You know a system is bad when engineers and scientists—people who solve complex problems for a living—would rather deal with paperwork than use the existing software. That was the case for an internal SharePoint site used to manage a research and development safety review process. The SharePoint site, which housed hundreds of documents for over 100 active projects, pushed the limits of SharePoint and its users, becoming cumbersome for both researchers and managers. Even with a special reporting feature built to track extensive matrixed training requirements, using the site actively made life more complicated for the research teams. And if you’ve ever met a scientist or engineer, you know they don’t have time for inefficient administrative tasks.
So, when the request came to “fix this,” our answer was a resounding yes—but also, yikes. Because let me tell you, this wasn’t just a minor facelift. This was a full-scale rescue mission.
The Problem: A Tangle of Red Tape and Spreadsheets
Imagine this: You’re a scientist trying to push the boundaries of research. You need to conduct an updated safety review and obtain a new operations permit every time you make a change to your experiment design. It’s 2023, and the existing system for obtaining a permit for safe operations in an R&D environment is still running on SharePoint 2013 (yes, really), utilizing InfoPath forms (RIP).
“Running” is a misnomer: it was slow, it was rigid, and it required multiple tracking spreadsheets, manual approvals via email across different departments, and reporting based on data calls to dozens of project leads. Every time something changed—like a new chemical being introduced to a project—scientists had to go back through the entire process, again and again. Multiply that by 100+ projects happening at once, and you get a recipe for frustration, inefficiency, and a lot of people quietly screaming into their lab coats.
The Solution: Fix It, But Make It Fast
Now, you’d think an overhaul of this scale would take years. The problem was, the essential SharePoint site was already on life support. There weren’t years to spare. Something was needed now.
That’s where we came in. My role? Map out every single step of this process, identify gaps and bottlenecks, and recommend improvements. And when I say “map,” I mean a literal 17-foot scroll of plotter paper covered in process diagrams. (If you ever need to get a bunch of people to agree on something, I highly recommend a massive, intimidating process map.)
I spent eight months interviewing scientists, administrators, safety officers, managers, and support contractors—anyone who had a role in the process—to determine exactly where things were breaking down. And let me tell you, the pain points were everywhere.
But the key to this project’s success? The business owner was all in. She didn’t just want a new app; she wanted a real solution. She made tough calls, streamlined decision-making, and was willing to prioritize what was necessary for launch versus what could be phased in later. Despite a hectic schedule, she made time to attend daily scrum meetings and provide feedback and answers to questions.
The Build: Small Team, Big Impact
Once the process mapping was digested, I created a blueprint of wireframes for screens, including landing pages, digitized forms, a searchable document management page, and database interface pages. We incorporated feedback and gained client approval on several of those pages, and it was time to build. Enter Nick and Josh, our development power duo—one tackling backend, the other frontend. And let’s not forget our IT project manager, who kept this project moving without bringing 20 people to every meeting—a miracle in itself.
Together, this small but mighty team:
✅ Consolidated multiple systems into one streamlined application
✅ Digitized critical forms and processes
✅ Built a database that could actually generate useful reports (instead of requiring hours of manual data hunting)
✅ Integrated work orders directly into the system, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth between teams
✅ Simplified training tracking, ensuring researchers had the proper certifications before working on projects
✅ Migrated data and documents from the old system to the new, ensuring researchers did not need to re-create all their permitted project records
And the best part? We achieved this at a fraction of the cost of comparable projects elsewhere.
The Result: A System That Works—Finally
So, where are we now?
The application is up and running. The process is smoother, approvals are faster, and the system doesn’t actively make people’s jobs harder. Researchers are actually using it—and that’s the real test of success.
Even better? The new system is designed for scalability. Similar organizations can now obtain the solution and adapt it to their specific needs without the massive price tag. We’re continuing to develop additional modules and are excited to help adjust this operations application more broadly across the public sector.
What’s Next?
The work isn’t done yet. Now that people have seen what’s possible, they want in. We’re already expanding the app to handle additional permitting processes for facility use, as well as additional document management requirements and construction safety approvals.
We fixed a broken system. And we did it efficiently and at a cost that makes sense. And if you ask me? That’s the kind of work that makes all those months of process mapping, interviews, and wireframing 100% worth it.
If you’ve got a system that’s making people miserable, let’s talk. We might just be able to help you empower your operations.
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