"The PDF"
Finding existing process documentation
At Dotwork, we have noticed a curious phenomenon.
Some companies genuinely enjoy writing about how they work. They make practices explicit, explain the why behind them, and intentionally design their operating system. They are not process centric, but they care enough about how work happens to put real thought into it.
And some companies do not. They prefer not to talk much about how things work. Practices emerge organically. Rituals form and evolve without ever being written down. Things just work out. There is often a quiet skepticism, or even paranoia, about making anything too explicit.
Both types of companies can succeed. And both can benefit from a tool like Dotwork, especially when it comes to instrumenting and understanding their operating system.
The difference is that in the first case—the company that enjoys documenting how they work—it is often easier to get the lay of the land. If someone has taken the time to write down how things work, get that document or set of documents. At Dotwork, we jokingly call this “The PDF.”
If it exists, find it. It can help make sense of the activities that follow.
If your company has lots of process documents that nobody follows or that live purely in aspiration, do not worry about it. We will uncover what matters as we go.
If your company rarely writes anything down, don't worry. Start discovering!