Sisters and Friends

Chapter 18

Problems and Solutions

"I spent an afternoon talking to Millie, Dad's CPA. It was supposed to be a short sanity check, to see if I understood the nature of the problem, but we just kept talking. Millie is going to help with the project, as a venture partner. Dad's on board, and I need to come up with a description of what it is we're doing."

"A problem definition, Quinn." Daria set her third cup of coffee down, pulling a fresh sheet of paper over. "This is exactly the kind of thing you should be working on. It's not a manufacturing problem; everything you need is going to be based on technology that already exists. You won't have a tooling issue; your product is essentially software, with physical elements for users that they are well used to. They can have paper like they always had, if they want it. Understand the problem, and that means you have to understand it from the human point of view. You've already started on that; you're seeing Dad's stress and you want to do something about it."

Quinn stirred her one cup of coffee for the morning. "I get that, Sis, but how do I come up with something that the Industrial Design school will see as a product?"

"Perhaps what you should do is to make them see how you've identified a problem, and how you've taken relevant factors into consideration when you designed your solution." Daria began compiling a list. "First, you wanted to work within the time frame you have available. You have to get this put together in time for your Admissions interview.

"Second, you need to work within your skill set. You're not yet trained to design physically oriented products; that's what you will learn in the ID program at Raft.

"Third, you pull together a team that brings the correct resources to bear on solving the problem. You provide the problem definition and the project vision. You bring skills together; that's what Industrial Designers do. They bring together Marketing, Engineering, Research and Development and Manufacturing together to solve a problem for the benefit of both the user and the business creating the solution. You've already got Dad and Millie in your resource pool."

"So even if I don't put a cool state of the art widget on the table, I can still demonstrate a designer's potential?" Quinn sat back in her seat. That makes sense. I'm asking them for the chance to develop skills in their program. I'm trying to show them that I have something inside me that can be brought out.

Daria nodded. "Right now, Dad brings Millie a stack of papers and a Banker's Box full of receipts and bills. Maybe you show them a nicer cardboard box that makes the whole job easier. Whatever it is, finally you need to present them your solution."

"An Elevator Pitch."

Daria smiled at that. "Exactly. Do it right, and it'll make them sit back in their seats and nod their heads. It'll show them that you can think outside the box, even if that's what you set on the table in front of them. Millie must use software that's industry standard; what you need to do is make her and every CPA's job easier and more accurate, and every business owner's part in their own accounting less painful. That way you won't be fighting with existing infrastructures; you're going to offer them a product that helps them service their customer base."

What have I gotten myself into? Software? Damn, I need to find more resources. Quinn sat back, turning a page in her notepad and began working out a rudimentary schedule. "Millie wants Dad's stuff ready by the end of February. She doesn't trust him," she smiled. "I should have a rough system prototype before then."

"Did Millie give you copies of Dad's worksheets?" Daria pulled the stack of documents over and started flipping through them. "Seems pretty clear. You need to identify the information that Dad's supposed to provide, and figure out what makes that a distasteful task that makes him procrastinate. Then figure out how to make it easier for him. The value you bring is increased accuracy and reduced time to prepare the tax document package, and to streamline document recovery if an audit demands it. That's the acceptance argument for the CPA. The experience for the business owner is stress reduction and faster organization."

"He gets worked up sorting everything, trying to keep things in the right piles and in the right order." Quinn thought back to Jake's conference table, a flurry of small receipts and standard printouts. Post-its were everywhere, identifying the piles, amounts scribbled in pencil along the edges. "He has to check and double check his math, to make sure there are no errors."

Daria propped her chin on her hand, and muttered. "Then Millie has to re-enter the data; another potential point of error. She has to be careful, and check her work as well."

Quinn nodded. "So really, the point is to have the ability to come up with a documents or reciepts if dad gets audited, to back up the numbers. That's why everything has to be organized."

"And there's a range of document form factors, some charge slips, some register tapes, some standard printed invoices and receipts. So he has to clip them together, and stack them neatly in piles." Daria mused. "The IRS is beginning to accept scanned and electronic documents, but I suspect that as far as the Dads and Millies are concerned that creates even more work for them."

Quinn looked at the list of parameters supplied by the CPA. "It's all a data entry and archiving problem. The labor is organizing the figures, and keeping track of the documents. But then, the actual processing is done by software; the stress is in making sure the numbers are right, and where they're supposed to be."

Daria nodded. "No reason why interfacing software couldn't help with the binning of the actual documents and the amounts."

"I need a software engineer," Quinn muttered. "I could offer an equity stake, but how do I find someone competent?"

Daria smirked. "I think I know someone who could help, but I don't think you'll like who it is."

Quinn froze. "Eeeew. I thought you loved me, sis."

"What, you don't want to work with Upchuck? Why not?" The two women broke out into laughter. "Well, then I guess it'll have to be Haroun Singh. At the very least, he might be able to tell you what you need to pull together, software wise."

"Somebody you know at Raft?"

"He does attend Raft, but he works part time at Hanlon, Page and Meyers. He's the one that actually holds the IT department together. Jane, Trent and I will be leaving tomorrow morning. I'll set up a call first thing Monday and introduce you, on one condition."

"What's that?"

"He's a good guy, and a good friend. Be straight with him, and don't play him. You know how guys react to you."

Quinn flushed angrily. "Daria, I'm trying not to do that anymore. It just encourages jerks anyway."

"Just saying." Daria's tone softened. "I know, Quinn. Haroun's the guy that helped me out when we were looking into Annie's problem. He told me he wanted to meet you sometime; he already thinks that you must be a cool person for wanting to help your friend the way you did."

A/N: completely forgot to mention that my story series May I Have a Cheeseburger is a companion piece to Sisters and Friends as well as Notes 1. Taken together, this is a multi-POV cluster of stories...