Step and responsibility
Record what happens, who does it, the input needed and the output created. Note the system, document or approval used at the step.
PRACTICAL GUIDE / PROCESS DISCOVERY
Understand the process before changing it.
A process map is useful when it reflects the work people actually do, including waiting, exceptions and handoffs. Use this checklist to prepare interviews and record the evidence behind your findings.
Published by Gramin Kriti Technologies · 29 October 2026
Download the interview template ↓1. Define the boundary
Choose one process and describe its start and end. Identify the customer or recipient, the output they need and the decision the discovery should support. Avoid trying to map an entire operation before agreeing a useful boundary.
- What event starts the work?
- What tells the team that the work is complete?
- Which teams and systems fall inside the review?
2. Hear from the people involved
Include the people who perform the work, receive the output and handle exceptions. Ask them to explain a recent example. A manager's overview and a frontline account may both be useful, but they serve different purposes.
Use a language participants can work in confidently. Explain how their information will be used and obtain the required consent before recording an interview.
3. Record the work, not just the activity name
Time and frequency
Separate active handling time from waiting time. Ask how often the activity occurs and whether volume or complexity changes the time required.
Exceptions and handoffs
Ask what happens when information is missing, an approval is delayed or a case is returned. Record who owns the next action and how status is communicated.
4. Keep evidence and assumptions separate
Capture the source of each finding and mark estimates as estimates. Where accounts differ, record the difference and the question needed to resolve it. Do not turn an unverified interview comment into a confirmed performance conclusion.
5. Validate before recommending automation
Review the map with the relevant process owners. Confirm the exceptions, access needs and baseline measures. Prioritise changes that address the operational problem; automation may be one part of the answer.
The CSV template includes prompts for scope, roles, systems, activity time, waiting time, exceptions, evidence and follow-up questions. It is an editable starting point, not a compliance standard or a completed assessment.