Blog
Thoughts on custom software, product design, and building tools for mission-driven teams.
Latest posts
Hiring a Software Partner
How to Choose a Software Development Partner Who Will Challenge Your Idea
How to choose a software development partner for your nonprofit: ask how they test your idea, involve users, and say when not to build before you sign.
After Launch
Why New Software Goes Unused, and How to Get Your Staff to Actually Use It
Why new software goes unused: staff work around tools that make their jobs harder. Learn how to find the cause and fix it, even if it isn’t new software.
Planning a Software Project
Most software problems start before anyone writes code. Here's how to get clear on what you're building, and why, before you spend a dollar on it.
Planning a Software Project
What Is a Product Roadmap, and Why Do You Need One?
What a product roadmap is, why building in phases cuts rework and risk, and how to start from today. A plain-English guide for nonprofit and ed-tech leaders.
Planning a Software Project
The Vision Is the Deliverable
Speed without strategy leads to costly rework. A roadmap-first approach keeps custom software aligned to your business outcomes.
Planning a Software Project
How the Jobs to Be Done Framework Keeps Your Product Focused
Adding more features won’t make your app better. The Jobs to Be Done framework helps you build only what matters—and keeps your MVP focused.
Build, Buy, or Wait
Sometimes the right answer is custom software. Sometimes it's an off-the-shelf tool, or waiting a year. Here's how to tell the difference, honestly.
Build, Buy, or Wait
The SaaS-pocalypse Is Real. But It's Not What You Think.
AI is making custom software faster and cheaper to build — but it's not magic. Here's what the SaaS-pocalypse means for nonprofits and ed-tech teams.
Build, Buy, or Wait
10 Warning Signs Your Nonprofit Has Outgrown Its Systems
Spending hours copying data between systems? These 10 warning signs show when a nonprofit has outgrown its systems, and what to do about it.
Hiring a Software Partner
Plenty of projects start with a clear vision and launch without it. Here's how to choose a partner, and run a build, so that doesn't happen to yours.
Hiring a Software Partner
Built Exactly as Asked, and Still Unused: Why Software Misses the People It's For
Why custom software projects fail even when built exactly as asked: the vision was never tested with users. How to test yours before and during the build.
Hiring a Software Partner
How to Choose a Software Development Partner Who Will Challenge Your Idea
How to choose a software development partner for your nonprofit: ask how they test your idea, involve users, and say when not to build before you sign.
Hiring a Software Partner
How 4MyCiTy Went From Manual Check-ins to Real-Time Reports
Nonprofit mobile app case study: how 4MyCiTy went from manual check-ins and spreadsheets to real-time reports, and why we kept going back to the field.
After Launch
Launch is when software starts proving itself. Here's how to get people using it, and keep it useful as your organization changes.
After Launch
Launch Is the Halfway Point: What Happens After Your Software Goes Live
Launch is the first real test, not the finish line. Here's what happens after your software goes live, who owns it, and what to decide before launch day.
After Launch
Why New Software Goes Unused, and How to Get Your Staff to Actually Use It
Why new software goes unused: staff work around tools that make their jobs harder. Learn how to find the cause and fix it, even if it isn’t new software.