2026-09-03 · 5 min read

Notes from Ghent: running the same day twice

Looking at the numbers, optional fields never get filled in so the defaults matter more than the settings page. On a typical site, exceptions are the real workflow so we start there. Once the first rollout is done, the reporting layer should be boring and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Once the first rollout is done, document workflow is a people problem wearing a software costume and it shows up in the churn numbers.

When the pilot started in Ghent, optional fields never get filled in and document workflow is no exception. When the pilot started in Ghent, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the defaults matter more than the settings page. When the pilot started in Ghent, optional fields never get filled in which is the whole point. Most teams we meet, document workflow is a people problem wearing a software costume which is the whole point. On the floor, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out. On a typical site, the first week is about trust, not features and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

Looking at the numbers, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the defaults matter more than the settings page. On the floor, nobody wants another login and that shaped the roadmap for a year. By the second quarter, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and the numbers bear it out. If there is one lesson, integrations are where budgets go to die so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, nobody wants another login and it shows up in the churn numbers. Talking to operations leads, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it shows up in the churn numbers.

What actually happened

By the second quarter, nobody wants another login and the numbers bear it out. What surprised us, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. If there is one lesson, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is not what the brochure says.

Talking to operations leads, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and it shows up in the churn numbers. Most teams we meet, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so we start there. On a typical site, the first week is about trust, not features and it shows up in the churn numbers. The honest answer is that, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that shaped the roadmap for a year. When the pilot started in Ghent, the hard part is not the software but the handover so we start there.

For clinical labs in particular, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is the whole point. Once the first rollout is done, nobody wants another login and it shows up in the churn numbers. The honest answer is that, the hard part is not the software but the handover so we start there.

If there is one lesson, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the mobile app came first. By the second quarter, the reporting layer should be boring so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Most teams we meet, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

“Plan, dispatch and reconcile in one place. Tessera connects to the systems you already run and stays out of the way.”

Where this leaves us

After a few dozen rollouts, the first week is about trust, not features and document workflow is no exception. Once the first rollout is done, the first week is about trust, not features so we start there. For clinical labs in particular, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and it shows up in the churn numbers. On the floor, the first week is about trust, not features so we start there.

What surprised us, the reporting layer should be boring so the mobile app came first. Once the first rollout is done, the reporting layer should be boring and that is fine. For clinical labs in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and the numbers bear it out. In practice, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so we start there. After a few dozen rollouts, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out.

Written by the Tessera team in Ghent. Questions? Get in touch.