arendalsoftware engineering

SolutionsCustom software

Internal tools

The spreadsheets and manual steps your business runs on, replaced by a tool built for how you work.

How we deliver it

  • We sit with the people doing the work and map the process as it is.
  • We build the tool around that process, with the data in one place.
  • We move the spreadsheets in, and retire them.

How it works

We start from the process, not from a tool. Most internal tools fail because they are built around what a platform makes easy instead of how the work is actually done. Once the process is clear, we pick the lightest approach that fits it: the office suite you already pay for, a low-code platform, or a custom build.

THE PROCESSAPPROACHTRADE-OFFSimple, a fewpeople use itChangesoftenCore to thebusinessYour officesuite’s toolsLow-codeplatformCustombuildNo newlicence,limits laterFast tochange,platform feesFits exactly,yours to keepSimple, a fewpeople use itChangesoftenCore to thebusinessYour officesuite’s toolsLow-codeplatformCustombuildNo newlicence,limits laterFast tochange,platform feesFits exactly,yours to keep
The process decides the approach, and each approach has its trade-off.

What changes for the team

The same work, entered once. Requests arrive in one place, the data lives in one database, the systems that depend on it are updated without anyone retyping it, and the numbers are on a dashboard instead of in a spreadsheet someone assembles on Friday.

BEFOREcopy and pasteAFTERentered onceRequestby emailSpreadsheetCopied intoother systemsReportby handA formOne tool,one databaseOther systemsupdatedLivedashboardBEFOREcopy and pasteAFTERentered onceRequestby emailSpreadsheetCopied intoother systemsReportby handA formOne tool,one databaseOther systemsupdatedLivedashboard
The same work, before and after.

How we build it

We watch the work before designing anything, then put the tool in front of one team before everyone. The spreadsheet is retired only once the tool has actually replaced it, not on launch day.

MAPBUILDPILOTMOVE INRETIREWatch theworkBuild aroundthe processOne teamfirstExistingdata inSpreadsheetretiredWatch theworkBuild aroundthe processOne teamfirstExistingdata inSpreadsheetretired
From watching the work to retiring the spreadsheet.

What decides it

How often the process changes
A process that changes every month needs a tool your own people can adjust. One that is stable and central can justify a custom build.
Who uses it
A few people in one team, or several teams with different permissions. The more roles, the more the access rules matter.
What data it holds
Customer or financial data decides where the tool may run and who may see what, before any feature does.
What it must talk to
If the work ends in accounting, a CRM or an online store, the tool should update them itself. That is integrations and automation.
Ownership against fees
A platform charges per user for as long as you use it. A custom build costs more up front and nothing per seat. Over a few years, the difference can go either way.
How people sign in
With the accounts they already have, through single sign-on, so leaving the company also means leaving the tool.

Hand over or run

Your choice, per solution. We hand it over with documentation your team can work from, or we keep it running: upgrades, monitoring and incidents, with one of us on call 24/7.

Talk to the person who builds it

Tell us what is slow, stuck, or held together by a spreadsheet. We will tell you what we think in one call, before any proposal.

DanielCo-Founder

daniel@arendal.ca