Strong starting signal
“Our team enters the same approved order into three tools, and reconciliation takes a day.”
Map / Start
Start with one route through the work.
You do not need a finished specification. A short, truthful picture of the current workflow is enough to begin deciding whether the next move is repair, connection, automation, or replacement.
Your first packet
Answer what you can.
- Organisation: name, website, New Zealand location or service area, and your role.
- Workflow: what starts the work, who touches it, which tools are involved, and what “done” means.
- Failure: what is slow, fragile, invisible, duplicated, risky, or dependent on one person.
- Examples: three representative cases with private information safely removed.
- Pressure: why this matters now and what happens if nothing changes.
- First proof: one observable result that would justify a second stage.
- Constraints: deadlines, vendors, access limits, budget range, decision-makers, and known regulatory or sector needs.
Do not email passwords, private keys, production exports, payment details, health information, or other sensitive records. We can agree a safer transfer route if the project needs real data.
Fit check
A good first project is bounded but meaningful.
It affects real work, has an accountable owner, can be observed, and can change in stages. A request that depends on unknown legal conclusions, unowned data, or unrestricted production access needs preparation before code.
Needs discovery
“Replace our entire business platform” without a system inventory, rule owners, or agreed transition boundary.
Requires another adviser
A request for a legal compliance opinion, tax determination, formal certification, or independent security assurance.