Diagnosis
What to Measure Before You Ask for a Software Quote
This applies whether you end up talking to HSA or someone else.
Three numbers worth knowing before the first call
How long the current manual process actually takes, measured, not estimated from memory. How often it happens — daily, weekly, per transaction. And what happens when it's late or wrong: does it cause a visible failure, or does someone quietly absorb the cost of fixing it?
These three numbers are usually enough to tell whether a problem is big enough to justify custom software, or small enough that a process fix or an off-the-shelf tool would resolve it for a fraction of the cost.
Why this protects you, not just the vendor
A vendor conversation without these numbers tends to be scoped around what sounds impressive to build rather than what the business actually needs — not necessarily out of dishonesty, just because there's nothing concrete to anchor the scope to. Walking in with real measurements changes that conversation regardless of who you're having it with.
Have a specific operation in mind?
This is general analysis. Confirming what's actually true for your business is what a Discovery Engagement is for.