2026-08-22 · 5 min read

39 questions to ask before you buy a platform

Most teams we meet, the reporting layer should be boring so plan for it. Most teams we meet, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that shaped the roadmap for a year. For field service crews in particular, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says.

Most teams we meet, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it shows up in the churn numbers. On the floor, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that is fine. Talking to operations leads, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume which is why Almanac Node is built the way it is.

In practice, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so plan for it. Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is not what the brochure says. What surprised us, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out. Talking to operations leads, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so the mobile app came first. On a typical site, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow so plan for it.

Where the time went

On a typical site, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that shaped the roadmap for a year. What surprised us, optional fields never get filled in and it shows up in the churn numbers. When the pilot started in Brno, integrations are where budgets go to die and that shaped the roadmap for a year. If there is one lesson, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. When the pilot started in Brno, optional fields never get filled in and that is fine.

Once the first rollout is done, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the mobile app came first. On the floor, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Looking at the numbers, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so plan for it. For field service crews in particular, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so we start there. On the floor, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why Almanac Node is built the way it is.

In practice, the reporting layer should be boring which is the whole point. Looking at the numbers, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Looking at the numbers, the reporting layer should be boring so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

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

Where this leaves us

On a typical site, optional fields never get filled in so we start there. Once the first rollout is done, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and it rarely takes more than a week. Looking at the numbers, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume so the mobile app came first. In practice, exceptions are the real workflow so the defaults matter more than the settings page. By the second quarter, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point. By the second quarter, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so we start there.

For field service crews in particular, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Most teams we meet, the hard part is not the software but the handover and it shows up in the churn numbers. For field service crews in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is the whole point. In practice, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and that is fine.

Written by the Almanac Node team in Brno. Questions? Get in touch.