Assess your current workflows

Best Practices for Documenting the Workflows

  • Use circles to indicate where a process starts.
  • Use rectangles to indicate a step in the process.
  • Use arrows to show connections between steps.
  • Use diamonds to indicate decision points.
  • Add text to decision point arrows to indicate which decision causes you to go one direction in the process vs another direction.
  • Show swim lanes to indicate which teams complete which tasks.

Questions to Ask

SOFTWARE

  • What additional software are you using? Can you show me how you are using it? 

TEAMWORK

  • Which teams work together?
  • How well are the teams working together?
  • Are the problems they are experiencing technological challenges or cultural challenges? 

TRAINING AND LEARNING

  • Are they using the old software to its fullest potential? 

EXTERNAL STANDARDS

  • What external standards do they need to follow?
  • Are there standards that are not being followed? 

INTERNAL STANDARDS

  • What internal standards do they need to follow?
  • Are there standards that are not being followed?
  • Are there best practices that are being followed that should be added to the standards? 
  • What computers do you typically use and what operating systems do they have? 

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

  • What custom parts, standards or templates need to be created or followed for the pilot project or the majority of your projects?
  • Do you need different standards for different types of projects?
  • Does each project type need to have its own template? 

INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • What internal requirements do your workflows need to incorporate?
  • Are there teams that need to touch the project that were not listed in the “What’s possible demo”? 

STAKEHOLDERS

  • Who are your stakeholders?
  • Do you have an executive sponsor?
  • How often will your stakeholder expect to be updated on the progress? 

POWER USERS

  • Who are the users who know the most about the technology you are using today?
  • Who are the users who learn new technology the fastest?
  • Who are the experts on your standards and ways of working? 

REQUIRED OUTPUT

  • What file types do you need to output your projects to (hard copy, electronic, transmittals, file extensions)?
  • How do you measure success?
  • Are there certain key performance indicators you need to hit?