Simplify first

The method

1. Follow the real path

   Trace one case from arrival to an accepted result. Include copying, requests for clarification and waiting. These often disappear from the official process diagram.

2. Find the cause

   Slow quoting is a symptom. Incomplete inputs or repeated entry may be a cause. Connect your conclusion to an observed case or measurement, and label assumptions.

3. Choose a smaller change

   Start with removal, simplification or a shared rule. Consider integration and automation next. Give AI a job where useful interpretation work still remains.

Two spreadsheets, one unnecessary loop

Illustrative example. A coordinator records a quote request in a shared table, then copies the same nine fields into a second register. Nobody uses the second table; the process owner confirms this.

Trial change: remove the second entry. Give the shared table a named owner and mandatory fields. Across five comparable cases, record total effort, clarification requests and handoff errors. If a necessary use of the second register emerges, the owner revises the plan. Measured trial results will determine any savings.

Your worksheet

Start and finish

What triggers the work? Which accepted result marks completion? Who owns the process?

The current path

For each step: owner, input, output, working time and waiting. Mark copying and repetition.

One loss, one piece of evidence

What is the symptom? What might cause it? Which specific case or measurement supports that explanation?

The first trial

What changes, which controls remain, how many comparable cases will you measure, and who decides what happens next?

Review checks

• Someone who performs the work has checked the process sketch.
• Working time and waiting time are recorded separately.
• Any necessary control or use of the removed step has been clarified.

Walk through one real case

Sit with the person doing the work. Follow one recent case and choose a single change. Set the next measurement date before you finish.