Custom software · Anonymized example
Custom software for an operation that had outgrown its spreadsheets.
Orders moved across desks as spreadsheet files. Each handoff was a chance to lose a version. The engagement replaced that chain with custom software shaped around the steps the floor already used.
Situation
People trusted their own copy of the sheet more than the shared one. Managers could not see which orders were waiting, or on whom.
Approach
I traced one order from request to completion and kept the language the team already used. The first release covered the handoff that caused the most rework. Integrations came after people trusted the record.
What shipped
An internal system for the order path, with clear ownership at each step and notes the next person can read.
Outcome
There is one current version of an order. Handoffs are visible, and the unofficial spreadsheet stops being the system of record.