Map the actual path
Walk through recent cases with employees, managers, HR and delivery teams. Mark each decision, queue, hand-off, rework and point where ownership becomes unclear.
Evidence: case chronology + interviews
← Back to the main site
See the system.
Method / worked example
See the system.
Change the outcome.
When a problem keeps returning, the answer is rarely another reminder to try harder. Systems thinking looks at the hand-offs, incentives, delays and feedback that produce the result people actually experience.
01 / The approach
Start with the outcome. Then trace what creates it.
A system is the combination of people, decisions, policies, tools and constraints around an outcome. Its behaviour comes from how those parts interact. A sensible step in one team can create a long wait somewhere else.
I would agree the question and boundary with the customer, follow real work across teams, distinguish observed facts from assumptions, and make the loops visible. The point is to choose a small number of changes that can be tested and owned.
Working questionWhat in the current system makes the unwanted outcome likely, even when individuals are doing their best?
02 / Illustrative customer scenario
The adjustment was approved.
Why is the employee still waiting?
A hypothetical employer has a clear policy and prompt approvals, yet employees say agreed workplace adjustments take weeks to arrive. The example below is a proposed engagement, not a claim about a real customer or measured result.
Customer objectiveMake agreed support work in the job, sooner and more consistently.
Visible symptom“Approved” in the case system; no confirmed change in the working day.
Scope for discoveryFrom first request through delivery, confirmation and review.
The journey to map
- 01Need raisedEmployee and manager describe the barrier.
- 02Decision madeHR agrees a practical change.
- 03Work handed offIT, facilities or procurement must act.
- 04Change deliveredSomeone checks it is usable.
- 05Effect reviewedEmployee and manager agree what to keep or alter.
The reinforcing loop to investigate
Unclear hand-off → longer wait → chasing and duplicate requests → more coordination work → longer wait.
A hypothesis to test with evidence, not a diagnosis made in advance.03 / Analysis
Find the constraint behind the delay.
The investigation follows a small, representative set of cases end to end. It combines the record of what happened with the experience of the people doing and receiving the work.
Separate approval from delivery
Compare time to decision with time to implementation and confirmation. Look at variation by adjustment type and route, while protecting individual privacy.
Evidence: timestamps + exceptionsTest the feedback loops
Check whether chasing, duplicated requests or local workarounds add load. Ask which measures reward a quick approval while leaving delivery invisible.
Evidence: system map + tested hypothesesPossible finding, subject to evidence
Approval has an owner and a service measure. Implementation crosses three teams, with no single person accountable for confirming that support works. The redesign would address that gap before proposing new training or software.
04 / Proposed workflow
A practical route from map to pilot.
Illustrative sequence for scoping a customer engagement. Timing, access and priorities would be agreed after an initial conversation.
- 01Decision brief
Frame the decision
Agree the outcome, boundaries, sponsor and what a better experience would look like. Select a manageable sample of cases.
- 02Current-state map
Map the current system
Follow the cases across teams and draw the journey, delays, decision rights and feedback loops with the people who work in it.
- 03Options and measures
Analyse and design
Quantify the gaps the available data supports. Test explanations, then design clearer ownership, a delivery check and a review point.
- 04Pilot log
Pilot one pathway
Trial the revised workflow for a defined adjustment route or team. Capture exceptions and feedback without waiting for a perfect organisation-wide rollout.
- 05Decision pack
Decide what to scale
Review what changed for employees and staff, what still fails, the cost of operating the new route and the decisions needed to extend it.
05 / Customer outputs
What the customer can use.
A useful engagement leaves a clearer operating system and a decision the leadership team can make, not merely a diagram to admire.
System map
A shared picture of the journey, owners, dependencies, queues and feedback loops, with assumptions marked separately from observed facts.
Evidence baseline
Approval-to-delivery time, confirmation rate, rework and employee feedback, with data gaps and variation made visible.
Revised workflow
Named ownership, hand-off rules, escalation, confirmation and review points; a lightweight service blueprint for teams to operate.
Pilot and decision pack
A small test, learning log, measures, trade-offs and a recommendation on what to adopt, amend or stop.
A better scorecard
Measure the experience after the approval.
- Time from approval to usable change
- Share of changes confirmed as working
- Cases reopened or chased
- Employee and manager feedback on the process
Targets follow a baseline and an agreed scope. A green approval dashboard alone is not evidence that the barrier was removed.