What does a normal month look like?

September, in their own words

An invented 80-person engineering firm that services customers’ equipment, in the month a date slips. The people and their words are made up to show how the work fits together; they are not customers.

• Helen PriceManaging director
• Ana RuizOperations director
• Chloe WardWorkshop manager
• Ben CarterField service manager
• Dev ShahOffice manager

Before this month

1. 

   Helen Price · Managing director · January

   “This year we compete on reliability: fix customers’ equipment on the first visit, and grow our service contracts.”

   In waytrk Ana records the two priorities, “Keep customers’ equipment running” and “Grow service contracts”, and a measure for each: return visits a month, down to 20 by March next year, and quotes sent within two working days, up from 60% to 90% by December.

2. 

   Chloe Ward · Workshop manager · March

   “Engineers go back to jobs because they arrive without the right parts. My workshop will prepare a digital job sheet for every job, ready by the end of October.”

   In waytrk Chloe raises an initiative, a piece of planned work, in the Workshop’s plan: “Digital job sheets”, June to October, linked to the first-time fix Key Result, which serves “Keep customers’ equipment running”.

3. 

   Ben Carter · Field service manager · March

   “My engineers’ field app shows Chloe’s job sheets, so it can only start once they exist: November.”

   In waytrk Ben raises “Field app rollout”, starting 1 November, and records that it needs the job sheets finished first. Sales plans “Service contract offer” for “Grow service contracts” from next March, and it needs the app.

September

1. 6 September

   

   Chloe Ward · Workshop manager

   “The tablets for the job sheets arrive six weeks late, so we won’t finish until late November. Ben starts on 1 November. I’d rather change my date now than surprise him later.”

   In waytrk Chloe moves her finish date to 26 November and asks Ben’s team to agree it. waytrk compares it with the field app’s start and puts the clash on both their to-do lists. It sends no reminders: they see it when they next sign in, and Helen and Ana see it the next time they look at the plan.

2. Mid-September

   

   Ben Carter · Field service manager

   “Return visits are coming down: 38 in June, 31 in August. The target is 20 a month by March next year, and most of the rest are still engineers arriving without the right parts.”

   In waytrk Ben records August’s figure, 31, against the return-visits measure, with his reason. Helen and Ana see the number and his note.

3. Third week

   

   Chloe Ward · Workshop manager

   “I can still finish by October if we pay for contractor days, about £8,000 more. I’d rather put the cost in front of the meeting than promise a date I can’t keep.”

   In waytrk Chloe saves a plan alternative, a copy of her plan with the October date and the extra cost. Her working plan doesn’t change unless she switches to it after the meeting.

4. Third week

   

   Ben Carter · Field service manager

   “If the job sheets stay late, I can start the field app in December instead. That costs nothing, but the contract offer would have to wait.”

   In waytrk Ben saves his own plan alternative: the field app from December. waytrk shows that it clears the clash but makes the service contract offer start late.

5. The week before the review

   

   Ana Ruiz · Operations director

   “I don’t want twenty slides. I want to know what has moved since last month, and the one decision we need to make.”

   In waytrk waytrk lists what changed since the last review: Chloe’s new date, the clash with the field app, and that Ben’s team hasn’t agreed the new date yet. Ana records September’s quotes figure, 82% sent within two working days and on course for 90% by December. She writes one question for the meeting.

6. 27 September

   What does the meeting decide?

   Start the field app later, or pay to finish the job sheets four weeks sooner?

   • Ben’s alternativeStart the field app in December. No extra cost, but the service contract offer has to wait until April, which sets back “Grow service contracts”.
   • Chloe’s alternativeFinish the job sheets by October with about £8,000 of contractor time. The field app and the contract offer keep their dates.

   In waytrk Helen, Ana, Ben and Chloe look at the same dates, costs and figures the teams recorded during the month, so nobody rebuilds them into slides. They choose to pay the £8,000. Chloe switches her plan to her alternative and the clash clears. Ana closes the review, which keeps a dated record of the decision.

Later

1. 

   Dev Shah · Office manager · January

   “Ben moved over to Sales, so Eli Morgan, one of our senior engineers, took over Field service. We handed him the plan the same afternoon.”

   In waytrk Dev gives Eli access to Field service, and Ana makes him the owner of its plan. Eli sees every date, figure and decision Ben recorded. The plan stays with the team, not with the person who leaves.

How they use waytrk: Helen reads the strategy and the plans and edits nothing. Ana records the strategy and says who owns each team’s plan. Ben and Chloe each keep their own team’s plan up to date. Dev gives people access. Working together: who can do what

Where next