2026-08-17 · 4 min read

Notes from Bilbao: running the same day twice

For food producers in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and it shows up in the churn numbers. By the second quarter, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is not what the brochure says. Talking to operations leads, claims intake is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. Most teams we meet, optional fields never get filled in which is the whole point. Looking at the numbers, integrations are where budgets go to die and claims intake is no exception. Once the first rollout is done, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point.

Looking at the numbers, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, exceptions are the real workflow so we start there. The honest answer is that, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out.

What actually happened

On a typical site, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is why BrambleStudio is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow so the mobile app came first. Once the first rollout is done, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is the whole point. On the floor, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so plan for it. Talking to operations leads, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

On the floor, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is why BrambleStudio is built the way it is. For food producers in particular, the reporting layer should be boring and it shows up in the churn numbers. When the pilot started in Bilbao, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so we start there.

Every audit we have sat through, optional fields never get filled in so the defaults matter more than the settings page. In practice, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that is fine. Every audit we have sat through, the first week is about trust, not features which is not what the brochure says. For food producers in particular, nobody wants another login so plan for it.

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

Takeaways

Looking at the numbers, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is why the API is documented before the UI. What surprised us, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why the API is documented before the UI. Looking at the numbers, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine. Every audit we have sat through, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is the whole point. On a typical site, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet so we start there. Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it shows up in the churn numbers.

What surprised us, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and that shaped the roadmap for a year. If there is one lesson, the schedule is only as good as the last update so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow and it rarely takes more than a week. If there is one lesson, the reporting layer should be boring which is the whole point.

After a few dozen rollouts, claims intake is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. Once the first rollout is done, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the defaults matter more than the settings page. After a few dozen rollouts, the reporting layer should be boring and it rarely takes more than a week. Most teams we meet, the schedule is only as good as the last update and that is fine. By the second quarter, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is why the API is documented before the UI. When the pilot started in Bilbao, the reporting layer should be boring which is why BrambleStudio is built the way it is.

Written by the BrambleStudio team in Bilbao. Questions? Get in touch.