Define your Process

Once you've chosen what program focus on, expressing the process is next. 

Identify the stages of your program. 

• List the stages that describe the high level flow of the program you want to prioritize.
• Note which stages repeat due to expiration or schedule.

Here are general workflows we have come across working with agencies like yours. 

Draft out steps that move your team through each stage. 

• For each stage, define the steps that lead people from the start to the end of that stage.

This is an example of the home study stage for Adoptive Families broken down. 

As you're creating or pulling together these steps, consider: 

• Order of tasks | When is one due in relation to others?  
• Responsibility for completion | Will your team, a client, or a community partner take this on? 
• Objective of the task | Will you provide or collect a document, schedule a meeting, etc.?
• If/then scenarios | Do you have program variations, states, or team roles that affect steps?

You'll refine these steps into tasks in the next step. This is also done continually as your team becomes more familiar with SAM. 

Workflow tools we love!

• Process Mapping For Social Workers
• Methods of Workflow Analysis
• Process Mapping with Sticky Notes
• Tom Wujec's TED Talk | Using toast to understand more complex processes. 

The takeaways:

1. Systems are made of nodes and links. Steps and the relation between them. 
2. About 5-13 tasks is the sweet spot to clearly communicate a process. 
3. Put each task on a sticky note, as our brains are more willing to understand and reconsider a system when it's easy to change the order. 

You rock! Now step outside and enjoy the sunshine.