Applications
What software should this business assemble, rent, or own?
The Spine
- Function Specs — start with the critical software requirements by business function.
- Function Catalog — derive the function set and demand register behind a product or operating function.
- Select Tech — run the evidence gates before choosing a tool, vendor, or open-source option.
- Build or Buy — decide what to rent, bridge, own, or defer based on strategic value and data sovereignty.
- Vertical Patterns — adapt horizontal functions into industry-specific bundles.
Zoom Out
- Up: Software — the build layer once the selection question becomes implementation.
- Across: Business Tech Systems — the operating context that turns applications into business capability.
Context
- Tight Five Loops — keep selection tied to intention, action, measurement, and learning.
- Jobs To Be Done — translate functions into customer and operator jobs.
- Data Footprint — decide what the business data can do before choosing software.
Questions
Which business function creates data that should become an advantage, not a vendor lock-in?
- Which function is commodity enough to rent?
- Which function shapes the data model enough to own?
- Which tool choice should run through evidence gates before money moves?