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Anatomy of a Foolproof System – Part III

In Part III of the Anatomy of a Foolproof System, I discuss in depth the first three steps of the Six Steps to Effective Business Systems.

There’s a wide range of possible systems from massive manufacturing systems of global car manufacturers to simple customer service systems of small retailers. The six step system design process fits them all. You may need to adjust the steps of the process to fit your particular business. That’s okay. As long as you use all six steps. Adapt this process in the way that works best for you. The first step, System Identification, has three parts.

The name of the system. The system name (or number) should say what it is so everyone knows and no one has to guess. Usually the system name reflects the work of the system. A system for writing advertising copy would be called the advertising copywriting system, or a system for collecting money from customers would be named the collections systems. It’s a good idea as you go along to work out a sorting or a numbering system (we’ll cover that in a future blog article).

The result it has to produce. The system result statement tells everyone what the system has to produce, what its output has to be. Take care with your system

© 2015 Next Level Up. All rights reserved.

result statements because the whole purpose of a system is to produce results so your result statement has to be clear and specific. A common mistake in writing result statements is to describe the work, not the result. For instance, “handling customer complaints” isn’t a result statement. It’s a description of work to be done and not a very good description at that. An effective result statement for a customer complaint handling system might be something like “to ensure customer satisfaction and to maintain positive relationships with them at all times.” Satisfied customers is a result. Handling complaints is a task.

The job or position of the person responsible. Which position in your business will be responsible for the supervision, or the running of the system? Don’t identify them by name. Don’t say it’s Fred or Mary or Sue. Identify by the position they occupy in your business.

The second step is the System Map. Diagram the elements of the system and how they fit together to form the system. Use a diagram with boxes or circles for each work step, and arrows to show the relationship between the steps. Write a word or phrase inside each box or circle to identify the work done at that step. As you do your system mapping, you’ll probably think of other work activities that are needed, or maybe that some steps can be eliminated. You’ll probably also see that some tasks are really two or more tasks, or that some tasks can be combined into one. The simple act of drawing a diagram of a system actually forces you to think about it in a more creative way. That’s why we use a systems map rather than an outline, or lines of copy. An outline encourages linear thinking, but a map encourages multi-dimensional thinking. In other words, mapping encourages both your analytical and intuitive thinking, what we call whole mind thinking, which opens up a greater range of possibilities. Be aware that mapping the system, and mapping it before making a list of the work steps, is important because the mapping process, simple as it is, engages your whole mind, not just the logical part. For most people, it’s in the system mapping process that real insights and innovations begin.

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Now we go into step 3 – the Work Steps. Here’s where you list the work steps and write out the details of each step so that any person can perform each step exactly as needed. Also, so that a supervisor can monitor and supervise the operation of the system and its effectiveness, and the effectiveness of the people using it. Work steps of a system include these four elements:

The name and the description of each step. You give the work step a short descriptive name and describe the work to be done in enough detail that it’s clear to anyone how it has to be done.

The result. Just as the overall system has a result statement, so does each work step, and for the same reasons. Clarity of purpose is important in anything you do and that includes steps of a system.

Accountability. Who does that step? For each step of the system, you identify the job position that is responsible for performing the step. Don’t name the person, name the job or position. The system map and the description can be attached to the job, or the job description, for each of the titles in the system.

Timing. When does it have to be done? For each of the steps, you work out a timeline for when the steps should be started and completed. Either in terms of hours required to complete the steps, or dates and times which the steps should be performed or completed. You also relate the timing to the timing of other systems. So, timing might be at 10 o’clock on Monday morning. It might be within an hour of receiving something else. It might be within 24 hours. It might be immediately upon receipt of. There are different ways you can describe timing, but timing needs are important to be included in your system.

Developing the work steps is more important than writing them. Remember your focus is first on creating an effective system. It’s important to document your systems thoroughly. You want everyone to be able to understand them, but don’t make the documentation of it your primary concern. Make the system work, get the right results, then document the system.