Getting started
The five first-month mistakes
All avoidable, and all five happen for the same reason.
All five happen for the same reason: wanting everything set up before using it. It is a reasonable instinct and it is exactly what leads to nobody using it two months later.
1. Building twelve processes before using one
It takes two weeks, gets abandoned at the first difficulty, and teaches you nothing about how your third parties respond. One complete real case teaches more than twelve designed in the abstract.
2. Migrating the whole archive
Twelve years of documents nobody has consulted in years. It occupies the start, clutters searches and returns nothing. Bring what is current and what expires; the rest goes up the day someone looks for it.
3. Marking everything mandatory
It ends with cases blocked by what never mattered, and someone bypassing the process to get work done. Mandatory means what stops things, not what would be nice to have.
4. Inviting the whole team on day one
They arrive at an empty account, cannot see the point and do not come back. Convincing them afterwards costs double, because the impression is already formed.
5. Writing titles for yourselves
"Doc 3" or "SS cert." mean nothing to whoever receives them. It is the cheapest mistake to fix and the one that recovers the most delivery.
Important
If you could avoid only one, avoid the first. The other four are corrected in an afternoon once spotted; the first consumes the initial momentum, and that does not come back.
What does work in month one
Worth knowing
The sign you are on track is not having a lot built: it is a colleague asking whether one of their cases could go through it.
›What if I already made one?
The last four are corrected in an afternoon. The first is corrected by starting again with a real case.
›How long until the effect shows?
With one process, two weeks. With twelve unused, never.
›Is it worth starting in peak season?
Better not: build in the quiet season what you will need in the busy one.
A real case
The situation
A company builds eleven processes in two weeks and two months later nobody uses them.
What you do
- Starts again with a real case that was on their desk
- Saves it as a template once it works
What you get
Three weeks later three people are using it, with nothing else built.
The situation
Thirty people are invited before any process exists to use.
What you do
- Whoever will use it that week comes in first
What you get
Nobody receives access to an empty tool.
The situation
The paper circuit is copied as-is, unnecessary steps included.
What you do
- Reviews which steps existed only because paper travelled
What you get
The new process is shorter than the one it replaces.
The situation
It is decided to wait until everything is perfect before requesting anything.
What you do
- Launches a real request with what exists
What you get
Adjustments come from use rather than from a meeting.
The situation
You start with the company's most complicated process.
What you do
- Picks one that repeats often and is simple
What you get
The first result arrives in days, not months.
The situation
Nobody sets a date to decide whether to continue.
What you do
- Sets the thirty-day date from the start
What you get
The decision is taken on data rather than by inertia.
This article answers
- mistakes when starting with the platform
- what not to do in the first month
- why is my process not working
- tips for starting well