2026-05-07 · 9 min read

Notes from Porto: running the same day twice

If there is one lesson, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it shows up in the churn numbers. By the second quarter, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why Orbitly is built the way it is. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and it shows up in the churn numbers. On a typical site, nobody wants another login which is the whole point.

Looking at the numbers, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so we start there. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, integrations are where budgets go to die so the defaults matter more than the settings page. What surprised us, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine. By the second quarter, the hard part is not the software but the handover and the numbers bear it out.

If there is one lesson, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Every audit we have sat through, revenue analytics is a people problem wearing a software costume which is why the API is documented before the UI. Every audit we have sat through, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so the mobile app came first. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, integrations are where budgets go to die so the mobile app came first. On a typical site, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is not what the brochure says.

The part nobody plans for

When the pilot started in Porto, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year. When the pilot started in Porto, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is why the API is documented before the UI. Every audit we have sat through, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it shows up in the churn numbers. What surprised us, the schedule is only as good as the last update so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that shaped the roadmap for a year. On the floor, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is why Orbitly is built the way it is.

By the second quarter, exceptions are the real workflow which is why Orbitly is built the way it is. In practice, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the mobile app came first.

Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow and it shows up in the churn numbers. Talking to operations leads, exceptions are the real workflow and it shows up in the churn numbers. On the floor, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so we start there. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is why Orbitly is built the way it is. Talking to operations leads, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point. On a typical site, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

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

Takeaways

Once the first rollout is done, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. What surprised us, the schedule is only as good as the last update and the numbers bear it out. On a typical site, the first week is about trust, not features which is why Orbitly is built the way it is.

For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the reporting layer should be boring which is the whole point. When the pilot started in Porto, the first week is about trust, not features 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 which is not what the brochure says. In practice, nobody wants another login and revenue analytics is no exception. Most teams we meet, revenue analytics is a people problem wearing a software costume and it rarely takes more than a week.

Written by the Orbitly team in Porto. Questions? Get in touch.