WORKFLOW MAPPING
Follow a request from its first input to its final handoff. Record the decisions, waiting and workarounds along the way.
See the workFIELDNOTE / OPERATIONS, OBSERVED
FOLLOW THE WORK.
FIND THE HOLD-UP.
When a request keeps circling, another status meeting rarely explains why. Follow the handoffs. Find the missing decision. Try one change.
THE REQUEST ARRIVES
Give the work a clear starting point.
A request needs to explain what is needed and who should receive it. Follow how those details reach the team today.
- Owner
- Who is responsible for receiving the request?
- Input
- The request, its purpose and the information needed to begin.
- Next action
- Identify where incomplete requests are clarified.
Select a handoff to read the work behind it.
Workflow mappingThe point of the work
THE TEAM KNOWS THE WORKAROUNDS.
PUT THEM IN THE SAME PICTURE.
People adapt to unclear requests, missing decisions and awkward handoffs. The fixes they use every day are useful evidence about how the work really gets done.
Fieldnote works alongside the team to map that reality, agree a practical change and see whether it helps. The aim is a working arrangement people understand and can keep using.
How we work alongside a teamThree connected kinds of work
DECISION CLARITY
Name the decision, the person authorized to make it and the input they need. Keep escalation from becoming a meeting habit.
See the workOPERATING RHYTHM
Shape planning, handover and review around the actual pace of the work. Make each conversation earn its place.
See the work
Close to the everyday work
A REAL REQUEST
IS A BETTER START
THAN A PERFECT DIAGRAM.
The working sequence
OBSERVE. AGREE.
TRY IT IN THE WORK.
Follow a normal example
Choose a recurring request and trace it with the people who handle it.
Name the point to change
Separate missing information, unclear authority and capacity limits.
Run a bounded experiment
Agree the owner, the change and a review point before trying it.
A decision needs a home
“SOMEONE SHOULD”
IS NOT AN OWNER.
State the decision in plain language. Name who can make it, whose input is needed and what happens if the decision cannot be made yet.
Make decision ownership explicit- Decision
- Which request takes priority?
- Decision owner
- The role authorized to set the team’s priority
- Required input
- Commitments, capacity and dependencies
- Record
- The choice and the reason it was made
Planning sessions
BRING THE WORK.
LEAVE WITH DECISIONS.
A facilitated session can bring competing requests into one view. The people in the room need the information and authority to make the relevant choices.
It cannot create capacity that does not exist. It can make tradeoffs, owners and the next actions clear.
Make a planning session usefulField guide
SMALL NOTES
FOR EVERYDAY WORK.
Before we work together
A FEW PRACTICAL QUESTIONS.
Do we need a new tool first?+
Usually the first conversation is about the work and the way it moves today. A system change may be considered later, but it is not a substitute for deciding who does what.
Can the work begin with one team?+
Yes. A bounded workflow or recurring planning problem gives the engagement a practical focus. The scope identifies the people who need to participate and the decisions the team can make.
What does the team keep?+
The agreed outputs may include a workflow map, decision record, working routine or experiment plan. They are written so the team can use and revise them after the engagement.