Software which supports the human – rather than tells her what to do

This is how I imagine it works:

WORKFLOW SOFTWARE – the expert shows up at work, logs into the computer, and the software presents her with a list of tasks which need to be done by the end of the day. She has to do something specific with all of them (for example approve mortgage applications, agree with something someone else says, or decide if something needs to be routed somewhere else). In other words, the software is driving the human and it sounds quite grim.

DOMAIN EXPERT SOFTWARE: the expert shows up at work, logs onto her computer, and is presented with all the information she needs to make sure the organisation which she runs is within safe parameters. There is an overview of the most important data, and a clear differentiation between facts and analytics. The software gently encourages the expert to look deeper in some areas to see what is happening.

The expert can see what happened last time in the company when the situation was like this, what decision was made and why, and what happened afterwards. it all helps the expert make a better decision about what if anything needs to be done.

The expert also feels valued – not in the monetary or ego sense, but in a deep sense – with a deeper sense of satisfaction of a job being done well. This makes it easier for the expert to form trusting relationships with colleagues (including colleagues from outside the company), have complex discussions about sensitive issues and share ideas. The whole company is more efficient and the investors have more chance of getting interesting returns.