Improve the process
Clarify the required information, ownership and approval rules. A shared checklist or a change in how work is assigned may be enough.
Start here when people disagree about what should happen next.
An operating plan for the year ahead
Prepare your business for 2027
Identify the processes that take up your time, connect the tools you already use and decide what is worth automating first.
Review my operations for 2027
Start with one process and the tools your team uses today.
Make the work visible
A process, its owner and the evidence.
Choose a response
Improve, connect or build only what is missing.
Test one change
A bounded pilot and a measure to review.
A planning sequence. The next step depends on what your review reveals.
First, observe
What keeps a request from moving forward?
Follow one real request from its arrival to completion. Look for a repeatable point of friction before making a software shopping list.
Information that arrives incomplete
Find the details people have to ask for again, where those answers belong and who checks that the request is ready.
Work copied between tools
Identify the record that owns each field, what must move between systems and which approvals should stay with a person.
Progress that nobody can explain
Agree on the stages of the work, the person responsible for each handoff and the evidence that a stage is complete.
Three useful decisions. Software is one of them.
A useful review can end with a clearer process, a better use of your current tools or a focused software project. Choose the response that fits the gap.
Configure or connect your tools
Check the features in your current plans and test a supported connector with your real workflow, including missing data and failed transfers.
Explore this when the tools fit but information is being retyped.
Build the missing piece
Define the specific rule, interface or handoff that existing products cannot handle. Keep the first scope small enough to test with the team.
Consider this after a concrete gap remains in the tools you evaluated.
Two working documents to get started
Read both guides without registration. Use the checklist to gather evidence, then turn those findings into a plan.
Business systems readiness checklist
Review processes, data, tools, ownership and measurement. Record what is known, what needs checking and what blocks the next step.
Open the checklistYour 2027 automation roadmap
Capture candidate processes in a practical template. Compare impact and effort, define a pilot and agree on the measure that will inform the next decision.
Build my roadmapOne process first
A possible first 90 days
Use these windows to organize a conversation, not as a delivery commitment. Access, process complexity and team availability may change the sequence or timing.
Days 1–30
Understand and choose
Map one process, review a sample of work and assign an owner. Record the baseline and compare process changes with existing software options.
Move forward when the problem, owner and evidence are clear.
Days 31–60
Test a bounded change
Try the selected change with an agreed group of requests. Keep a manual fallback, review exceptions and check that the information reaches the right person.
Expand only when the team can operate and recover the pilot.
Days 61–90
Review and decide
Compare observations with the baseline. Review errors, effort and adoption with the people doing the work. Improve, expand or stop based on what you learned.
Choose the next scope from evidence, not from the calendar.
Use the detail you need
The existing guides cover estimating manual effort and comparing custom software with SaaS. Use them alongside your plan, with your own inputs.
Before you begin
Do we need to replace our current software for 2027?
No. Start by checking whether the problem comes from unclear ownership, missing information or features your team is not using. Configuration or a supported integration may be sufficient. A custom build makes sense only when an important, defined gap remains.
What should we bring to an initial conversation?
Describe one recurring process, the tools involved, who owns each step and an example of where work gets stuck. Redacted examples and approximate volumes are enough to begin framing the discussion. Keep confidential records and credentials out of a public project brief.
Is the 30/60/90-day route a promised delivery schedule?
It is an indicative planning structure. Scope, access, team availability and test results determine the actual work and timing. The year 2027 is a planning horizon, not a universal software replacement deadline.
Should we start with AI?
Start with a clear process and reliable inputs. Some tasks need a better form, a rule or an integration. Consider AI when the task benefits from it and you can define how people review uncertain outputs, handle exceptions and measure quality.
Bring one process. Start a useful conversation.
Tell us what your team does today, where the handoff breaks and what a better outcome would look like. We can discuss whether a process change, an integration or custom software fits.