interpreter

Rule Tables / Events / SQL Expressions

Procedures / Views / Shared Database

Behavior is distributed across a proprietary engine, metadata, and mutable database objects.

.NET + ABP — Proposed Model

Web / Mobile / Integration Clients

ABP APIs / Authorization / Application Services

Typed C# Domain Modules & Invariants

SQL Server / Outbox / Read Models

Behavior is explicit, owned, and tested; the database provides persistence, transactions, and constraints.

Sources: direct observation and vendor material [S1][S2][S4]; official ABP capabilities [S6].

Domain Correctness

Inventory and Production Are Transaction Systems

Immutable Inventory Ledger

Every movement is an independent entry; corrections use reversals or adjustments linked to the original.

Reservation and Available Balance

Prevent over-allocation under concurrent requests and retries.

Traceability

Maintain a complete chain for serial or lot, quarantine, inspection, and recall.

BOM Versioning and Effectivity

The version used by a production order is fixed and linked to effectivity and approval.

Production Order Lifecycle

Release, issue, consume, receive, scrap, rework, and close states are explicit.

Integration and Reconciliation

Provide idempotency, safe reprocessing, and reconciliation with procurement and finance.

Acceptance Standard

Every critical rule must be explicit, owned, testable, and proven under failure and concurrency scenarios.

Trade-off

Technical Comparison of the Two Options

Criterion	VisualBase—Current Evidence	.NET 10 + ABP	Stronger Option
Initial Delivery Speed	High for screens, CRUD, and configuration	Relatively slower due to domain and platform foundation	VisualBase
Business Logic Clarity	Distributed across metadata, SQL, and the engine	Owned C# modules that are written and reviewed	.NET
Automated Testing	Not proven for rules stored as data	Unit / Integration / Contract / E2E in CI	.NET
Release Governance	Runtime editing; Git integration not proven	PR, review, build artifact, and planned migration	.NET
Operations and Observability	Distributed workflow; telemetry and DR not proven	Metrics, logs, traces, health checks, and monitored jobs	.NET
Ownership and Exit	Conditional source handover after project completion	Product code owned from day one; open framework	.NET
Skills Availability	Specialized expertise in the vendor engine and model	Broader ASP.NET Core, SQL, and DevOps talent market	.NET

The conclusion does not treat ABP as a ready-made inventory product; it is a framework for building a product owned by NCGR.

Contract

Source Handover Reduces Risk—but Does Not End Lock-in

What Improves?

Source access enables audit, defect correction, service continuity, and possible transfer of maintenance to another party.

However: source files without an independent build, rights, tooling, tests, and operating knowledge may become an unusable asset.

Source CompletenessEngine, generator, editors, installers, upgrade tools, and metadata schema.

BuildabilityProduce a matching build and release from an NCGR-controlled environment before acceptance.

Legal RightsPermanent rights to run, modify, distribute internally, and transfer maintenance to a third party.

Dependencies and LicensesSBOM, package sources and keys, and third-party licenses without hidden restrictions.

Tests and DocumentationCI/CD, automated tests, runbooks, architecture design, upgrade, and recovery procedures.

Timing and Knowledge TransferProgressive repository access, escrow, and training—not only a file handover at project end.

Proposed Contract Amendment

Require independent-build proof and periodic source updates as acceptance and payment gates—not a post-delivery promise.

Vendor Lock-in

Owning Source Does Not Equal Engineering Independence

Legal Rights

Are the rights permanent and do they include modification, operation, and an alternative maintenance provider?

Reduced Conditionally

Build and Upgrade Tooling

Can NCGR build, upgrade, and sign the engine without vendor services?

Not Proven

Proprietary Architecture

Metadata parsers, events, rules, and screen generation are tied to a proprietary model.

High

Data and Logic Model

Procedures, views, and rule tables make exit a re-engineering exercise, not only a data copy.

High

Knowledge and Skills

Maintenance requires knowledge of the engine, non-standard practices, and proprietary extension points.

High

Conclusion

Source handover improves legal exit options, but technical lock-in falls only after independent operation and maintenance are proven.

Independence

Source Is Not Accepted Until These Tests Pass

01

Clone & Build

Clone a clean repository and build the full platform without a vendor device or account.

02

Deploy & Restore

Deploy a clean environment, restore backups, and test DR under NCGR control.

