Mapping the hand-offs nobody owns between teams and systems
One person finishes an activity, another eventually discovers it is ready, and the gap is managed by reminders, private lists and experience. Following one real job from start to finish shows where those gaps sit.
- Theme
- Systems and workflow
- Published
- 8 April 2026
Map a real job, start to finish
Choose a recent piece of work and follow it from trigger to completion. Record who knew it was ready, what information moved, where status was visible and how an exception changed the path.
Real instances show coordination work that role descriptions and process maps leave out. A subcontractor's O&M documentation is a good instance to follow: from submission, through review, to the point it actually reaches the client. The gaps usually sit between people who each think the other owns the next step.
Agree what 'ready' means on both sides
For each boundary, name what "ready" means to the sender and what "acceptable" means to the receiver. A mismatch creates queues, rework or work that looks complete in one system and unfinished in another. The map should include the evidence, acknowledgement and escalation needed when that condition is not met.
- 01 Trigger and completion condition
- 02 Sender and receiver
- 03 Required information and evidence
- 04 Status and acknowledgement both sides can see
- 05 Exception and escalation route
Someone has to own the whole flow
People responsible for single tasks cannot fix a boundary that spans several roles. Give one person responsibility for the whole flow and the authority to bring together the people who shape it.
Then use the map to decide whether the next change belongs in role clarity, information design, platform workflow or training. Often it is more than one.