Resources
Workflow Scoping Checklist
Use this checklist to describe one workflow clearly enough for a practical assessment. It is published by REIT Limited, a Bangladesh-based AI services and technical-delivery company, and works with any provider or an in-house team.
The short answer
A workflow is ready to assess when you can state its trigger, inputs, systems, exceptions, approvals, outputs and how it is measured today. Seven short answers are enough. You do not need a diagram or technical detail.
The seven items
Answer each in a sentence or two. The example column shows the level of detail needed.
| Item | Question to answer | Example answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Trigger | What starts the process? | A website enquiry form is submitted. |
| 2. Inputs | What information arrives, and in what form? | Name, email, company, message; sometimes an attachment. |
| 3. Systems | Which tools are read or updated? | Shared mailbox, CRM, team chat. |
| 4. Exceptions | What goes wrong, and how often? | Duplicates; incomplete messages; requests for a different department. |
| 5. Approvals | Who must approve what, before which action? | A sales lead approves any reply to a new customer. |
| 6. Outputs | What is the finished result, and where is it recorded? | A reply sent; a CRM record created with an owner. |
| 7. Current measure | How do you know today whether it went well? | Time to first reply; number of enquiries left unanswered. |
What does a completed checklist look like?
A worked example for a wholesale distributor's order-document intake.
| Item | Completed answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Trigger | A supplier or customer emails a purchase order as a PDF to the shared orders mailbox. |
| 2. Inputs | A PDF of one to four pages with customer name, order number, product codes, quantities and a delivery date. About one in twenty is a scan. |
| 3. Systems | The shared mailbox, the ERP order screen and the product list. |
| 4. Exceptions | Unknown product codes, handwritten amendments, duplicate orders and orders above the customer's credit limit. |
| 5. Approvals | A coordinator checks every order before it is saved in the ERP; a manager approves orders above the credit limit. |
| 6. Outputs | An order saved in the ERP and a confirmation email to the customer. |
| 7. Current measure | Time from email to ERP entry (about two days) and keying errors found at picking. |
The same process is described as a full case study on the AI Workflow Automation page, including the result (3 h, down from 46 h) and the limit found.
How is the checklist used in an assessment?
The seven answers become the first draft of a process map. In the assessment each answer is tested: the trigger is observed, a sample of inputs is reviewed, access to each system is confirmed with its owner, and the exceptions are counted over a recent period. The approvals become the human approval points in the design, the outputs become the completion condition, and the current measure becomes the baseline against which a pilot is judged.
An answer of "we are not sure" is useful. It shows where discovery is needed before a build, and it is better found on a checklist than halfway through a pilot. If several processes compete for attention, complete the checklist for each and compare them on volume, handling time and how often a case is redone.
Which mistakes make a checklist hard to assess?
| Mistake | Why it matters | What to write instead |
|---|---|---|
| Describing the ideal process | The assessment needs today's steps, including the workarounds. | What people do now, even where it differs from the written procedure. |
| Leaving out exceptions | Exceptions decide most of the design and most of the cost. | The three or four cases that go wrong most often, with a rough frequency. |
| Naming a team as approver | An approval point needs one accountable person or role. | The role that approves, and who covers when that person is away. |
| Combining several processes | A first project works best with one trigger and one result. | One checklist per process, then choose the first. |
Useful extras, if you have them
- Roughly how many cases arrive in a week
- How long one case takes to handle and to review
- How often a case has to be redone
- What you pay vendors for the tools involved
- Who owns the process and can make decisions about it
These figures help estimate whether the project is worth doing. Any estimate of value should show its assumptions; this checklist does not calculate a return.
What not to send
Do not include passwords, access keys, customer records or confidential files with an enquiry. If the assessment needs sample data, a secure method of exchange is agreed first.
When your seven answers are ready, send them through the Contact page and choose "Assessment". The reply will say whether the process looks suitable and what the assessment would cover.
Questions buyers ask
What should the client prepare for an assessment or pilot?
Prepare seven short answers about one workflow: its trigger, inputs, systems, exceptions, approvals, outputs and current measure. Add a process owner who can answer questions and confirm that access to the systems can be granted. Volumes and handling times help but are optional.
Do we need technical documentation before contacting a provider?
No. A plain description of how the work is done today is more useful than a technical diagram. The assessment turns that description into a process map and checks the technical details, such as which systems can be connected and what access is needed.
Send us your seven answers
We will tell you whether the workflow is a sound candidate for an assessment.
- Assessment before any build
- A person approves customer-facing actions
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