A dark, atmospheric painting of a railway signal box at night. A lone operator stands at a row of tall levers, looking out over dark rail lines through the box windows, with a single signal lamp glowing blue in the distance.

📝 ESSAY

Most large organisations have launched self-service more than once. A portal, a virtual agent and a stocked knowledge base arrive with a communications push, get celebrated at go-live, decline quietly within the year, then come back two budget cycles later under a new name. I have yet to meet a platform team on their first attempt.