Digital Operations & Business Systems

I run operations, build software and improve the systems people use at work.

My work includes purchasing, inventory, business systems and internal tools. I take responsibility for implementing changes and helping people use them.

See how I approach a problem ↓

Where does the work get stuck?

  1. Who does everyone have to ask?

    People keep asking one person where things stand or what happens next. I look for the person who keeps filling in the gaps: explaining the process, finding the information or passing work between departments.

  2. What has to be entered or checked again?

    Repeated copying and checking can show where two parts of the work do not connect. I trace what each record means and where the next person needs it.

  3. Which exceptions keep coming back?

    If people keep working around the same problem, I look at the rule, missing information or unclear responsibility behind it.

I use questions like these to decide what needs changing. The example below shows how people can share information and handle routine work without every step coming back to one person.

02 / The operating layer

When one person becomes the system.

Direct handoffs for routine work. Leadership for the exceptions.

A customer order

Can we promise and fulfil this?

Routine · Central person available

Centralized

Everything through one person.

Start · Destination · Result
Customers

The customer receives a confirmed order and fulfilment plan.

Aligned

Work goes to its owner.

Start · Destination · Result
Customers

The customer receives a confirmed order and fulfilment plan.

Routine workMissing informationTrue exceptionOwned record

Illustrative workflows. Shared records support people; they do not grant approval.

Escalate judgement, not routine information transfer.

The approach, in practice.

Examples from the businesses and organizations I work with.

  1. The systems behind a seasonal business.

    Buying the stock and building the systems that keep track of it are parts of the same job.

    • Operating models & handoffs
    • Business systems & integration
    • Software & internal tools
    • Reporting & information
    • Implementation & leadership
  2. The sign was only the beginning.

    Replacing a manual letterboard with a scheduled roadside display, then rebuilding its control system when the original support path ended.

    • Infrastructure & physical systems
    • Digital media & finished output
    • Software & internal tools
All work

04 / Working together

A few ways we can work together.

More about my background ↗