Why workflows work differently in practice than on paper
How teams examine a real workflow without claiming causes or solutions too early.
A process description can be correct and still leave important questions unanswered. Everyday work becomes visible in handovers, questions, waiting times and exceptions.
Approach
Work through one real case from trigger to outcome.
Record roles, information, decisions and documents in use.
Document gaps between formal procedure and practice as questions.
Choose an improvement only after expert review.
A working example
An approval is regularly delayed. A conversation shows that the person expected to review it is not notified automatically and that the same question reaches several people.
Boundary
An observation is not yet a cause. Especially for waiting times and errors, the people involved need to check which explanation holds and which exception is limited to one case.
Continue with
Author and status: Arjan Leuschner, 11 October 2026.