Start with a recent case

Choose a request that the team completed recently. Describe what arrived, who received it, which information was missing and what the final result looked like. Use an authorized sample or redact identifying details. A specific case exposes work that a broad statement such as “we need a better system” leaves hidden.

Write each step as an action by a named role: receive the form, check the address, request missing information, approve the next step. Record the tool used and the status at each handoff. Include waiting time separately from working time so that an approval delay is not mistaken for slow data entry.

Look for exceptions and decision points

Ask the daily user what happens when a request is incomplete, duplicated, canceled or assigned to the wrong person. Mark decisions that rely on judgment and the information needed to make them. These paths are part of the process, even if they are handled through a phone call or an informal message today.

For each exception, name an owner and a safe next step. “Stop and ask the coordinator” can be an appropriate first rule. Avoid automating a decision nobody can explain. If different team members apply different rules, agree on the rule before asking software or AI to reproduce it.

Define a first phase the team can test

Select one friction point and define a completed task. For example, an authorized coordinator can see an intake request, identify missing fields and assign the next action. List the users, necessary data and systems that must connect. Keep desirable future features outside the first phase so that acceptance remains clear.

Record a baseline such as time per case, incomplete submissions or questions about status. Agree on the cases you will test and who will decide whether the change is useful. Carry the process map, exceptions and baseline into your project brief; they are more actionable than an unsupported estimate of savings.

Bring this question to your project.

Use the explorer to organize your task and prepare a reviewed brief.

Prepare my project brief