The spreadsheet is the real system

Teams rarely ask for software in the abstract. They ask because a file has become the place everyone is afraid to edit, or because a template keeps dropping the exception that the work depends on.

What version one includes

The roles that touch the record. The screens that show the next step, on a phone and on a desk. One place for the data, with a history. That is the version. The catalogue of later ideas waits.

What stays

Tools that already work stay. The build replaces the gap: the copy-paste, the missing screen, or the report nobody trusts. It does not replace the company.

How we know it is too early

If a page, a form, and an email would do the job, we say so before drawing a system. A campaign can go live while that answer is still no.