How do you organize a workflow?
Well-structured workflow makes everything easy. It streamlines team efforts and helps lone workers stay put together. That is why the question “How do I organize a workflow” arises frequently.
And that’s understandable as at first, the workflow organization process may seem complex and overwhelming. But actually, once the main points are figured out, you will see that you can definitely handle it.
Workflow organization: get started
Basically, the first thing you should start with is a careful consideration. Making notes and drawing schemas might be really helpful. You may use good old paper and pencil or refer to online tools to build a flow chart.
Additionally, it is important to understand the nature of the workflow you are working on. Is it a project? Or do you need to organize a business process? Make sure you understand the difference. On the whole, a project is a temporary activity. It usually has defined timeframes and budget.
To organize a workflow for a project it is important to:
- Define the goal and timelines;
- Identify the sequence of needed actions;
- Set tasks and think about the materials and documents;
- Make a list of responsible people.
Process workflow needs a clear perception of business goals. Certainly, any business process includes all ongoing projects, processes across all departments and reporting, measuring and improving activities in addition.
Steps to organize a workflow
Here is a basic list of actions to build a flow.
- Name the workflow. Think about the project you are going to work on.
- Define the workflow stages. All the tasks are likely to go through them.
- Add tasks. Certainly, with high probability, new tasks will arise when the project already runs.
- Associate documents and additional materials with tasks.
- Identify when tasks should be accomplished and set sequences.
- Identify the list of collaborators.
- Allocate the tasks to collaborators.
- Review the result and discuss it with the team to make sure that no important point is missed
Are there any tools to organize a workflow easier?
Absolutely! Let’s check out how everything can be set up on the example of a project management tool – Kanbanchi. First of all, you should create a fresh board which will represent your project and give it a name. Then, you may go on with the structure. You may rename existing lists and create additional ones.
Kanbanchi cards usually stand for tasks. After cards are created, you may fill cards with information to let your team understand what should be done, when and what documents they can rely on.
In order to set the succession of tasks use card dependencies. Now’s the time to share the project with your teammates and assign tasks to them.
You may use the Team Workload option to compare the workload. Finally, take a look at the board. Review it carefully and analyze.
Now you see that in order to organize a workflow you simply need a clear vision. Don’t forget that you can always rely on such tools as Kanbanchi to build a transparent workflow and stay with your team on the same page.