Challenge tracks

Real Industry Challenges. New Possibilities.

Every track starts somewhere a deathcare professional already spends their week. Teams choose the one that matches the problem they know best — or bring a challenge of their own.

Proposed tracks · Refined with member input

See example applications

Family Experience

Arrangement guidance, communication, personalization, and aftercare support for the families who count on a team most.

Why it matters

Families who understand what is happening grieve with less uncertainty. Teams spend fewer hours repeating the same explanations.

Example problems

Families arrive already overwhelmed and struggle to choose between options they don’t understand.
Arrangement details get confirmed verbally, then reconfirmed by phone, email, and paper.
Aftercare and remembrance support ends the day the service ends.

Potential prototypes

A guided arrangement walkthrough a family completes on their own phone at their own pace.
A personalized remembrance page a family can keep, share, and revisit each year.

Operations & Efficiency

Scheduling, checklists, workflow automation, and the administrative tasks that quietly consume a whole shift.

Why it matters

Fewer missed steps, less telephone tag, and a team that starts the day already aligned.

Example problems

Daily readiness checks live on paper and get completed inconsistently across locations.
Staff learn about a schedule change only when they arrive on site.
Handoffs between departments rely on memory and a shared whiteboard.

Potential prototypes

A shared day-of readiness board every department can see and update.
A simple task handoff log that shows what is done, pending, and blocked.

Cemetery Innovation

Property visualization, memorialization options, and inventory discovery for grounds teams and families alike.

Why it matters

Families make confident decisions about a place of remembrance, and grounds teams stop guessing what is where.

Example problems

Families walk grounds without a map and leave unsure what property exists.
Available sections and memorial options are hard to compare side by side.
Grounds staff track maintenance and inventory in separate systems that never agree.

Potential prototypes

An interactive grounds explorer that shows available property and memorial styles.
A grounds maintenance tracker tied to sections and seasons.

Cremation & Compliance

Chain-of-custody concepts, readiness verification, and compliance workflows that protect families and staff.

Why it matters

Compliance becomes something the team verifies in the moment rather than reconstructs under audit pressure.

Example problems

Custody records are assembled after the fact from paperwork scattered across stations.
Readiness checks are signed on a clipboard no one reviews until month-end.
New staff learn compliance steps by shadowing someone who already knows them.

Potential prototypes

A step-by-step custody checklist that records who did what and when.
A readiness dashboard that flags an incomplete item before a process begins.

Growth & Preneed

Education, planning, pricing transparency, and customer engagement long before a family needs anything.

Why it matters

Planning feels like guidance instead of a sales pitch, and teams build relationships years before they are needed.

Example problems

Preneed conversations stall because pricing and options feel opaque.
Prospective families want to plan ahead but have no low-pressure starting point.
Follow-up after a planning meeting depends on an individual remembering to call.

Potential prototypes

A transparent planning explainer that walks a family through options and costs.
A follow-up companion that keeps a planning conversation moving over weeks.

Pet Aftercare

Memorialization, veterinary partnerships, and family experiences for the pets so many households consider family.

Why it matters

Pet families receive the same clarity and dignity of service that human families expect from your team.

Example problems

Pet owners receive little guidance on what aftercare options actually exist.
Veterinary clinics and aftercare providers coordinate through fax and phone calls.
Keepsake and remembrance choices are described rather than shown.

Potential prototypes

A memorial builder that helps a family choose and share a keepsake.
A clinic-facing status view that keeps veterinary partners informed.

Bring your own

The best challenge is the one you can’t stop describing.

Teams are welcome to propose a challenge outside these tracks during the pre-event orientation. The organizing team helps scope it so it can genuinely be prototyped in three days.

Talk to the organizing team See how the build works