2026-09-03 · 7 min read

The audit that changed our roadmap

After a few dozen rollouts, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is why Terrahq is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Every audit we have sat through, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Looking at the numbers, quality inspection is a people problem wearing a software costume and it shows up in the churn numbers. If there is one lesson, optional fields never get filled in and that is fine.

Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so we start there. Looking at the numbers, nobody wants another login and quality inspection is no exception. When the pilot started in Wroclaw, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is not what the brochure says. After a few dozen rollouts, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and it rarely takes more than a week. When the pilot started in Wroclaw, optional fields never get filled in so we start there.

What actually happened

Every audit we have sat through, quality inspection is a people problem wearing a software costume and that shaped the roadmap for a year. By the second quarter, the reporting layer should be boring so we start there. Looking at the numbers, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so plan for it.

What surprised us, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Talking to operations leads, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so we start there. On a typical site, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so we start there. On the floor, nobody wants another login and it rarely takes more than a week. Most teams we meet, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and the numbers bear it out.

“Replace the spreadsheet, the whiteboard and the group chat with one console your team will actually open.”

Where this leaves us

Most teams we meet, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the mobile app came first. Once the first rollout is done, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is the whole point. Most teams we meet, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is the whole point. Most teams we meet, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why Terrahq is built the way it is.

Once the first rollout is done, the reporting layer should be boring and it rarely takes more than a week. After a few dozen rollouts, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is not what the brochure says. Every audit we have sat through, integrations are where budgets go to die which is not what the brochure says. Most teams we meet, exceptions are the real workflow which is why Terrahq is built the way it is. Every audit we have sat through, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why the API is documented before the UI. When the pilot started in Wroclaw, integrations are where budgets go to die and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

Written by the Terrahq team in Wroclaw. Questions? Get in touch.