30 planning guides · Original i26 editorial
Featured / Software strategy
Custom software or SaaS: decide around the workflow.
Compare fit, responsibility, change, and exit costs before choosing how to build your business system.
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Operations / 2 min read
Build a rolling forecast your team can explain.
Keep actuals, assumptions, and scenarios separate so a forecast supports a decision rather than hiding uncertainty.
Read the noteCommerce / 2 min read
Make pricing changes easier to review.
A clear pricing workflow connects unit cost, margin, discounts, and approval without confusing the calculation.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Inventory software starts with trustworthy movements.
Design receipts, transfers, reservations, and adjustments around a stock ledger rather than a single editable total.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Connect purchase requests to what actually arrives.
Keep request, approval, supplier order, and goods receipt distinct while preserving a traceable connection.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Design warehouse screens for the floor.
Picking and counting interfaces need clear locations, recoverable mistakes, and realistic device testing.
Read the noteCommerce / 2 min read
Orders need an exception path, too.
Plan partial fulfillment, cancellation, and returns alongside the ordinary order journey.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
A supplier scorecard needs evidence behind the score.
Turn onboarding documents and delivery reviews into an explainable supplier workflow.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Dispatch planning is more than drawing a route.
Bring capacity, delivery windows, and exceptions into a dispatch workflow before adding optimization.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Make a production plan that respects capacity.
Connect material availability, work centers, and production feedback without implying perfect scheduling.
Read the noteOperations / 2 min read
Turn maintenance reminders into accountable work.
Connect an asset, a due task, and completion evidence so maintenance history stays useful.
Read the noteHealthcare / 2 min read
Medical billing demos need clear boundaries.
Design reviewable billing states while keeping fictional demonstrations separate from real patient and payer systems.
Read the noteHealthcare / 2 min read
Appointments and queues need different clocks.
Model availability, booking, arrival, and service separately so scheduling remains understandable.
Read the noteEducation / 2 min read
Learning progress should mean something specific.
Separate enrollment, activity, assessment, and completion instead of treating one percentage as proof of learning.
Read the noteEducation / 2 min read
Build an admissions workflow people can follow.
Keep application completeness, review, decisions, and enrollment clear for applicants and staff.
Read the noteTeams / 2 min read
Project plans need capacity, not just dates.
Connect tasks, dependencies, availability, and acceptance so a milestone reflects work that can actually be delivered.
Read the noteTeams / 2 min read
Support automation needs an escalation path.
Improve routing and response preparation while keeping responsibility visible when a case needs human judgment.
Read the noteTeams / 2 min read
An approval belongs to a version of a document.
Connect reviewer decisions to an immutable version so later edits cannot inherit an unrelated approval.
Read the noteTeams / 2 min read
Shift scheduling needs a fair, visible change process.
Model availability, coverage, qualifications, and approved swaps without hiding changes from the people affected.
Read the noteAI / 2 min read
Start an AI agent with one bounded workflow.
Define permitted actions, evaluation cases, human handoffs, and rollback before giving an agent operational tools.
Read the noteData / 3 min read
Before replacing a database, ask these questions.
A useful comparison starts with your workload, not a headline benchmark.
Read the noteData / 3 min read
A calmer approach to database migration.
Reduce uncertainty by treating migration as a series of decisions and tests.
Read the noteData / 3 min read
Choose an analytics platform around the work.
What your team needs to query matters more than a universal winner.
Read the noteEngineering / 3 min read
Open source is a choice, not a shortcut.
Look at ownership, support, and operating effort alongside the license.
Read the noteAI / 3 min read
A useful AI assistant starts with good boundaries.
Define what it can read, what it should answer, and when it should ask for help.
Read the noteCloud / 3 min read
Start your cloud review with a clear baseline.
Cost changes should be checked against reliability and the user experience.
Read the noteData / 3 min read
Start a data platform with one useful question.
A smaller first release can make the value and the gaps easier to see.
Read the noteEngineering / 3 min read
When does your system need events?
Use an event-driven design when the workflow benefits from it.
Read the noteCloud / 3 min read
Security improves through everyday habits.
Clear access, tested recovery, and visible changes are useful foundations.
Read the noteAI / 3 min read
Automate the task. Keep the judgment.
Good automation makes human decisions clearer, not harder to see.
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