Taming the beast (Airtable)
So, my ‘month-notes’ continue (slowly). I have recently started an Open Working Programme being delivered by Third Sector Lab, which has motivated me to write this week.
I wanted to go back to a post I did a few months — People, Systems and the unknown beast, which talked about the challenges of low code tools.
As a team, we are now starting on the journey (3 weeks into it) of taming the ‘beast’ that we have created.
The Problem:
Tools are there to make our lives easier and more efficient, which Airtable undoubtedly has. However, we have run into some problems, which are as follows:
- The system was starting to control us and how we do things, when I say that, not in a SkyNet way. As a team, due to heavy workload, when things were not quite working right, we were doing work arounds or doing certain tasks manually, which meant that we were changing our processes to fit the system.
- We were making changes to the system, without documenting the changes. This was not an immediate problem but it presented a lot of risks for the future usability and maintenance of the system.
- We were making incremental changes without a process for gathering the requirements and ensuring we understood the impact of the changes and the training needed to adopt the changes.
Why is it important to solve:
- Take back control from the machine! Airtable is here to help us to be more efficient, allow us to use our skills in servicing clients, and improve customer service and it should be doing that.
- It needs life beyond the current team! We want to ensure that the system can be used and maintained by people into the future, even if the current individuals are no longer part of the team.
- Open the box! We want to show what is inside the box and document how the system works, so, it can be copied/re-used by others.
How are we solving the problems:
I think it is important to say, that as a team, we knew where the majority of the problems were but due to the pressures of delivery and lacking some of the digital project management skills, we were really struggling to document them and then develop a plan, so, the work kept getting put down the priority list.
I think we finally started making progress, when, we worked with DOT PROJECT to act as external light-touch advisors. They did the following:
- Listened and understood, where we were and where we wanted to get to.
- Shared their technical knowledge and highlighted what we needed to do in practical terms.
- Created a clearly defined set of steps and related tasks*
- Developed an action plan, with dependencies and timelines.
- Held us to account! DOT PROJECT joined us for a weekly stand-up to track our progress and offer advice and support. This has been critical in driving us to keep the work moving.
Hopes for the future:
I think, if the Airtable system is well documented, and the people using the system, say, it is making their lives easier, I will feel, we would have succeeded. We hope to complete this project by July 2024.
*High level steps of the project:
S1: Identify systems environment stakeholders
S2: Define ideal process maps
S3: Audit Airtable, Stacker and miniextensions
S4: Document each part of the systems environment
S5: Rationalise the systems environment
S6: Identify differences between process maps and current systems implementation
S7: Design necessary systems changes, identify resources & timeline
S8: Implement and test necessary systems changes
S9: Create training materials for stakeholders
S10: Roll out training materials for stakeholders
S11: Define & roll out future development process including impact analysis
S12: Open Source the model
