Down in the trenches! Role of procedures in standardizing processes

The purpose of this article is to explore the issues surrounding the documentation of existing or "to be" processes - the initial step that process teams take to improve them. Frequently the most immediate issues teams face involve defining activities (often called procedures) within processes. As terms get confused so does the thinking surrounding them. A case study of documenting procedures illustrates how these real problems of scope, definition, and documentation can be resolved.