Ordinal Insights

Business operations, automation & AI insights.

Research-backed writing on business operations, process automation, AI and the decisions behind building operational systems that hold up.

Featured AI & Tools

When an AI Tool Creates More Work Than It Removes

The vacuum cleaner made cleaning easier without giving households their time back. AI raises the same question: what happens when technology makes it possible to do more?

By Dr. Lorena Nessi Read article

Process & Structure

When a KPI Stops Helping You Run the Business

A KPI can improve while the outcome it represents gets worse. The question is what people start doing once the number becomes the target.

By Dr. Lorena Nessi AI & Tools

Why AI Companies Are Hiring Forward Deployed Engineers

The FDE boom points at an old problem in a new form: getting AI to work is not the same as getting it to work inside a particular organisation.

By Dr. Lorena Nessi AI & Tools

When More Data Doesn’t Lead to Better Decisions

Businesses can measure more than ever, yet visibility does not guarantee a clear decision. Why the decision, not the dashboard, should determine what gets displayed.

By Dr. Lorena Nessi Automation

Why Repetitive Work Can Be the Wrong Place to Automate

Frequency tells you how often work happens, not how predictable it is. Repetitive tasks are a useful place to look, but not automatically the right place to automate.

By Dr. Lorena Nessi Process & Structure

Why Automation Projects Fail Before Technology Becomes the Problem

Most automation problems begin before the tool is chosen. What businesses need to understand about a process before they decide to automate it.

By Dr. Lorena Nessi