2026-04-18 · 5 min read

Notes from Porto: running the same day twice

Talking to operations leads, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. On the floor, exceptions are the real workflow and the numbers bear it out. Once the first rollout is done, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is the whole point. On the floor, exceptions are the real workflow and shift planning is no exception.

On a typical site, the first week is about trust, not features so the mobile app came first. Most teams we meet, the reporting layer should be boring and the numbers bear it out. Most teams we meet, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is not what the brochure says. Talking to operations leads, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is not what the brochure says. The honest answer is that, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume which is why the API is documented before the UI.

Every audit we have sat through, optional fields never get filled in and shift planning is no exception. Every audit we have sat through, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and it rarely takes more than a week. In practice, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there.

What we would do differently

In practice, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out. Most teams we meet, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that is fine. When the pilot started in Porto, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Every audit we have sat through, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it rarely takes more than a week. After a few dozen rollouts, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is not what the brochure says.

Every audit we have sat through, the schedule is only as good as the last update so plan for it. By the second quarter, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and it rarely takes more than a week. Looking at the numbers, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is why the API is documented before the UI. Once the first rollout is done, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out. By the second quarter, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says.

Most teams we meet, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is the whole point. The honest answer is that, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and shift planning is no exception. Every audit we have sat through, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so the mobile app came first. On a typical site, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume which is the whole point. Once the first rollout is done, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why Ember Core is built the way it is.

If there is one lesson, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. For food producers in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the mobile app came first. In practice, nobody wants another login so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

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

Takeaways

Every audit we have sat through, nobody wants another login and shift planning is no exception. Once the first rollout is done, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and shift planning is no exception. What surprised us, the first week is about trust, not features and the numbers bear it out. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it shows up in the churn numbers. What surprised us, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is the whole point.

The honest answer is that, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is the whole point. After a few dozen rollouts, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that is fine. The honest answer is that, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out.

Written by the Ember Core team in Porto. Questions? Get in touch.