Business Core · Operational Systems · Module
Tooling
The systems and software the work runs on, and whether they fit the process or the process has bent to fit them.
The idea
How it works
Tools shape process whether or not anyone intended it. A system implemented over an unexamined process encodes that process, inefficiencies included, and makes them harder to change afterwards.
The second recurring problem is accumulation. Organisations acquire tools faster than they retire them, and end up with several doing the same job badly and none doing it well.
Working with it
In practice
- 01
Redesign the process first
Choosing a tool for a process you intend to change means choosing for the wrong requirements.
- 02
Inventory what already exists
Most organisations have more tools than anyone can list, several overlapping.
- 03
Choose on fit, not on features
Feature comparisons favour the largest product. Fit to the actual process favours the right one.
- 04
Plan the retirement
Adopting a tool without retiring what it replaces produces two systems and one source of truth fewer.
One level in
The components of tooling
A component is something that exists afterwards which did not exist before — a deliverable or a mechanism, not an intention.
The fit assessment
How well each tool matches the process it supports, and where the process bent instead.
Learn
Implementing a system over an unexamined process encodes the inefficiency and makes it permanent. Map first.
The other modules in operational systems
Process design
Mapping how work actually moves through the organisation, as opposed to how it is supposed to. The gap between the two is where most operational problems live.
LearnStandards and quality
What good output looks like, defined precisely enough that two people would agree. Without it, quality is a matter of who checked.
LearnContinuous improvement
A rhythm for changing the process based on what it produces, rather than only when something breaks. The rhythm matters more than the method.
Learn