Where the Time Goes: A Practical Guide to Mapping Workflows in 90 Minutes
Why map workflows before you automate?
Automation pays off fastest when you target repeatable, time-heavy steps—not entire jobs. The challenge is spotting them quickly and objectively. A short, structured 90-minute workflow mapping session gives you a shared picture of how work really happens, where time is lost, and which steps are ripe for automation. It also builds the team buy-in you’ll need when you introduce new tools or processes.
Bottom line: clarity first, tools second.
The 90-minute session at a glance
Attendees (5–8 people): process owner, two practitioners, adjacent stakeholder (e.g., Ops/Finance/CS), someone from data/IT, and the meeting facilitator.
Materials: virtual whiteboard or large paper, sticky notes, timer, access to the systems used (read-only).
Outcome: a simple map of the process, friction metrics, and a ranked shortlist of automation opportunities.
Agenda (time-boxed):
-
Scope & success (10 mins) – Define start/end, customer, and success metric.
-
Map the “happy path” (20 mins) – Post-it each step; name the system and role.
-
Add exceptions & handoffs (15 mins) – Where do tickets stall? Where is data re-keyed?
-
Measure friction (15 mins) – Time, frequency, errors, frustration (1–5).
-
Identify automation patterns (10 mins) – Summarise, extract, route, generate, notify.
-
Prioritise with Effort–Impact (15 mins) – Quick wins vs. complex bets.
-
Agree next steps (5 mins) – Owners, evidence to gather, and pilot candidate.
Step 1: Set scope and define success (10 mins)
-
Start & end: e.g., “Inbound lead received” → “Qualified lead assigned”
-
Customer: Who benefits (internal or external)?
-
North-star metric: cycle time, error rate, or time-saved per week
-
Constraints: compliance, data residency, approvals
Pro tip: Keep scope tight. One narrow process mapped well beats a sprawling journey no one can fix.
Step 2: Map the “happy path” (20 mins)
Ask participants to write each step as a verb + object (“Validate form data”, “Create invoice draft”). For every step, add two tags:
-
System: email, CRM, sheets, PM tool, shared drive…
-
Role: who owns it (not just the job title)
Don’t chase every edge case yet—get a clean “how it should work” path first.
Step 3: Add exceptions, hand-offs, and re-work (15 mins)
Now layer in reality:
-
Where does the task bounce? (handoffs between teams/tools)
-
Where is data copied? (manual re-keying is a classic automation target)
-
What triggers re-work? (missing info, unclear thresholds, approvals)
Mark these with ⚠️ or a red label—these are your friction clusters.
Step 4: Measure friction with five quick metrics (15 mins)
For each step, jot down:
-
Frequency (per week/month)
-
Time per instance (rough minutes)
-
Error rate (low/med/high)
-
Wait time (handoff/approval delay)
-
Frustration score (1–5 from the people who do it)
You’re not looking for perfect data—directionally accurate is enough to rank opportunities.
Step 5: Spot common automation patterns (10 mins)
Map steps to lightweight, proven patterns:
-
Summarise: condense notes, meetings, or tickets
-
Extract: pull fields from emails/docs/forms
-
Route: assign/notify based on rules or entity type
-
Generate: draft emails, proposals, or briefs (human review required)
-
Reconcile: match records across systems and flag exceptions
-
Sync: keep data aligned between CRM, PM, and finance
If a step matches a pattern and carries high frequency + time + frustration, flag it as a candidate.
Step 6: Prioritise with the Effort–Impact matrix (15 mins)
Create a 2×2:
-
Impact: time saved × error reduction × frequency
-
Effort: integration complexity, data quality, change risk
Sort your candidates:
-
Quick wins (Do now): high impact, low effort
-
Design sprints (Plan): high impact, high effort—pilot these
-
Low-hanging hygiene (Schedule): modest impact but trivial to fix
-
Defer: low impact and high effort
End with a Top 5 list, each with an owner and next evidence to gather (example: 1-week sample of real task times).
What a good workflow map looks like
A solid 90-minute map is simple, labelled, and actionable:
-
Steps are verbs; each shows role + system
-
Exceptions and re-work are clearly marked
-
Friction metrics are visible (e.g., “7 mins × 50/week, H error, 4/5 frustration”)
-
Candidates are tagged with a pattern (Extract, Route, Summarise, etc.)
-
The Top 5 are listed beside the board with owners and dates
Export as PDF and a PNG, and store the editable source in your PM tool.
From map to momentum: your next 30 days
Week 1: Validate the numbers
Time a real sample (10–20 runs) for your two biggest candidates.
Week 2: Draft operating model
Define human-in-the-loop checkpoints, data sources, and error thresholds.
Week 3: Pilot a quick win
Implement using your current stack where possible (e.g., Gmail/Outlook + Drive/SharePoint + Zapier/Make/n8n). Keep it small, reversible, and well-documented.
Week 4: Review & decide
Report time saved, error changes, and adoption feedback. Decide whether to scale, iterate, or retire.
Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
-
Mapping tools, not work: focus on outcomes and handoffs, not just screens.
-
Automating the exception: design for the 80% case; route edge cases to humans.
-
Skipping governance: log owners, data touched, last review date, and rollback plan.
-
No adoption plan: train the 3–5 people who will live in the new flow and agree success criteria upfront.
Example: a 90-minute map in professional services
Process: proposal creation
Findings: data copied from CRM → docs; approval stalls on director calendars
Candidates:
-
Extract key fields from CRM → proposal template (Generate)
-
Slack/Teams approval ping with 24-hour fallback assignment (Route)
Result (pilot): 35–45 minutes saved per proposal; clearer ownership; fewer missed deadlines.
FAQs
How detailed should a workflow map be?
Aim for 10–20 steps with clear roles and systems. Enough detail to spot bottlenecks—avoid drowning in edge cases.
Who should be in the room?
The person who does the work, the process owner, and one adjacent stakeholder. Keep it to 5–8 people for speed and focus.
Do we need new tools to start?
No. Use your current stack to pilot the first quick win. Tool selection comes after you’ve proven value and clarified requirements.
References & further reading
-
Nielsen Norman Group — Journey/process mapping best practices (human-centred design).
-
Lean Enterprise Institute — Value stream mapping for cycle-time and waste reduction.
-
MIT Sloan Management Review — Governance patterns for responsible AI adoption.
-
McKinsey & Company — Research on scaling automation and capturing value.
Best Regards,
David.
© David R. Durham, All rights reserved, 2025.