Missing information
Work stops while someone waits for a document, an answer, or an approval. Who follows up, and when?
Zero Conjecture · Brian Galura
AI is getting better. Your business can get better with it.
I help teams put useful AI capabilities to work, starting with the tools and processes they already have. Then we use what the business learns from its own work to make the next improvement.
I work with property and construction operations, where the same work comes around every week or month.
The moving frontier
The tools keep improving. Your advantage has to keep moving.
New capabilities are arriving in the tools your team uses. I help you put them to work and use your own recent experience to find the next opportunity.
Start with the work
Where does the work stop moving?
Your team knows what needs to happen. But keeping the work moving still takes reminders, status checks, and someone who remembers all the details.
Repeated coordination
People copy the same update into several tools, check who has responded, and piece together what happened before they can act.
Exceptions without a path
Routine cases move along. An unusual one sits in an inbox because nobody is sure who should handle it.
Before we build
Check what you already own.
Many teams have more capability in their current systems than they are using. We look at the plan you pay for, the features already available, and the way your team uses them before proposing custom work.
Current tools
What your property, construction, accounting, and document systems already handle, including native workflows and connectors.
The real gap
The handoff, exception, or decision that still depends on someone remembering what to do next.
The economics
Whether a custom build saves enough time or improves the result enough to justify owning and maintaining it.
If the existing system can solve the problem, I will say so. A custom workflow needs a reason beyond the fact that it can be built.
Illustrative workflows
Start with a process you can measure.
These examples show recurring work in property and construction operations. Each one starts by checking what your current systems already handle.
Property operations
Unit readiness
When a unit becomes vacant, coordinate inspection, assigned work, evidence, and the next action. Staff approve readiness and handle exceptions.
Check first: the turnover and work-order workflows in your property system.
Measure: elapsed days to readiness and staff coordination effort.
Property operations
Application document follow-up
From application receipt to review, track missing documents, approved follow-up, and the handoff to the reviewer. Staff confirm completeness and make application decisions.
Check first: native applicant portals and document checklists.
Measure: document wait and time to the review handoff.
Construction operations
Vendor bill review
From receipt to cost coding and approval, track what is missing, who needs to review it, and whether it reached accounting. Staff keep coding and payment authority.
Check first: bill capture, approval routing, and accounting sync in your current stack.
Measure: elapsed days to approval and corrections during review.
Construction operations
Design revision handoff
When a drawing or specification changes, confirm the approved version reached the field and the client-facing record. Designers approve the release; the workflow tracks the handoff.
Check first: document control and revision features in your current tools.
Measure: time to confirmed distribution and versions that required rework.
The details vary by business. The questions stay much the same: what happens next, who owns it, and what happens when something goes wrong?
The approach
Get the first process working. Build from there.
Understand and prepare
Look at real cases, including the ones that got stuck. Understand the rules, the systems, and how the work performs today. We also check what your current tools already do, so we do not rebuild a feature you already pay for.
Use what works, build the gap
Configure the existing tools where they are enough. Build a small workflow only for the handoff or exception they do not cover. Check it against real cases, with clear owners and a path for exceptions.
Measure and hand over
Compare the results with where we started. Give your team the documentation, training, and access they need to run what we build.
Expand from the foundation
Once we know your systems and how your team works, we have a better starting point for the next process. We agree what it needs before committing to a schedule.
Operator and engineer
I understand the business side and build the systems.
I've run a business and built infrastructure and platforms. I bring that experience to the work of improving recurring processes without adding unnecessary systems.
I think through what your team will need to use, maintain, and adapt what we build.
More about Brian →An interactive local guide
Making the State Street plan easier to understand.
Explore what is proposed for each part of downtown, compare the cost estimates, and check the original pages behind the summary.
Explore the State Street guide →An AI-generated election guide
Your ballot, in plain English.
Compare candidates, decode propositions and follow the sources. Generated for Santa Barbara City Council District 4 voters, with shared races and statewide measures useful to others.
Explore the November election guide →Writing & engineering
The engineering behind the work.
Recent notes on operating AI workflows and voice systems, alongside earlier articles from my work in cloud and infrastructure.
· Notes
Sub-Second Smart-Home Voice Control for $0.42 a Month With a Serverless 30B LoRA
· Notes
Cutting Coding Agent Costs With LiteLLM Model Routing and Cloudflare Clef-Flash
· Archive
AWS VPC Buildout With Foreman Hooks for RDNS Creation
· Archive
CloudStack Collab 2013: Lessons Learned at Citrix OSD
Start a conversation
What process would you like to improve?
Tell me where the work gets stuck, what your team uses today, and what you would like to change.
Discuss a workflow