The device is the source of truth
Writing locally first means the interface responds instantly and a lost connection is an inconvenience rather than a stoppage. The server catches up when it can.
Reference build — 02
Field application with offline operation
Mobile Engineering
The problem
Staff working away from reliable connectivity need to record work as it happens. A connection-dependent application means either paper and later re-entry, or lost records.
The approach
Treat the device as the primary store and the server as eventual. Writes go to a local database immediately and queue for sync; the interface never blocks on the network. Reconciliation is explicit about conflicts rather than silently choosing a winner, and anything unresolvable is surfaced to the user instead of dropped.
The outcome
Work is recorded once, at the point it happens, and reaches the back office without a second data-entry step.
Decisions worth explaining
Conflicts are shown, not resolved silently
Last-write-wins quietly destroys somebody’s work. Where two edits genuinely disagree, the person who made them decides.
Uploads survive being interrupted
Photos captured in the field are large and connections are poor. Resumable, deferred upload means closing the app mid-transfer costs nothing.
Recognise your problem here?
The specifics will differ, but the shape usually does not. Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you how we would approach it.