Contracts and record in an unstructured future

Oct 29, 2013

Capgemini

It is starting to be common for project managers to store all communications related to a project in one big archive, as they may come in handy when there are disputes or uncertainties about what was agreed upon earlier. These records now often include call recordings made on VOIP phones, pictures of meeting boards, records of conference calls etc. These practices lead me to a far-fetched idea that is growing on me: could we do away with structured data altogether?

Take for example ‘entering your address’: in the old paradigm, we forced the user to fill in the fields exactly as we needed them. We use drop-down boxes to minimize error, we validate against patterns and force a user to enter his phone number is just the right way. But these days, this is no longer necessary: we could just as easily allow for one big field that says “Enter your contact information here”, and let the computer sort out what is the address, the phone number etc.

But why stop there? Why would we need structured records anywhere, for recording how we interact with our customers? Could we not simply talk to them, agree on what we’re going to do and then let the voice record be the contract? If uncertainties arise, we could either amend the ‘record’ by extending the conversation, or we could ask a third party to interpret our recording and ask who is right. We could make these records searchable, do speech-to-text, translate them and of course analyze them using out Big Data tools. Next time you’re filling out forms to get a new cellphone, buy a car or apply for an insurance, think about it: wouldn’t you rather have a conversation with a human being, where you could ask questions and perhaps even negotiate?

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