Field guide to agile taskflow design

Don't have
your business
processes
written down?
7 simple steps
to help you
discover its
role players,
tasks, conditions
and flow of tasks

1. A Task is a specific action or business operation.
Two key concepts before we start…

1. A Task is a specific action or business operation.
Examples:
- Gather information with an online form
- Sending an email
- Making an entry into a Google spreadsheet
- Generating a PDF

2. A Taskflow consists of tasks strung together with
the aim to achieve a desired goal.
Examples:
1. Receiving conference paper proposals, then accepting or
rejecting proposals, and notifying the applicants of the
decision.

2. A Taskflow consists of tasks strung together with
the aim to achieve a desired goal.
Examples:
2. A bicycle workshop receives orders to repair bikes,
checks its stock, orders parts needed, and lastly bills the
customer.

7 steps to design your
process

Write the goal that needs to be
achieved by the taskflow
on a sticky (Post-it®) note.
Begin with the end in mind
Step #1

Secondly, write down how you would
know when the
goal has been achieved?
Step #1

Step #1

Would you rather watch the video?

Step #2
Write down each individual task
needed to achieve the goal.
One task per sticky note.
Identify tasks needed

Step #2
Example:
Key tasks necessary
to achieve the goal are
(not in sequence):

Step #2
Tip:
Start with the verb (the action)
that the task performs…

Step #2
Indicate whether the task
relies on human interaction.
Typically a form to be filled-in.

Step #2
Or is it an automated task?
Examples:
- sending an email,
- generating a PDF,
- updating a CRM contact or
- adding a row to
a Google spreadsheet

On a large surface,
place the first task that
needs to be performed
at the top.
Step #3
Arrange the sticky notes

On a large surface,
place the first task that
needs to be performed
at the top.
Take the next task and
put it underneath the first task,
and so on…
Step #3

Play with the order of the tasks
until you find the logical and simplest
flow of tasks to achieve the goal.
Step #3

Play with the order of the tasks
until you find the logical and simplest
flow of tasks to achieve the goal.
There are different patterns
for the flow between tasks…
Step #3

Different patterns for the flow between tasks:
- Linear: one follows the other.
Step #3

- Alternative: either one or the other task is performed.
Step #3

- Simultaneous: tasks performed at the same time.
Step #3

- Simultaneous: tasks performed at the same time.
- Non-linear: previously completed tasks are
reactivated by a task later-on.
You can make use of more than one of these patterns
of flow in any taskflow.
Step #3

Note:
The first task in a taskflow can be kicked-off by:
- a person,
- an event in an external web-service or
- a change of content (data-fields).
Step #3

For each task,
write down the role players
that would be involved with the task.
Step #4
Add role players

For each task,
write down the role players
that would be involved with the task.
Not all automated tasks will necessarily
have a role player.
Step #4
Add role players

For human-facing tasks (such as forms),
write down the actual roles of the person
within the organization such as…
Step #4
Add role players

employee, manager, purchasing officer, executive
management, HR, sales, finances, etc.
Step #4
Add role players

employee, manager, purchasing officer, executive
management, HR, sales, finances, etc.
rather than the persons name, e.g. John
Step #4
Add role players

Are there any tasks you can
reposition that will benefit the flow?
Step #4 - review

Are there consecutive tasks that
the same role players will be working on?
Step #4 - review

Can these tasks merge?
Step #4 - review

Can these tasks merge?
Do you need to add any new tasks?
Step #4 - review
continue

Where consecutive tasks have different role players:
Add connecting tasks to inform role player(s)
that they need to perform the task.
Step #5
Add connecting tasks

Examples: Email, SMS, Slack
Step #5

Examples: Email, SMS, Slack
Indicate on the sticky notes
which connecting task will be used where.
Step #5

Step #6
List the data-fields
A task uses data to perform an action.

Step #6
Example:
A form captures data in data-fields:
- firstname
- lastname
- email address
- quantity of items to order

Step #6
Data-fields for automated tasks…
Example:
Data-fields for sending an email:
- To email address
- subject
- message

Step #6
Example:
Data-fields for sending a SMS:
- To mobile number
- message

Step #6
Example:
Data-fields when adding a row to a Google Spreadsheet:
- Spreadsheet Id
- Worksheet Id
- Payload

Step #6
Don't worry if this is foreign to you.
Kotive will help you when and where you need to use
data-fields.

