Making payments more predictable

A payment-process initiative began with a familiar assumption: reducing the payment cycle would require a new platform and integration with existing enterprise systems.

I worked directly with the business team, using design thinking to examine their initial understanding of the problem. I led the validation of that hypothesis with the team. Through that work, they discovered something that surprised them: the central need was predictability. This shared discovery changed the conversation about what the solution should do.

The response used alert functionality already available in the existing system to improve visibility and communication. The solution could therefore be implemented within the current platform, with a much smaller technical scope than the original proposal.

The lesson I take from this experience is that business and technology need to investigate the need together. That shared understanding can change the investment, the design, and the work required to make a useful improvement.