How to Do Workflow Planning: Steps & Best Practices
Workflow Woes Gone: Effective workflow planning helps streamline processes, reduce unnecessary stress, and prevents so you and your team can focus on important tasks instead of putting out fires.
Productivity Party: By organizing and prioritizing tasks via workflow planning, you can boost productivity, improve time management, and encourage an efficient working environment for everyone.
Software is Your Best Bet: Workflow management software can help you better plan and organize your workflows, map them for you, and catch bottlenecks and potential delays you might not have spotted.
Workflow planning is the easiest way to simplify your process, improve productivity, and reduce frustration and burnout (and it will save you from having to spend whole days putting out fires).
Here’s how to do workflow planning, best practices, and which workflow management tools can help you set clear goals for your workflows and optimize your use of time and resources.
What Is Workflow Planning?
Workflow planning is the process of defining and sequencing the steps and tasks that need to be completed in order to deliver your project or achieve a goal. It involves breaking down the workflow into smaller, manageable tasks and applying it to a specific situation within your project.
It can help you identify the most efficient path to achieving the desired outcome, as well as provide an idea of the time and resources that will be required to successfully complete the workflow.
Purpose of Workflow Planning
The purpose of workflow planning is to provide a structured approach that helps you systematically organize your project tasks and resources to achieve specific objectives.
It clarifies what needs to be done and identifies potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement so that stakeholders and teams can work more cohesively and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
How to Plan Workflows
Here are the steps for planning your workflows and building an overall workflow management system that helps you execute projects smoothly and encourages collaboration amongst the team.
1. Define The Objective
Determine the goal or objective that the workflow needs to achieve. Get the team involved—this helps make sure everyone is on the same page and committed to the goal.
Use SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) to define your objective. Structure your workflow around this target to provide clarity, keep tasks aligned with the overarching objective, and improve efficiency and focus.
2. List & Sequence All Activities
List and sequence all activities required to achieve that objective, and then break them down into smaller, manageable tasks and arrange them in a logical order.
Brainstorm all the tasks that need to be completed, and identify any dependencies between them so you can make sure they are executed in the correct order. Sequencing tasks correctly helps minimize bottlenecks and create a logical flow of activities. For example, in a software development project, coding must be completed before testing can begin.
It’s a good idea to use workflow automation tools for this—they offer a visual representation of the workflow, which makes it easy to identify missing steps, dependencies, or potential delays.
3. Assign Owners & Resources
Assign owners and resources to each step in the workflow to establish accountability and provide a point of contact for each task. Make sure to identify who is best suited for each task based on their skills, experience, and availability, and you’ll also need to provide team members with the necessary tools and support to complete their tasks so they don’t run into bottlenecks.
For example, if you’re planning a workflow for a content marketing project, you might assign the step for creating blog posts to a writer, the step for developing visual assets to a designer, and the steps for reviewing and publishing the content to an editor to review and publish the content.
A good tool to use here is a RACI matrix (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed), which helps define roles and responsibilities for each task in order to clarify expectations and improve communication.
4. Create a Workflow Diagram
Create a workflow diagram to visualize your workflow plan. This involves creating a graphical representation of the sequence of tasks, their dependencies, and the flow of information between them. Workflow diagrams also make it easier to communicate the process to your team and other stakeholders.
For example, if you’re working on a software development team, you might create a flowchart to map out the steps from coding to testing and deployment (the easiest way to do this is with AI flowchart generator software).
Create workflow diagrams using specialized software such as Microsoft Visio or Google Drawings, which offer templates and drag-and-drop features that make it easy to create detailed and accurate diagrams.
5. Get Feedback
Gather feedback from your team and stakeholders to identify any gaps, dependencies, or resource constraints that may not have been apparent in your first iteration of the workflow.
Conduct a review session where team members can provide their insights and suggestions. Encourage open and honest communication, and be receptive to constructive criticism. Use surveys or feedback forms to collect input from those who may not be comfortable speaking up in a group setting.
6. Adjust & Iterate
Adjust the workflow based on the team’s feedback. It’s also important to conduct regular adjustments and workflow iterations throughout its use on your projects to address unexpected challenges or changes that affect the workflow. Remain agile and responsive to necessary changes to maintain an efficient workflow.
Use performance metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of your workflow and whether it’s achieving the desired outcome. For example, if your goal is to reduce response time to customer inquiries, you might track metrics such as average response time and customer satisfaction scores.
Tools for Workflow Planning
Many workflow planning tools or workflow management software offer workflow templates and functionality that can help you effectively streamline your tasks and take your team’s productivity to the next level.
Many of these tools are highly visual and customizable and make it easy to represent various workflow stages, and can integrate with a variety of tools you’re already using, like Trello, Slack, Google Drive, and Jira.
Here are the best workflow management software tools to help you with this:
Tips for Planning Workflows
Here are some additional tips to improve the effectiveness of your workflow planning.
- Be clear about the workflow’s objectives: Always start with a clear understanding of your workflow’s objectives. This helps you define scope and aligns all tasks with end goals and stakeholder expectations.
- Carefully evaluate software tools: Not all workflow automation software is the right one. Choose the right software and workflow diagram tools that meet your industry, company size, goals, and project. Take the time to properly evaluate tools and factor in integration, user experience, and all other relevant considerations. This could save you a significant amount of time and frustration.
- Review and adjust your workflow plans: Remain flexible and adaptable to changing needs and circumstances. Remember to circle back afterward and regularly review and adjust your workflow plans. Conduct regular check-ins and progress reviews to identify new bottlenecks or challenges that may emerge.
What’s Next?
When it comes to meeting your resource needs, The Digital Project Manager community is the perfect place to go for templates, tool roundups, and tips. We have hundreds of active and experienced project managers who can share best practices or additional resources.
