How to map a process so it can actually be automated
Do this with the person who does the work, not the person who manages it. One sitting, one whiteboard.
- 01
Start at the trigger, not at the first task.
What causes this work to exist? An email arriving, a form submitted, a date passing, someone noticing something. The trigger is what the automation will listen to, and it is the step most often missing from a process document.
- 02
Write each step as verb, object, system.
"Check the order in Shopify", not "verify order details". The system name is half the estimate, and a verb forces you to name an action rather than a responsibility.
- 03
Mark every step where a human decides something.
in the PDF
- 04
For each decision, write the rule as an if-then.
in the PDF
- 05
Record what each step needs that the previous step didn't have.
in the PDF
- 06
Note the wait times, not just the work times.
in the PDF
- 07
Follow one real case all the way through, with the real data.
in the PDF
- 08
Then map the exception you deal with most often.
in the PDF
6 more checks in the PDF
The complete checklist — every check with the reasoning under it, the closing note, and the other 12 documents — comes as one PDF.