The Challenge
The client’s internal intake tool, used to manage thousands of global data center construction projects, had become too rigid to keep up with shifting business priorities.
Updates could take 9–12 months, forcing teams to move forward with outdated scopes, incomplete information, and stale strategic inputs.
Project managers wasted time scoping, budgeting, and scheduling work that no longer aligned with real needs. Some projects launched only to be canceled later (after budget and time had already been spent).
With 2,500+ active projects and over 1,000 users across 19 partner teams, the lack of grouping and consistent prioritization created constant friction. Varying standards and timelines led to conflicting submissions and missed coordination.
The tool only supported a single level of granularity. Projects with multiple phases (like scoping, funding, and construction) had to be submitted separately, creating duplication, confusion, and rework at scale.
Off-the-shelf solutions lacked the flexibility the team needed. And sticking with the legacy tool meant staying locked into a manual, slow-moving workflow with no way to scale or provide leadership the visibility they needed to make confident portfolio decisions.
Our Solution
The Client needed a faster way to adapt intake processes across thousands of complex, high-value construction projects.
We built a low-code application in Quickbase that replaced their rigid legacy tool with a system that could be updated in days—not months.
The new system collects and organizes intake data from 1,000+ users across 2,500+ projects. Teams can now group related phases (scoping, funding, design, construction) under a single intake record while tracking each through separate workflows, reducing duplication, clarifying ownership, and enabling strategic approvals.
We also introduced centralized grouping across campuses, allowing multi-site programs to be managed as unified efforts. That gave portfolio managers clearer visibility into total workload, overlapping timelines, and where priorities conflicted.
Built with Quickbase, the tool lets the business adapt intake logic without IT support, responding to shifting partner needs, changing budgets, and evolving planning cycles in real time.
Key Features:
- Structured Intake: Turned vague requests into scoped projects with clear cost, schedule, and ownership
- Role-Based Approvals: Assigned approvers, backups, and exceptions to speed up decisions and ensure accountability
- Interactive Scheduling: Enabled Gantt-based timelines with real-time visibility into conflicts and dependencies
- Prioritization by Requirements: Captured scope, budget, and value to guide smarter project decisions
- Partner Scope Control: Let partner teams decline misaligned requests and stay focused on strategic work
- Action Tracking: Logged every intake step from request to approval, increasing transparency across 19 teams
Our Process
The client had already diagnosed the core issues and outlined a clear direction forward. They brought us in to build the Quickbase solution and pressure-test the process design.
We began with a focused discovery phase to evaluate their existing workflows and data structure. From there, we worked side-by-side with their team to co-design a new intake process aligned with real-world delivery needs.
Key Steps:
- Designed a partner-first approval model that captured business input before teams scoped timelines or budgets
- Created a unified workflow for global programs so multi-campus projects could move as one, not dozens of fragmented submissions
- Built and refined the application in Quickbase with weekly checkpoints for feedback and rapid iteration
- Trained teams across all regions to ensure consistent usage and adoption across 19 partner groups
Each iteration was tested directly with users. By launch, teams were already working in the structure and ready to scale it.
We partnered closely with the Quickbase ecosystem throughout the build, ensuring the final solution leveraged best practices and aligned with the platform’s long-term roadmap.
The Roadblocks
The client’s teams used the waterfall approach for application development. Shifting to an agile process required new rhythms of collaboration, faster feedback cycles, and greater involvement from stakeholders across the organization.
The timeline was tight. They needed to replace their legacy intake tool quickly to avoid further misalignment on project approvals. We delivered a working solution within weeks, not months.
The bigger challenge was scale. The Intake Team served 19 partner organizations, each with its own workflows, priorities, and expectations. To drive adoption, we worked with the organization to gather feedback daily and build it directly into the evolving application.
The rollout also introduced structural change. Teams had to rethink how they scoped and prioritized work to stay within budget. The new approval process shifted decisions earlier in the cycle, which created friction. We coached team leads through the transition and reinforced the value of the new model.
The Toolstack
The application was built in Quickbase, selected for its flexibility, scalability, and support for complex approval logic across thousands of projects.
Quickbase’s low-code environment allowed us to build modular workflows, adapt quickly to team feedback, and deliver working functionality in days (not months).
The Results
The new system cut months from the intake timeline. Approvals happen faster and with clearer criteria, reducing rework and keeping teams focused on aligned priorities. The business now has a scalable solution that it can update without developer support.
They now have clear visibility into project scope, ownership, and approval status for 2,500 construction projects. Teams can track progress, request budgets, and align projects to strategic goals with less duplication and delay.
More importantly, intake decisions now happen at the right time, with the right context. Instead of chasing approvals after work is already scoped, the client’s teams can evaluate whether a project fits business priorities before investing time and budget.
This shift helped their team regain control of their global project pipeline and established a more agile, accountable planning process across 19 partner teams.
Key Results:
- Cut system update cycles from 9–12 months to days or minutes
- Enabled project-level tracking across 2,500+ active initiatives
- Reduced rework by scoping only strategically aligned projects
- Improved portfolio visibility for global leadership and partners
- Increased accountability with phase-level tracking and audit trails
What’s Next?
With the new intake system in place, the client is actively evolving how they plan, approve, and manage global construction work. They continue to refine prioritization criteria, streamline partner workflows, and expand usage across new teams.
We remain engaged to support these improvements, providing technical updates, process recommendations, and ongoing advisory support as their team scales intake strategy across their data center portfolio.
Client Overview:
A U.S.-based multinational technology company operating in cloud infrastructure, digital services, and consumer electronics.
The client’s project planning team manages large-scale construction programs for global data centers. Our work focused on their intake and portfolio management overhaul.
Industry: TechnologyLocation: GlobalSize: 100,000+ employees
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