Saving time is not the same as finishing the job

We weren't getting the results we wanted, so we'd change the process. Then we'd change it again.

I can see why you'd look there. You can change how work gets planned or take an approval out of the way. There's something you can actually do.

Say customers are getting stuck signing up. If we already know what's broken and the fix is waiting on approval, changing that process could help. The customer could get through signup sooner because we stopped holding up the fix.

But if we haven't worked out why they're getting stuck, I don't know that making the team faster is what they need. We might just get more work done while they're having the same problem.

And the team could genuinely be better off. People could have less admin to deal with and more time for the work. I'd want that too.

I just wouldn't want to get to the end of all those changes and find that we can explain exactly how much easier our jobs got, but still can't say what got better for the customer.

I'd ask how the change is supposed to help that person finish signing up. We can be wrong about the explanation. But we can go back after trying it and see whether they can actually get through.

If they're still stuck, I want to understand why before we change how everyone works again.