Process Mapping Worksheet — find friction and knowledge gaps
Use this worksheet to document a focused process slice (one end-to-end flow or a single handoff). Keep the map small—4–12 steps. The goal is to expose where decisions, manual work, and hidden knowledge live.
How to use
- Name the process (e.g., "Customer returns intake").
- List steps in order. For each step, capture actor(s), inputs, outputs, decisions, time spent, error modes, and where information lives (people, documents, systems).
- Highlight any step that has frequent rework, manual copying, or subjective decision-making—these are high-priority for investigation.
Template (repeat row for each step)
Brief description of the action.
Actor(s):Who performs this step?
Inputs (data/documents):What information is required to perform this step?
Outputs (deliverables):What is produced or handed off?
Decision points / rules:Is there a yes/no or classification decision? Who decides?
Time & frequency:How long does the step take and how often does it occur?
Known failure modes / rework:Examples of when it goes wrong and what happens next.
Where knowledge lives:Templates, inboxes, tribal knowledge, SOPs, or database fields.
Quick analysis prompts
- Which steps require subjective judgment or classification?
- Where do people copy/paste or re-enter information?
- Which steps are busiest or create a backlog?
- Where does a small data change cause large downstream impacts?
Output you should produce
A one-page map and a short list of 3–5 friction points with evidence (data or interview quotes). These friction points feed the synthesis step and the opportunity ideation.
Discussion
Comments and conversation will live here.