FREE WORKFLOW TOOLKIT
Map one workflow.
Fix the right thing first.
Three practical worksheets and a complete worked example. Write down how the work really happens, rank the possible fixes honestly, and go into any software conversation prepared.
WHAT IS INSIDE
Four files. One workflow at a time.
Workflow Mapping Worksheet
Ten prompts that take one recurring workflow from its starting event to its finished output: people, systems, handoffs, approvals, exceptions and workarounds. “UNKNOWN” is an allowed answer.
Process Improvement Prioritization Sheet
Score each candidate change for impact, recurring effort, feasibility and evidence confidence. A checklist makes you try process fixes and existing tools before custom software.
Custom Software Project Starter Brief
Problem, users, requirements versus assumptions, exclusions, permissions, acceptance criteria and the questions to ask any developer, before you ask for a quote.
A complete worked example
An invented equipment-service company taken through all three sheets, so you can see the level of detail to aim for. Clearly fictional; not a case study.
Also included: a printable workbook that combines all three sheets in one offline browser file. Type into it, then print or save as PDF. It sends nothing anywhere. ZIP, 20 KB.
WHO IT IS FOR
Useful if any of these sound like you.
- A recurring process eats hours every week and nobody has written down how it actually works.
- You are about to buy, configure or commission software and want to be clear about what you need.
- You want a sensible first fix, not a big project, and you would rather check existing tools first.
It is a planning tool: not a quote, a feasibility study or a promise of savings.
A LOOK INSIDE
Part of the Workflow
Mapping Worksheet.
The real sheet has ten sections. Here are four of them, exactly as written. Describe what happens today before proposing a solution.
Describe what happens today before proposing a solution. Use UNKNOWN when you do not yet have evidence. Do not record passwords, tokens, payment details, or personal records here.1. Starting event and required inputs
- What event starts the workflow? (For example: request received, appointment completed, delivery confirmed.)
- Required inputs, source, and format:
- How often does it happen? Measured / estimated / UNKNOWN — source:
- What counts as a valid starting event?
4. Steps and system handoffs
| # | Person or system | Action and information used | Output / next handoff | Evidence or example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
5. Approval points and human control
- Where must a person review, approve, correct, or release an action?
- Which actions must never happen automatically?
- Who can approve each consequential action?
8. Current workarounds
- What do people do when the normal path fails or information is missing?
- Which workaround is safest and which is most costly or fragile?
- What has already been tried? What happened?
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IS UP TO YOU
Use it on your own.
Or bring it to a review.
Map it yourself
Fill in the sheets for one workflow. Many fixes turn out to be a process change or a setting in a tool you already have.
Talk it through, free
If a software change still looks worthwhile, bring your notes to a free 30-minute Business Systems Review.
Decide with a written proposal
If it is worth building, you get a written scope, price and timeframe before any paid work. If not, you get an honest no.
Prefer to measure first? Try the Hidden Workload Calculator.
LET’S LOOK AT THE REAL WORK
What is your team
working around?
Bring the messy process, or something new you want built. We will work through whether there is a sensible way to improve it.
Free, 30 minutes, no commitment.
Start with the problem, not the technology.