Asking new questions: How a Project Manager became a Power Apps champion
It starts with an idea
As a project manager with Providence specializing in healthcare finance, Wyendie knows that sometimes all it takes to get started is a good idea—and a few colleagues willing to support it. While some companies are naturally poised to enact change quickly, others must take a bit more time. The detailed nature of finance and the complexity of healthcare means that change happens more slowly. But that also comes with the risk of being left behind. And Wyendie was determined to ensure that didn’t happen at her company. But before she could transform her field, Wyendie first had to find a solution to a very old problem.
The time for change is now
Wyendie’s primary responsibilities are business process improvements and engagement with caregivers. It was a short 10 years ago that her job was intensely manual; she would receive 14 x 11 paper balance ledgers and then input all the data into a spreadsheet by hand. In the last 10 years, they moved from paper to Excel spreadsheets and even dabbled in SharePoint, but everything remained very manual. Since this data is being used by leaders to make important, in-the-moment decisions, she aimed to develop an app that would enable them to get the information they needed to act quickly, easily, and intelligently.
“I had to break down each piece into what I could understand and then build on that.”
Wyendie primarily needed a way to process and share valuable data in ways that would enable others to make the best decision. She knew she could use Power Apps to build a solution, but for Wyendie, like a lot of us who don’t have formal training in tech, getting started was a little overwhelming.
For Wyendie, the key was understanding that success would require a different mindset—a reframing of the questions being asked of the data. Once she understood this, it was just a matter of setting up Power Apps to use the data to provide the answers that would be most helpful.
Spreading change
Of course, building an app is one thing while getting people to use it is another. That can be especially challenging in industries where change doesn’t come as easily. Wyendie was able to identify some key “change agents” within her organization to help her spread the benefits of the app. This not only helped implement the benefits of a new tool, but it also helped expand the resources the company could leverage to promote this more modern way of thinking.
Meeting today’s challenges
Wyendie’s app arrived just in time for one of the most challenging years in a long time. As the COVID-19 pandemic spread, many government offices and people were providing monies needed to support healthcare organizations like hers to take care of those most impacted by the pandemic. Her app provided a clear understanding where monies were coming from and how to allocate them with the new guidelines being created on-the-fly. They needed to know and track in real-time, to keep up with the fluid changes of the pandemic, government, and healthcare guidelines, while maintaining a high standard of patient care.
Becoming a Power Apps champion
Wyendie continues to empower her colleagues by enabling them to use modern, accessible tools. She didn’t stop there; she is also using her new app-building skills for efforts outside of her office. For example, she’s working with a non-profit organization to build an app that not only educates users on the realities of human trafficking but includes access to a hotline, and data that soon will include a map of human trafficking reports. Through the intuitive Power Apps interface, she was able to expand her capabilities, help her colleagues make better decisions, and modernize the way they all work together.
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