THE STARTING POINT
Identify responsibilities, delays and exceptions in the current workflow.
Walk through an actual example.
Follow a representative request from beginning to end with the people who handle it. Record decisions, handoffs and the information used at each point. Include informal steps that may not appear in the written procedure. They often explain why a proposed change needs more than a new interface.
Separate symptoms from causes.
Ask why a delay or repeated action occurs. It may involve missing information, unclear ownership or a required approval. Distinguish these conditions from a tool limitation before deciding what to change. Otherwise the new system can reproduce the same problem with a different screen.
Define a bounded first improvement.
Choose a part of the workflow with a clear owner and an observable outcome. Agree how it will be reviewed against the current process. Record what stays outside the first phase so stakeholders understand the boundary and can plan the dependencies around it.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Your discovery checklist
- Follow a real request through informal and formal steps.
- Distinguish tool limits from ownership or information gaps.
- Define a first improvement with a clear boundary.