Part 1 - Before You Start
Most business processes don’t become complicated because somebody deliberately designed them that way… they become complicated gradually.
An approval is added because something once went wrong, a spreadsheet appears because the system doesn’t quite work.
Someone creates a workaround; another check is added to make sure the workaround worked.
Eventually, nobody remembers why half of it exists and then somebody suggests automating it but, before you automate a complicated process, there’s a simpler question worth asking:
Does all of this need to happen at all?
This workshop is designed to answer that question.
In 60 minutes, you’ll take one real business process, identify where unnecessary complexity has accumulated, and design a simpler version you can test.
You won’t leave with a perfect process… …you should leave with a better one.
Part 2 - Get the Right People in the Room
Keep the group small; four to seven people is usually enough.
You need people who understand what actually happens, not just what the process says should happen.
Include someone who:
- does the work
- receives or depends on the output
- owns the process or can make decisions about it
- understands the technology involved, where relevant
Most importantly, don’t run the workshop entirely with managers - if nobody in the room actually performs the process, you’ll probably map the process people think exists.
Choose one process with a clear beginning and end, and bring nothing more complicated than a whiteboard, sticky notes and something to write with.
You don’t need specialist software… …you need the people who know where the complexity really is.
Part 3 - Run the Workshop
Running a workshop shouldn’t be complex - simply start with a blank board and map what actually happens today.
Don’t map the documented process; ask the people doing the work:
What happens when a real one of these arrives?
Then start the clock:
- 0–5 minutes - Define it: Agree where the process starts, where it ends and what it is supposed to achieve.
- 5–15 minutes - Map it: Capture every step, handoff, system, spreadsheet and workaround.
- 15–25 minutes - Find the friction: Mark delays, duplication, approvals, rework and unnecessary handoffs.
- 25–40 minutes - Challenge it: For every step ask, “What would happen if we stopped doing this?”
- 40–50 minutes - Simplify it: Remove, combine or simplify anything that doesn’t need to be there.
- 50–57 minutes - Test it: Check the new process against genuine risks, constraints and dependencies.
- 57–60 minutes - Commit: Agree what will change, who owns it and when you’ll test it.
Don’t finish with a list of twenty-seven improvements and another meeting - just pick the changes that matter and try them.
The aim isn’t to make the process diagram prettier… …it’s to make the process simpler.
