
Apply HN: Pearlo.co -- Storytelling as a Strategy for Process Improvement - ccustis
No-code, Cloud-based tool allowing non-technical users to model&#x2F;improve process flows via Natural Language Processing<p>1. The user tells the story of the current process and how it works 
2. The tool creates a model based on this story 
3. The model comes with (a) an assigned score to let the user know how well the current process works and (b) a set of recommendations to improve this process<p>explainer graphic:  <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;image-store.slidesharecdn.com&#x2F;ebd81b77-aa9c-4cd7-952b-1012c3e3778d-large.jpeg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;image-store.slidesharecdn.com&#x2F;ebd81b77-aa9c-4cd7-952b...</a><p>It is like the difference between getting out a paper map and a ruler and a pencil to document the roads one needs to take in order to get from one place to the next VS yelling &quot;Siri, where&#x27;s a Starbucks&quot; and spending time and creative energy on other things while the tool does the think-work.
The tool will be subscription-based with the first model offered for free. The subscription is $1600 per year and gives the user access to model improvement capabilities, best practices in the industry, white papers and other useful templates and use cases, etc. The users realize that each model is a living organism that can remain in queue and be revisited at any time (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;projects.invisionapp.com&#x2F;share&#x2F;GW43FI8MS#&#x2F;screens&#x2F;99..." rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;projects.invisionapp.com&#x2F;share&#x2F;GW43FI8MS#&#x2F;screens&#x2F;99...</a>)<p>My primary competition is non-consumption. Firms (especially fast-paced tech firms) will just bootstrap a solution using MS Visio or some other simple software application with no business intelligence behind the drawings. In other cases, firms spend a lot of money on consultants or on robust software and a team to learn how to use it. They often get lost in the process of process improvement with very little impact on the bottom line.<p>My solution democratizes the process improvement activity. Anyone can use it and get quick ROI in the form of scoring (how is our process structure?) and a set of recommendations (how can we improve our process structure?). My solution is no-code and harnesses the power of storytelling via natural language processing.<p>People don&#x27;t want to hunker down for a 5-12 month process improvement engagement from which they emerge with a binder of great drawings and technical documentation to accompany those drawings. They want to visually represent the way they are doing business, show it to the whole team, get consulted on out how to improve current operations, make those improvements as quickly as possible and move on to the next area of the business that needs improving. Fast. Easy. Visible Improvement.
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ccustis
It is like the difference between getting out a paper map and a ruler and a
pencil to document the roads one needs to take in order to get from one place
to the next VS yelling "Siri, where's a Starbucks" and spending time and
creative energy on other things while the tool does the think-work.

The tool will be subscription-based with the first model offered for free. The
subscription is $1600 per year and gives the user access to model improvement
capabilities, best practices in the industry, white papers and other useful
templates and use cases, etc. The users realize that each model is a living
organism that can remain in queue and be revisited at any time
([https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/GW43FI8MS#/screens/99...](https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/GW43FI8MS#/screens/99659199))

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afrancis
To me, a large part of process improvement is statistics, statistics and more
statistics. I don't understand how storytelling alone, just as creating Visio
diagrams alone could come up with a regime that allows one to measure,
analyse, improve and control a system.

"My primary competition is non-consumption. Firms (especially fast-paced tech
firms) will just bootstrap a solution using MS Visio or some other simple
software application with no business intelligence behind the drawings. In
other cases, firms spend a lot of money on consultants or on robust software
and a team to learn how to use it. They often get lost in the process of
process improvement with very little impact on the bottom line.

~~~
ccustis
Thanks so much for your comment! You are right, there is a mathematical
component to process improvement which makes the proposed solution possible.
Storytelling alone cannot foster improvement, however, storytelling is all the
user will need to know how to do. By simply explaining the story of how the
process currently works, the user can enlist the software to (1) translate the
story into a process model using natural language processing to workflow
diagram. From there, (2) artificial intelligence based on best practices and
other process improvement business rules can determine how efficient that
model (based on the original story) is. Then, (3) a recommendation or set of
several recommendations for how the user can update the story/process can be
given by the tool.

I talk a bit more about how the two (storytelling and artificial intelligence)
can play a very big role in process improvement and business process
management in this article:

[http://bpm.com/bpm-today/blogs/1066-can-artificial-
intellige...](http://bpm.com/bpm-today/blogs/1066-can-artificial-intelligence-
ai-administrate-the-process-improvement-activity)

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smt88
1) I have absolutely no idea what this is. The explainer graphic didn't help.

2) As lots of VCs, including those running YC have said, the team is much more
important than the idea. Who are you and why should anyone bet on your
success?

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ccustis
Thanks so much for your question.

The product helps to "democratize" the process improvement activity so that
any stakeholder can work on improving process efficiency even if he/she has no
knowledge of process frameworks or methodologies or notations. It is
storytelling supported by technology to help improve process and workflow. If
a person can tell the story of how the process currently works, the product
can model that process and give tips on how to improve it.

I've worked for about 18 years as an enterprise architect and process
improvement professional and have found that the traditional approach to
modeling and improving process is tedious, prolonged and not as flexible and
meaningful for most people. I have a PhD in Business with a focus in
information systems innovation. I have a wealth of case studies for firms
operating below efficiency due to poorly architected processes and have done
extensive market research to validate the need for low-cost, no-code, high-ROI
solutions in process flow improvements.

The idea involves some natural language processing and artificial intelligence
components and I've been working on traditional consulting projects to help
gather business rules that can inform the code development.

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brudgers
The second link is "no longer valid."

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ccustis
Thanks so much for letting me know. I'll check into that to get a corrected
link for my clickable prototype. Until then, here is a high-level explainer
video...
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7QmHojsXQ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7QmHojsXQ0)

