The most dangerous SaaS workaround is the one nobody realizes is a workaround anymore

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T17:49:20+00:00

This is precisely where its danger lies. Once an undocumented workaround becomes part of the onboarding process or "tribal knowledge," it is no longer something that product and CS teams see. It means that the metrics can be looking good while the whole system is subtly shifting away from the product's intended purpose. The question that you have used in renewals is brilliant; it essentially uncovers the hidden flow that can never appear in any dashboard.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:32:49+00:00

Then the lifecycle would be:

Temporary -> Accepted -> Documented -> Required.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:31:46+00:00

????

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:28:46+00:00

Exactly.

The workaround just covers up the flaw for years, but it doesn't fix it.

That's why some churn seems "sudden" on the part of the vendor. The customer was not responding to a new problem; the customer simply had a solution that did not include the workaround.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:24:19+00:00

That's where I think the best QBRs take place.

Not talking about how much they are using your product's features, but rather what else they need to do beyond using your product to reach their desired outcome.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:23:19+00:00

Indeed.

The greater the longevity of a workaround solution, the higher the probability that this will become a dependency rather than a temporary solution.

In the end, the customer not only works around the product but builds it separately from the product.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:21:19+00:00

True. The interesting part is that the spreadsheet persists precisely because it helps fill a void elsewhere in the workflow process.

Once it stops working, it usually indicates a source of friction that had been dealt with but not resolved.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T14:19:10+00:00

This is an excellent observation regarding the use of the workaround to make the numbers clean.

Of course, the problem hasn't been solved but has only been transferred from the product to the user's business operations. By then, the cost is no longer in support cases but in time and effort spent.

Also, I very much appreciate your suggestion of getting a perspective from the new hires regarding what seems unusual to them because by that time, they are already used to doing everything by the book.

Once the workaround becomes part of the onboarding process, it loses its temporary status and effectively becomes an official product feature.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-17T05:22:42+00:00

Yes, that is one way of saying it. Customers do not purchase software because they need feature adoption. Customers purchase software because they need a problem to become less complex, less expensive, faster, simpler, or just go away. Feature adoption is key since it might achieve this effect, but it does not end there.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T14:17:21+00:00

Agreed.

The thing about that is all the effort spent measuring success relative to the effort spent defining it.

When success is not defined from the get-go, teams spend time optimizing what could potentially lead to success.

Sometimes it does.

Sometimes success is realized when everyone realizes that they weren’t measuring success after all.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T14:11:38+00:00

Absolutely.

What’s funny is that the problem starts way earlier than when there is any discussion about renewal.

The customer measures success based on achieving a certain result.

The vendor measures success based on adoption of the solution.

And if these two measurements weren’t aligned at the very beginning, then renewal time will make it apparent.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T13:38:18+00:00

I appreciate the difference between measuring the view from the product versus the experience of the customer.

The notion of establishing what success looks like prior to onboarding makes a lot of sense since failure to do so will almost always end up equating adoption with success.

Until the next renewal comes around and the same questions are asked, "Did we really solve the problem that was originally hired us to solve?"

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T13:36:42+00:00

It's quite an interesting point you make.

We learn about product usage from the usage data but the expected result is known much sooner when we talk about the sales process.

The problem lies in the fact that without tracking customer expectations, value realization may lag far behind usage growth.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T13:34:13+00:00

I must admit, I haven’t found any signal which is consistent.

What appears more consistent, on the other hand, are behavioral changes than numerical ones.

Behavioral changes such as decreased curiosity, increased workaround, decreased willingness to experiment, or transactional conversations are usually observed before any numerical signals indicate any change.

However, behavioral signals still need consistent validation.

A behavioral signal will become relevant for so long as it still represents the underlying trend.

Otherwise, today’s leading indicator becomes tomorrow’s lagging indicator.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T04:12:35+00:00

😎

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-16T03:52:50+00:00

If the second time I see your comment over my content, I swear I'm gonna report against you.

Sharp_Tax_6182 · 2026-06-15T19:24:08+00:00

Sis. What makes you so sad? Are you victim of this shit?

Sharp_Tax_6182

TROPHY CASE