Free template · Word and Excel
A process-description example you fill in yourself.
A blank process description with steps, owner, start and end, exceptions and a SIPOC sheet. The template records what you already know. What nobody wrote down, you only find on the floor.
By Sina Esfahani · Free template, no account. · Updated .
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No account. Word to print or share; Excel to keep steps and SIPOC side by side.
- Download Word
WordPrintable A4 with steps, SIPOC and four test questions.
- Download Excel
ExcelSheet Process description, sheet SIPOC, sheet Example.
How do I write a good process description?
A good process description has an owner, a start, an end, the steps in between and the detours everyone knows but nobody writes down. Without that detour you describe the intended route, not this morning's route.
Start with one process, not the whole company. Choose the work that stalls most often or is retyped most often. Describe what happens, not what should happen.
Example
Can you give an example of a process description?
The second tab of the Excel is a filled example: from breakdown to signed work order, in three steps. It is an illustration, not a client case. Use it to see how short a useful description can be.
- Start: the customer calls or emails a breakdown.
- Step: the planner puts the call in the schedule; the technician fills in the work order; administration transfers hours.
- End: the signed work order is scanned.
- Exception: no signature? Photo of the meter reading, do not guess.
What are the four most important traits of processes?
The template tests four things. If one is missing, the description is not yet a process — it is a task list.
- A clear start and end.
- An owner who may decide when things go differently.
- Each step produces something the next step can continue with.
- The detour is included, not only the intended route.
What the template cannot do
The template records what people remember. Working alongside the team on the floor for two to three weeks surfaces the exceptions nobody wrote down. Take that step only when an hour of explanation cannot complete the process. The research rate is on the research page.
Frequently asked questions about process descriptions
How do you map processes?
Choose one process, describe start, end, steps, owner and detours, and test whether someone who was not there can follow the route. The template on this page is that set of fields. What you do not know, you only find by doing the work yourself.
How do I write a good process description?
Short, in plain language, with exceptions. Internal codes and wishful routes do not belong. If the description grows longer than one A4, split the process.
Can you give an example of a process description?
Yes. The Excel Example tab describes a boiler breakdown through to a signed work order. It is an illustration to show the fields, not a client project.
What are the 4 most important traits of processes?
Start and end, an owner, a handoff between steps, and the detour. Those four appear as test questions in the template.
How can I automate processes?
Only after the current route including exceptions is visible. Automating the intended route makes the detour more expensive. The automation page explains that order.
Cannot explain the process in an hour?
Then the template is not the problem. Then the overview is missing that only appears when someone does the work themselves.