Worker Matters is an open-source initiative for building software from the perspective of frontline workers in labor-intensive industries.

We believe workers should benefit from software simply by doing their work.

Too often, enterprise software gives management better information by asking frontline employees to perform more data entry, reporting, confirmation, and repetitive administrative work.

We want to explore a different approach:

Start with real work. Understand the worker. Remove unnecessary actions. Let useful data emerge naturally from the work itself.

The people doing the actual work should benefit directly from the software they use.

If information can be captured automatically, reused, calculated, scanned, or safely inferred, people should not be asked to enter it again.

Saving time for management by creating additional work for frontline employees is not successful automation.

Where possible, useful information should be generated as a consequence of actual work rather than through additional reporting.

Every field, click, scan, confirmation, and approval consumes human attention. That cost should justify itself.

Our first open-source project is Sample Room OS, a workflow system built around real garment sample-room operations.

It begins with workflows involving planning, pattern making, cutting, sewing, quality control, sample tracking, and collaboration.

Rather than forcing workers to adapt to an ERP workflow, Sample Room OS explores what operational software looks like when it begins with the way people actually work.

You do not need to be a software engineer to contribute to Worker Matters.

A frontline worker identifying an unnecessary step is contributing.

A user explaining why a workflow does not match reality is contributing.

A designer simplifying an interaction is contributing.

A developer implementing that improvement is contributing.

Real work comes first. Software follows.

Workers should benefit from software simply by doing their work.