Getting started
Your first week
What to do in the first days so the platform actually earns its keep, in order.
The commonest mistake when starting is trying to set everything up before using anything. It takes two weeks, gets abandoned at the first obstacle, and nothing has been gained. This order does the opposite: something working on day one.
Day 1 — a real case
Take something that is on your desk today: a supplier to chase for paperwork, a contract to sign. Do it end to end on the platform, even if it is slower than email that first time. It is the only thing that really teaches how the pieces fit.
Day 2 — turn it into a template
Save what you just did as a process. From then on the second case takes two minutes.
Days 3 and 4 — the team
Now invite people. Bring them in with something that already works in front of them, not an empty screen. Give each of them what they need and nothing more: someone who only looks does not need to be able to delete.
Day 5 — what slips through
Look at which of your own documents expire and set the dates. That is what turns the platform into something that warns you, rather than a filing cabinet you have to go and check.
Worth knowing
If by the end of the week you have one repeatable process and three people using it, you are on track. If you have twelve processes and nobody inside, go back to day one.
›How long until it is running?
One real case, the first afternoon. The whole team, a week.
›Do I need IT help?
Not to start. Only to connect email to your own domain, and that can wait.
›What if I set something up wrong?
Everything can be changed later. Nothing from day one is irreversible.
A real case
The situation
A twelve-person company starts on a Monday.
What you do
- Monday: chases a real supplier for paperwork
- Tuesday: saves it as a process
- Thursday: three colleagues join
- Friday: sets expiry dates on their insurance
What you get
The following Monday the second supplier takes two minutes and nobody needed training.
The situation
A company spends the first week configuring and asks nobody for anything.
What you do
- Picks a real process that already hurts and launches it on day one
- Adjusts the configuration around whatever comes up
What you get
Configuration is decided from real cases rather than assumptions.
The situation
The whole team is invited on day one and nobody knows what to do.
What you do
- One person starts with a process of their own
- The others come in once there is something to show them
What you get
Whoever joins finds something working rather than an empty tool.
The situation
On day three the same thing must be requested from another supplier and it is rebuilt from scratch.
What you do
- Saves the first process as a template
- Launches the second supplier from it
What you get
The second request takes two minutes instead of half an hour.
The situation
Nobody knows whether the supplier received the request.
What you do
- Checks the status of each request sent
- Lets the reminders go out on their own
What you get
You stop emailing to ask whether it arrived.
The situation
The first week ends with nothing to show management.
What you do
- Closes one complete file, however small
- Shows it with its trail and its dates
What you get
The decision to continue is taken on something done rather than a promise.
This article answers
- where do i start with code contract
- what do i do on day one
- how do i get the platform running
- quick start guide