Step #6
Build-out each individual task
by listing the data-fields needed at each task.

Step #6
Build-out each individual task
by listing the data-fields needed at each task.
The following sentence could be used to help you
identify each task’s data-fields:
“In order to {task to be performed}
as a {role player}
I need {list of data-fields}.”

Step #6
as a {role player}

Step #6
as a {role player}
In order to “Request purchase of items”

Step #6
as a {role player}
as an employee

Step #6
as a {role player}
as an employee
I need the name of the person who asked for the
purchase,a description of each item and
the quantity needed of each item.

1. Is all the data available to relevant tasks?
Now that you’ve built out the
tasks, review the flow of tasks…

2. ls there a data-field that needs to be included
prior to the task being performed?
Example: If you’re sending an email to confirm
receipt of ordered items, then include a
data-field in the “request purchase ” form to
capture the email address.

3. Is any data missing?

4. Should a new task be included in order to get data
that is missing from the taskflow?

4. Should a new task be included in order to get data
that is missing from the taskflow?
5. Can or should any tasks be repositioned?

Step #7
Add conditions to tasks
If a condition of a task is met (true)
then the task is initiated.

Step #7
The role player(s) that you have previously added to
each task determine the 1st condition of the task.

Step #7
The role player(s) that you have previously added to
each task determine the 1st condition of the task.
A task can have more than one condition.

Step #7
The template sentence we will use for conditions
regarding role players is:

Step #7
“The conditions for this task are satisfied when
{role} {comparison*} {value}”

Step #7
* The comparison can be:
is, is not, greater than, less than and contains.

Step #7

Step #7
Example: If only a manager can to approve a purchase
then the conditions for the
approved purchase task will be:

Step #7
Example: If only a manager can to approve a purchase
then the conditions for the
approved purchase task will be:
When the role IS manager

Step #7
Go to each task and write down
its condition(s) for all its role player(s).

Step #7
Some human-facing tasks may not have
any role players.

Step #7
any role players.
This is usually the case for publicly available online
forms where people are not required to log in.

Step #7
any role players.
This is usually the case for publicly available online
forms where people are not required to log in.
None of the automated tasks have role players.

Step #7
Do you need to specify any additional conditions that
are related to data-fields from other tasks?

Step #7
Example: The manager approved the purchase, now the
employee needs to be informed.

Step #7
Example: The manager approved the purchase, now the
employee needs to be informed.
The condition for this task is
“Do you approve the purchase?*” IS “Yes”
*“Do you approve the purchase” is a data-field from the previous task,
with an input value of either Yes or No.

Step #7
The template sentence we will use for conditions can
now be extended to:
“{role/data-field} {comparison} {value}”

Step #7

Step #7
Go to each task and write down its condition(s)
for its data-field(s).

Step #7
Ask yourself “What conditions related to a data-field
need to be satisfied before the task may be activated?”

Step #7
Ask yourself “What conditions related to a data-field
need to be satisfied before the task may be activated?”
There may be more than one or there might be none.

You might now have tasks
that have more than one condition.
More on conditions…

Do all these conditions need to be satisfied?

or
Does only one of these conditions need to be satisfied?

or
Does only one of these conditions need to be satisfied?
or
Are there combinations of these conditions that need
to be satisfied?

Make use of AND and OR to group conditions.
(x AND y) OR (x AND z AND a)

( “Role” IS “Manager”
AND
“Do you approve the order?” IS “Yes” )

( “Role” IS “Manager”
AND
 
OR
 
( “Role” IS “Employee”
AND
“Order value” LESS THAN “$10”
AND

TIP:
When grouping multidimensional conditions
use AND only inside the brackets ()
and OR outside brackets.
(x AND y) OR (x AND z AND a)

1. Does the taskflow’s flow of tasks achieve
the original goal?
Review your original goal

the original goal?
2. Are there any tasks which are not essential in
achieving this goal?

the original goal?
3. Is it possible to exclude some (non-essential) tasks
from the taskflow in order to keep it simple?

the original goal?
3. Is it possible to exclude some (non-essential) tasks
from the taskflow in order to keep it simple?
4. Should the taskflow be split into
smaller taskflows?

You now have a simple and logical taskflow on paper,
that achieves its specific goal.
The next step is to convert it to a
functional online taskflow.

See the complete
Field Guide to Agile Taskflow Design
for more details, including an
instructional video.
continue

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Field guide to agile taskflow design

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