Software Problem or Process Problem? Questions to Ask First

Someone usually comes to me with a sentence like this: "We need an app." Or: "Our system is a mess." Or: "We need something to keep everyone on the same page."

Sometimes they're right. Often, once we start talking, the trouble turns out to be somewhere else. Two people think the same job is theirs. Nobody knows who makes the final call. Something that was agreed on never got written down.

None of that is a failing in the people. They're working hard inside a process that was never set up to help them. Software can't fix a process like that on its own. It can make the gaps louder, or faster, or more expensive.

I've been solving problems with software since 2007, working with universities, hospitals, nonprofits, churches and small businesses. Here is what I've learned: software and systems solve problems best when they're built around people. And sometimes the honest answer is a simpler fix than the one you came in asking for.

So before you buy, build or sign anything, here are the questions I'd ask first. They work whether you run a small business, staff a nonprofit or lead a ministry.

1. Who exactly is struggling, and what are they trying to do?

Start with a name, or at least a role. "The office manager spends Monday mornings copying names from emails into a spreadsheet" is a problem you can work with. "Our process is inefficient" is not.

If you can't say who is struggling, go and ask them. Watch them do the work if they'll let you. The real problem is often a few steps away from where you thought it was.

2. Does the work have a clear owner?

Ask: whose job is this? If you get three different answers, or a long pause, the process has a gap. Nobody was ever asked to own it, and no tool will decide that for you.

If everyone agrees on the owner and that person still can't get it done, that's a different story. Now software might help.

3. Is the way we do this written down, and does everyone agree on it?

Picture a volunteer sign-up that works one way for the youth team and another way for the worship team. Or a client request that goes through one person's inbox and nowhere else.

If the steps live in people's heads, and they differ from one person to the next, the process is unclear, and software will lock in the confusion. Get everyone in a room first. Agree on how the work should go. Then see what's left over.

4. Where does the work get stuck, and why?

Pick one recent example that went wrong and trace it from start to finish. Where did it wait? Where was something retyped? Where did someone have to chase an answer?

• If it waited for a reply or a decision, the process probably has no clear step for who answers, and by when.
• If it was retyped, copied or lost between tools, that's often something software can fix.
• If it was done by hand, over and over, the same way each time, software is a strong candidate.

5. Have we tried the simple fix?

A shared checklist. A standing weekly meeting of fifteen minutes. A single shared inbox. A clear rule about who answers what. These cost very little and can be tried this week.

If a simple fix works, you've saved real money and time. If it almost works but keeps breaking at the same spot, you've learned exactly what the software needs to do. Either way you win.

6. Will it make life easier for the people who have to use it?

The best system I can build is worthless if nobody opens it. Ask who will use it every day, and what it will ask of them. A busy volunteer, a hardworking nurse or a small team that already juggles six tools shouldn't be handed a seventh unless it clearly makes their day easier.

If the people at the center aren't asking for it, find out why before you go further. They may be telling you the tool doesn't fit the way the work really goes.

7. What changes if this gets solved?

Describe the good outcome in plain terms. "Our staff get Friday afternoons back." "New visitors hear from us within a day." "We stop losing track of donations."

If you can name the result, you can tell whether software got you there. If you can't, you're not ready to spend yet.

So, which is it?

Here's a rough way to read your answers.

• Mostly questions about who decides, who owns it, or what the steps are: the process needs fixing first. Start with a conversation, not software.
• Mostly questions about repeated manual work, lost information or tools that don't talk to each other: software is likely to help.
• A mix of both: sort out the process, then build around it.

Often the answer is both, and in that order. I'd rather tell you that plainly than sell you something you don't need.

If you'd like a second pair of ears

I take on a small number of outside projects each year, for clients and teams and for churches and ministries. When someone brings me a problem, we begin with the people and the way they work, not the technology. If software is the right answer, I build it around the way you really work. If it isn't, I'll say so.

You can read more about me, look at the products I build, or read more in my writing.

Have a problem that needs solving? Tell me the problem.