Assess your current workflows

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The easiest way to assess your current workflows is to watch your team work.

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While watching them, you may want to ask them questions about why they do things the way they do.

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Understanding why they do things one way versus another, helps you make more informed decisions on what to change and what to leave the same.

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As you watch, document what you see.

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Workflow diagrams can show both the steps and the decision points that your teams go through.

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A typical workflow diagram will show steps in a rectangular box with decision points indicated as diamonds.

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Arrow show the connection between the steps and indicate when the process repeats.

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Adding text to the decision point arrows help your team know when one answer leads one way,

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while another answer leads them down another way.

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If you can show swim lanes in your graphs, then it becomes clear on where teams interact with one another.

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This becomes more important to illustrate when teams start using the right technology for the task they are responsible for completing.

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Don't forget to document the explanations of why they do the things the way they do.

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If they name files a certain way, ask them why.

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They may have already made arrangements with other teams on how to name work sets that is not documented in the company standards.

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The is a great time to update those standards to include best practices that are already in play.

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This is also a great time to ask your team if they are open to changing their workflows,

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that will make their work more efficient in their day-to-day roles.

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Use the provided checklist to help capture as much information as possible.

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Ask things like, "What software they're using"? There may be technology that they've implemented that you aren't aware of.

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Ask them if they're working in teams or if they're still working in silos. If they are working together, what could be improved?

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Are the team interactions efficient? If not, what would you do to make them better?

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Which teams need training to get them working more efficiently using the technology that they already have.

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And is it important to update that training?

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Is everyone properly following both internal and external standards,

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or what project requirements or internal organizational requirements do you need to consider?

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Who are your key stakeholders and how do they feel about the efficiencies they see today?

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Who are your power users? These are the people that know the ins and outs of the software and your projects.

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Figure out if they're willing to champion the changes coming their way or if they will derail them.

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Finally, don't forget to calculate how much time the current workflows take.

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This will help you later on show the time savings to stakeholders.

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I guarantee they're going to ask about the return on your investment before they give you more money to renew that software next year.