03

Patch & Release

Fix a defect, add a test, and produce a signed release through the NCGR pipeline.

04

Upgrade

Upgrade a dependency or runtime with compatibility evidence and metadata migration.

05

Third-party Handover

An alternative team implements a change without the original vendor.

06

Legal & SBOM

Legal acceptance of licenses, rights, and a maintainable software bill of materials.

Any failure in buildability, rights, or dependencies means lock-in risk remains material.

Proposed Foundation

.NET 10 LTS + ABP

Start with a modular monolith: explicit domain modules, API-first contracts, SQL Server for persistence, and testing, release, and operations owned by NCGR.

01

Engineering Benefits

Explicit types and contracts, code review, layered testing, observability, and a broad talent market.

02

Cost to Accept

Greater initial foundation work, domain discovery, CI/CD, security, operations, and testing before feature expansion.

03

Risks to Manage

ABP is not a ready-made ERP. Avoid premature microservices and make deliberate decisions about commercial modules and framework upgrades.

Sources: official ABP documentation and releases [S6][S7], and the .NET support policy [S8].

Target Architecture

An Owned, Evolvable Modular Monolith

ChannelsWeb / Mobile / Integrations

Application ServicesAPIs / Permissions / Validation

Domain ModulesInventory / Production / Quality

MessagingOutbox / Inbox / Jobs

DataSQL Server / Read Models / Audit

Data Ownership

Only one module writes each transactional table; reporting and integrations use contracts.

Domain Invariants

Reservation, movement, reversal, BOM, and production-order lifecycle become C# rules and tests.

Release and Operations

Git, CI/CD, EF Core migrations, traces, metrics, and correlated logs.

The approach retains SQL Server and limits stored procedures to measured, versioned, and tested needs.

Final Decision

VisualBase Did Not Pass the Critical Gates on the POC Evidence

Decision Gate	VisualBase	.NET + ABP	Conclusion
Functional Delivery Speed	Proven	Moderate	Clear VisualBase advantage
Domain and Concurrency Correctness	Not Proven	Provable	Critical gate
Testing and Release Governance	Not Proven	Standard Approach	Critical gate
Security, Operations, and Recovery	Not Proven	Designed and Tested	Critical gate
Ownership and Exit	Source Promise	Owned from the Start	VisualBase remains conditional
Platform Decision	Do Not Start	Recommended Option	Approve through an ADR

Recommendation

Build the product with .NET 10 LTS and ABP. Do not adopt VisualBase as the strategic foundation unless the evidence changes and every critical gate is passed.

Execution

Establish the Foundation Before Scaling Development

01 — ADRApprove the platform decision and VisualBase usage boundaries.

02 — Domain DiscoveryInventory ledger, reservation, traceability, BOM, and production.

03 — Quality AttributesPerformance, concurrency, security, RPO/RTO, and support.

04 — FoundationRepositories, CI/CD, identity, observability, and environments.

05 — Vertical SliceReceipt, movement, reversal, authorization, testing, and reconciliation.

Scale Gate

Do not scale the team until correctness, concurrency, security, performance, and operations pass.

If VisualBase Is Re-evaluated

The vendor must run the same scenarios and prove source, buildability, and independence under NCGR control.

References

Sources and Attribution Register

[S1] Visualsoft — VisualBase product page
https://visualsoft.com/visualbase/

[S2] US8782095B2 — runtime programming architecture
https://patents.google.com/patent/US8782095

[S3] Visualsoft — Products Lifecycle Policy
https://visualsoft.com/products-lifecycle-policy/

[S4] Authenticated NCGR VisualBase demo — direct observation, 01 Sep 2026

[S5] Stakeholder-provided contract context — platform source handover after project completion; legal scope unverified

[S6] ABP official documentation
https://abp.io/docs/latest/

[S7] ABP release notes
https://abp.io/docs/latest/release-info/release-notes

[S8] Microsoft .NET support policy
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy/dotnet-core

[S9] NCA Essential Cybersecurity Controls ECC 2-2024
https://nca.gov.sa/en/regulatory-documents/controls-list/ecc/

[S10] ABP licensing FAQ
https://abp.io/faq

[S11] Recorded VisualBase development UX — 80:08, recorded 27 Aug 2026; reviewed 02 Sep 2026

Decision Requested

Approve .NET 10 LTS and ABP as the foundation for the inventory and production system