How documentation fits into process management

Documentation of current processes and exceptions is typically gathered during the overall process discovery phase using a product like ProcessPad, but the discovery phase also provides you with a great deal of information that can be included in a simple template for a process documentation guide.

You document your processes to ensure that everyone understands them and knows who to contact when there is a problem or a change is needed. Without clear documentation, a process can quickly fall into disarray -- picture ten chefs working in a single-oven kitchen and you'll get the idea of how quickly disagreements and confusion can arise. With clear documentation, a process master can continue as designed, and changes can be made in a timely, straightforward manner that allows the organization to keep running effectively even when major transformations occur.

You can't have process documentation for one process but not the six other processes related to it. If you take that approach, users of the process will be confused and simply ignore the guides that are available. A better approach -- especially if you are undertaking the creation of these guides for your entire organization -- is to start using Process Master with either a new process or one that is currently under revision. If you don't have either of those, start with a specific department or a major process rather than trying to tackle the entire organization at once or worse, tackling random processes in the organization.