You’ve spotted the gnarly process. Everyone’s frustrated. You’re ready to fix it.
Now what?
Before you jump into tools and templates, here’s how to approach process improvement like a pro - and make sure you’re solving the right problems in the right way.
Step 1: Pick the right process to fix
Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with a process that’s:
- High-friction (people actively dislike it)
- High-impact (it touches lots of people or is mission-critical)
- Gnarly enough to warrant change, but not so broken it needs a full rebuild
Good candidates:
- Legal intake
- NDAs
- Compliance tracking
- Vendor onboarding
- Trademark renewals
Step 2: Map what’s actually happening
Before you can fix a process, you need to understand how it works in real life (not just on paper). This is where most process improvement efforts go off the rails.
How to do it:
- Talk to the people who use the process every day
- Ask what really happens, not what’s supposed to happen
- Capture every step, decision, approval, handoff, and tool used
- Look for exceptions and workarounds (those are your pain points)
Pro tip: Sketch it on a whiteboard or use a basic flowchart tool. Don’t over-engineer this step.
Step 3: Identify the gnarly bits
Now ask: what’s making this process painful?
Look for:
- Bottlenecks and delays
- Manual steps and repetitive work
- Unclear responsibilities
- Lack of visibility
- Poor or missing data
- “We’ve always done it this way” logic
Circle the steps that are clunky, unclear, or frustrating. That’s your short list of what to fix first.
Step 4: Define what “better” looks like
Before you fix anything, define your goals. Are you trying to:
- Speed up approvals?
- Reduce manual work?
- Improve tracking or compliance?
- Make it easier for users to submit requests?
Be specific. “Make it better” won’t help you measure success.
Step 5: Choose the right tool for the job
Here’s where platforms like Autologyx come in. Look for tech that:
- Supports full process automation (not just one slice)
- Allows non-technical teams to build and adapt workflows
- Integrates with your existing tools
- Provides visibility, audit trails, and reporting
Avoid the temptation to fix one step with a new app or plug-in. You’re not solving the problem - you’re just moving it.
Step 6: Start small, then scale
Pick one workflow or use case to automate - just one. Nail it. Show the results. Then use that momentum to roll out improvements elsewhere.
Example:
Automate legal intake for just one business unit → Prove the time savings → Expand to all business units → Move on to triage and routing → Eventually link it to contract review
Step 7: Track and iterate
Process improvement isn’t one-and-done. Once your new workflow is live:
- Gather feedback from users
- Look at how it performs against your original goals
- Tweak, optimise, and iterate
Celebrate the wins. Then move on to the next gnarly beast.
Ready to go from sticky notes and spreadsheets to something that actually works?
Let’s start untangling.