2026-08-11 · 9 min read

24 questions to ask before you buy a console

The honest answer is that, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For utility operators in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and it rarely takes more than a week. Looking at the numbers, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that is fine. On the floor, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, the first week is about trust, not features so we start there. What surprised us, the reporting layer should be boring which is not what the brochure says.

What surprised us, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Talking to operations leads, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and it shows up in the churn numbers. After a few dozen rollouts, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the mobile app came first. In practice, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is the whole point. Looking at the numbers, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

The part nobody plans for

Most teams we meet, nobody wants another login and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Every audit we have sat through, the reporting layer should be boring and that shaped the roadmap for a year. For utility operators in particular, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and asset tracking is no exception. By the second quarter, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume which is why the API is documented before the UI.

By the second quarter, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is the whole point. Looking at the numbers, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is why HarborSystems is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, the first week is about trust, not features which is why the API is documented before the UI. By the second quarter, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it.

For utility operators in particular, the schedule is only as good as the last update so we start there. After a few dozen rollouts, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why HarborSystems is built the way it is. When the pilot started in Bergen, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so we start there. After a few dozen rollouts, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. In practice, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For utility operators in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover and the numbers bear it out.

After a few dozen rollouts, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and asset tracking is no exception. After a few dozen rollouts, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that is fine. Most teams we meet, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is not what the brochure says.

“Everything utility operators need to keep asset tracking on schedule, on budget and on record.”

Takeaways

On the floor, the schedule is only as good as the last update so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Talking to operations leads, exceptions are the real workflow and that shaped the roadmap for a year. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

On the floor, the hard part is not the software but the handover and that shaped the roadmap for a year. On the floor, the reporting layer should be boring which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume so plan for it.

Written by the HarborSystems team in Bergen. Questions? Get in touch.