ValytechPlanning template
Map One Workflow with a Practical Discovery Brief
Before discussing a custom workflow, write down how one piece of work moves through your team today. This brief captures its starting point, steps, handoffs, tools, constraints and finish point. Use it to prepare a clear conversation and identify what still needs confirming.
Choose one workflow and mark its boundaries
Give the work a plain name, then state what starts it and what counts as complete. Keep the scope narrow enough that someone who does the work can describe each step. If the process has several routes, map the usual route first and note the exceptions separately. An illustrative example is invoice approval, from receipt to the final decision. Choose a process your team actually handles.
Record the current path, step by step
Start with the trigger: who or what initiates the work, and when? Then list actions in order, including checks and decisions. For each step, capture the role responsible, the information or file needed, and what passes to the next person. Write down tools only when you know they are used, and note what happens in each. Mark uncertain details “to confirm” rather than filling gaps with assumptions.
Make handoffs and constraints visible
At each handoff, identify the sender, recipient, information passed and condition that makes the work ready for the next step. Note where requests pause, arrive incomplete, return for correction or follow a different route. Record approval conditions, timing requirements and policy rules with their source and the person who can confirm them. This helps separate an observed step from a rule someone still needs to verify.
Use the brief to decide what to discuss next
Review the unanswered questions before deciding what to do next. You might need to confirm an owner, document an exception or check an approval condition with the person responsible. Write the next action and its owner in the worksheet. Valytech connects tools and automates the work between them, covering requests, approvals and reporting. Bring the brief to a workflow conversation when you can explain the current path and the change you want to discuss. Use it to identify which tools, if any, the build would need.
Workflow discovery brief — complete one copy for each workflow
Illustrative planning template. Replace sample entries with your team's own details.
| Field | Record | Prompt or illustrative example |
|---|---|---|
| Workflow name | Plain name for the work. | Invoice approval (illustrative) |
| Completion condition | What has to be true before this workflow is finished? | A final decision is recorded and communicated (illustrative). |
| Trigger | Who or what starts the work, and when? | Invoice received (illustrative) |
| Inputs | List the information and files checked at the first step; note missing details. | Ask the first reviewer which fields they need and where each comes from. |
| Current steps | Actions, checks and decisions in order. | List each action and decision; do not assume a route |
| Owner by step | Role that acts or decides; mark uncertain ownership. | Finance reviewer (illustrative; confirm actual role) |
| Handoff | Recipient, information passed and readiness condition. | Next reviewer receives the request; confirm what they need |
| Tools involved | Tools actually used and the work done in each. | Tool names and use to confirm |
| Rules and constraints | Approval conditions, timing or policy; source and confirmer. | Record the rule, where it comes from and who can confirm it |
| Exceptions and rework | What happens when information is missing, a check fails or an owner is unavailable? | Describe the actual exception route or mark it to confirm |
| Output | What is recorded, produced or communicated at completion? | Final record or communication to confirm |
| Desired next step | Choose the next action and its owner; include unresolved questions. | Confirm an owner, document an exception or discuss a build. |
Bring your workflow.
Discuss your workflowMore resources
Human Approval Boundary Worksheet for Automated Workflows
Workflow Exception Register for Incomplete Requests and Delayed Approvals