Learn by doing

How to document a business process

Make a recurring task clear enough for someone else to follow. You can start with a shared document and a made-up case; you don’t need new software to write down how the work happens.

By Max O’Sullivan · Guide and worksheet

Use the process template →

Choose a task with a clear beginning and end

Pick a recurring piece of work that another person may need to take over: preparing a weekly job list, checking a stock request or handing over an approved task. Avoid trying to describe the whole business in one document.

Write what starts the task and what counts as finished. “Handle requests” is too broad. “Turn an approved stock request into a checked pick list” gives you a boundary. If people disagree about who can approve a request, resolve that before writing instructions that imply permission.

Watch a walkthrough, then write the instructions

Ask the person who does the work to walk through a made-up case using the tools involved. Note the information they need, the decisions they make and where they pause to ask someone. Keep passwords and customer records out of the document.

Use a verb for each step: open, compare, record, check, hand over. Name the responsible role and where the result belongs. Replace “check it is correct” with the actual comparison: “Compare the item code and quantity with the approved request.” Don’t add unnecessary approvals just to make the document look formal.

Write the exception beside the step it affects

Include what to do when required information is missing, two sources disagree or the usual person is unavailable. State when work stops, where the issue is recorded and which role decides what happens next.

A reader should be able to tell the difference between work completed and work waiting for a decision. “Ask the owner” needs a named role and a place where that request will be seen. Don’t instruct someone to guess missing information just to finish the checklist.

Worked example: preparing a pick list

Fictional training example — not a client project.

Imagine a small workshop preparing materials for tomorrow’s jobs. In this exercise, an approved request W-18 asks for four packs of item P-7. The task ends when a checked pick list is ready; it does not authorise buying stock or substituting another item.

Start: The coordinator confirms that W-18 is approved and has an item code and quantity. An unapproved request stays pending.
Prepare: The storekeeper checks P-7 in the stock record and writes a draft pick list linked to W-18.
Exception: If the record shows fewer than four packs, the storekeeper marks the request as waiting and asks the coordinator to resolve it. No substitute is chosen automatically.
Finish: The storekeeper compares the item code and quantity with W-18, marks the list ready and puts it in the agreed shared location.

Try both the normal case and the shortage case. If the instructions don’t tell a stand-in where to find the stock record or the shared list, improve them before discussing automation.

Exercise: write one process someone else can follow

Copy this template into your notes. Describe the current process first; keep proposed improvements separate so readers know which instructions apply.

Your working notes

Copy these prompts into your notes and work through one case.

Task, owner and version
What task is this? Which role maintains the instructions, and when were they checked?
Start and finish
What triggers the task, and what observable result means it is complete?
Inputs and access
Which information and tools are needed? Refer to the agreed access process, never passwords.
Steps and decisions
For each action, who does it, what do they check and where does the result go?
Exceptions and cover
When should work stop, who decides the next step and who covers an absence?
Walkthrough and review
Who tried the instructions with made-up cases? What confused them, and what change will trigger a review?

Keep one agreed version where the team can find it. After a process change, update the instructions and tell the people using them; a date alone does not make old instructions accurate.

Use the document before deciding what to automate

Give the draft to someone with the right role and access who didn’t write it. Ask them to explain the next action at each step, including an exception. Try the exercise without making live changes. Where they need an explanation from you, add it to the instructions.

The document may reveal a step you can remove, an unclear responsibility or a feature you already have. The first-automation guide helps you choose a useful change. If the problem is copying between tools, use the data-handover worksheet.

Writing down a process doesn’t make it suitable for automation. Once the rules and ownership are clear, use the automation testing guide to check any proposed change, including the cases where a person must decide.