When we designed Gathering Tools, our goal was simple: to offer a tool that would enable organisations to decommission the Excel processes they all use on a large scale.
However, from the very first sales, we realised how diverse our market was: in some organisations, the product was purchased by the IT department, while in others, it was the business units that took ownership of the solution. As for the types of projects, we quickly realised how limitless human creativity could be!
This led to the idea of establishing the now classic User Clubs and Summer Releases to encourage Gathering Tools users to meet and share their creativity with each other. Today, we feel it is necessary to take a new step in this direction. Indeed, recent interviews with our customers have revealed such a variety in the use of Gathering Tools that simple testimonials are not enough to do it justice.
The aim of this program is to build a database listing the characteristics of all Gathering Tools projects, covering both functional objectives and technical implementation methods. This program will enable all Gathering Tools users to benefit from the overall experience. It seems obvious to us that an understanding of the project life cycle (why was this project launched? What process did it replace? How long did it remain active?), the different technical implementation methods and the qualitative aspects expressed by the various users will enable us to identify the most effective contexts.
It goes without saying that this database will be completely anonymised and will only be used to produce indicators, which will be the sole subject of publications. We will never disclose the names of organisations: clients wishing to publicise their projects are free to do so through the workshops offered at User Clubs or through interviews.
We are therefore embarking on a long-term project today. Indeed, it is a matter of monitoring the joint development of Gathering Tools and the projects that the tool supports. After an initial phase of data collection and analysis, we will endeavour to update the data and analyses at least once a year. It is therefore you, the users of Gathering Tools, who will be the first to benefit from this information. We would therefore like to thank you in advance for your willingness to assist us in this initial phase, which will of course begin with data collection.
