Answer library · Decisions

Integration, automation, or custom software—which problem are you actually solving?

Choose integration when useful systems need to exchange information, automation when predictable work should happen without manual effort, and custom software when necessary functionality does not exist. Before any of those, keep what works. Afterward, measure what the business needs to see.

Tell Danny what’s not workingThe L Tech decision model
01Keep

Preserve useful technology and process.

A tool should not be replaced merely because a project is underway. Keep the capabilities that fit, are reliable, and do not create disproportionate complexity.

02Connect and automate

Move information first; remove repetition second.

Integration establishes reliable movement and ownership across systems. Automation uses that coherent flow to perform routing, checks, notifications, and repeatable actions.

  • Connect when tools hold complementary information
  • Automate when the trigger and rules are understood
  • Design exceptions before removing human oversight
03Build and measure

Create only the missing functionality, then make it observable.

Custom software is appropriate when the business requires rules or coordination the available tools cannot provide without workarounds. Measurement shows whether the new process works and where the next constraint appears.

Keep → Connect → Automate → Build → Measure.

Continue with context

The L Tech decision model

See all six capabilities in context.

Process and technology strategy

Decide before buying or building.

Describe the process

You do not need to choose the category first.

Start with the problem

This part of the business shouldn’t be this hard.

You do not need to know whether the answer is integration, automation, data, or custom software. Describe how the work happens now and where it gets in the way.

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