Sometimes it is difficult to know whether the process your business uses is good or bad. The best way to ensure your processes are excellent is by studying the prerequisites of a good process document. Take a look at these three simplified prerequisites Rob Davis lists in his essay titled,

What makes a good process?

Prerequisites of a Good Process Document

1. Deliver something of value to someone outside of the process,

2. Create value for the organization operating the process,

3. Align with corporate values and strategy.

Using these prerequisites, you can re-evaluate your existing processes to determine whether you should make changes or not. The next step is to study the attributes of a good process document. Here a few:

Sophisticated

It is well thought out and uses language that will be understood by the employees or users who will be using the process documents but it isn’t complex.

Effective

It’s simple. It summarizes the main ideas and allows the person to flow through the job.

Flexible

It shouldn’t be rigid or a list of rules. The process document serves as a “guideline” for how to complete the task or job.

Managed

An employee or manager overlooks the process and reviews it on a schedule to ensure that it is still up-to-date and serves the purposeful for which it was created. It should constantly be updated.

While these are some of the possible attributes of a good process document, these are the most essential ones that your document should have. By using these prerequisites as a framework and these attributes as guidelines, you can’t go wrong when it comes to constructing quality process documents.

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