The job is the place
Quote, dates, materials, hours, photos, variations, invoice. All of it hangs on the job. Not in a folder with the same name, but on the job itself.
Practice / Running a job
Running a job
A job passes a dozen stations inside a business. Even with interfaces in place, that does not add up on its own to one dependable shared state.
The starting point
The work
in between.
- The enquiry comes by phone and lands on a scrap of paper.
- The quote is written in a text document, the appointment goes in a calendar, the material into an order, the hours onto a weekly sheet.
- Where a job stands is usually known by the person looking after it. When they are on holiday, others can work it out only with difficulty.
- The customer rings and asks where things stand. Someone promises to call back.
A suitable design
What needs to
work together.
These components describe one possible individual scope. Scope and rules are agreed with your business.
The state can be read off
Nobody has to ask where something stands. It is there, for the colleague who has never seen this job before as well.
Standing still gets noticed
A job where nothing has happened for a while says so. Not as an accusation but as a question.
A handover with a traceable state
A documented state shortens the handover and makes open questions visible. A qualified colleague checks what they are taking over. Complex cases still need questions and a proper briefing.
An example decision card
A job has not moved for eleven days
Material has been delivered, no date is set, the last contact with the customer was two weeks ago.
Standing still is not always a problem. But eleven days without an entry is unusual for this kind of job.
How does the system recognise a job that is standing still?
- no new entry on this job for 11 days
- usual for this kind of job: 3 to 5 days
- material is there, so it is not waiting on a delivery
- → notable, not wrong
07 · To move things
Where a job stands is written there.
Drag a job into the state that fits, or use the labelled actions. Nothing disappears in the process: every move appears in the history straight away.
Inbox
New and not prepared yet
-
Roof repair, office building
Example business, managing agent
The enquiry and three photos have arrived. Scope and date are still missing.
arrived today · 07:46
No jobs in this state.
Agent working
Papers and suggestions are taking shape
-
Treatment room refit
Example business, medical practice
Materials are assigned. The agent is still checking two variations against the approvals.
last run · 08:03
No jobs in this state.
Waiting for you
A decision is needed here
-
Ventilation service
Example business, hotel
Date and materials are settled. The prepared crew plan needs your approval.
waiting since · 06:22
-
Handrail, north wing
Example business, metalwork
The invoice draft contains two variations confirmed in writing.
waiting since · 06:26
No jobs in this state.
Done
Decided and traceable
-
Heating circuit, works hall
Example business, manufacturing
Sign-off and final invoice are complete. The case is locked.
closed · yesterday 16:42
Nothing left to do
No jobs in this state.
History
Every move stays visible with its time and its author.
- Agent · planning Crew plan for A-2412 prepared and put up for a decision.
- Agent · billing Invoice draft for A-2408 built from the order and the variations.
An illustration. All the names stand for generic example businesses; jobs and times are invented. Moving works by dragging, by touch, with the keyboard or through the labelled actions.
The column is not the progress
What matters is why a job sits there and what is missing next. So every card already carries its next step.
Waiting is a state of its own
When a person has to decide, the agent does not quietly carry on. The job stands visibly still until the limit is settled.
The countercheck
Where things
can go wrong.
A common building mistake is to crowd the job with mandatory fields so that the analysis looks complete. Where the purpose of a field is unclear, placeholders and guesses appear, and the analysis looks more solid than it is. Every mandatory field has to justify itself.
A useful first trial includes this failure case explicitly. Fast processing alone is not success if checking and correction create more work.
The connection to the next task
Your first stage
Start where
the work improves.
For Running a job, we choose a bounded first outcome with your team. Existing specialist systems can stay where they fulfil necessary requirements. We compare time relief, payments that can end and the cost of the new way of working.
The workshop gives you priorities and a roadmap. You can continue internally or with support from Markus Kirchmair. The choice of model and agent follows the task, with data and rules retained outside an individual chat.
Explore the workshop →Ready for the next change
Keep the work simple.
The first view should show the next relevant decision. Reasoning and sources remain accessible. We leave out unnecessary features and make actual progress visible.
When a rule changes, agents can help investigate the impact, prepare the adjustment and update tests and documentation. A qualified person assesses the result and its adoption.
Try a change →Your first step
Say yes
to less.
Less unnecessary software. More room for your work. Let’s find the useful first step.