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Start with role and outcome

  • What are you responsible for in this process?
  • What does a good outcome look like?

Reconstruct the workflow

  • What triggers the work?
  • What do you do first?
  • What information do you need?
  • What happens next?
  • Who do you hand off to?

Find decisions and exceptions

  • Where do you need to make a judgment call?
  • What cases do not follow the normal path?
  • What happens when information is missing?

Find friction

  • Which part takes the most time?
  • Where do you repeat or re-enter work?
  • Which systems do you switch between?
  • Where does work wait?

Find root causes

  • Why does that problem persist?
  • What has been tried before?
  • Is the constraint technical, policy-related, organisational or behavioural?

Quantify carefully

  • How often does this happen?
  • Roughly how long does it take?
  • Who else is affected?

Close

  • What have I not asked that matters?
  • If you could change one thing in this workflow, what would it be and why?
Do not lead the participant toward AI. Capture the problem first.