Map a process and find the bottleneck

Choose one process with a clear start and end

For example, from customer enquiry to quotation sent. A clear start and end stops the exercise becoming too large.

Map what really happens

With the people doing the work, write each step on a note, in order. Include rework, approvals and the informal workarounds. Map the real process first, not the one in the manual.

Record working time and waiting time

For each step, write how long the work takes and how long the job waits before it. Waiting time is often much bigger than working time, and this is where you usually find the fastest improvement.

Find the bottleneck

The bottleneck is the step where work piles up. Look for the longest queue or the person everyone is waiting for. Speeding up any other step will not help much, because the work still has to pass through this one.

Improve one thing and measure again

Try one change to the bottleneck: remove an unnecessary approval, move work to a less busy time, or train a second person. Compare the total time before and after, then decide whether to keep it.

Fix the process before you automate it. Automating a broken process only makes the problem happen faster.