IK Systems
The Predictability Framework™
Doc. 03 / Guide
- Pillar
- Predictable Operations
- Format
- Guide
- Reading time
- 3 min read
Documenting a process to the level a new hire can follow
Process documents fail for one of two reasons: they are too vague to follow, or too long to read. Here is the level of detail that actually works in the field.
01Section
The test that matters
A process is documented well enough when a competent new hire, on their second week, can complete it correctly without interrupting anyone. That is the entire bar. Not 'comprehensive'. Not 'ISO'. Followable, unsupervised, by someone who is new but not incompetent.
This bar rules out both failure modes. 'Prep the site properly' fails it. A fourteen-page manual nobody opens also fails it, because the new hire will ask a question rather than read it.
02Section
The right level of detail
Document decisions and sequence. Do not document craft. Your crew lead already knows how to run a mower or set a rigging line — what they do not know is your standard for when a job is considered finished, who signs off, and what gets photographed.
- Write the sequence of steps in order, one action per line.
- Call out every decision point explicitly: if X, then Y; otherwise Z.
- State the finish standard in observable terms — what the site looks like, what the client receives.
- Name the person or role who confirms completion.
- Add photos for anything spatial. One photo replaces a paragraph.
03Section
A format that survives contact with a truck
One page. Phone-readable. Headings the crew can scan while standing on a driveway. Keep the same four blocks for every process so people know where to look.
| Block | Contains |
|---|---|
| Trigger | What starts this process and who starts it |
| Steps | Numbered actions, one per line, decisions called out |
| Finish standard | Observable conditions that mean it is done |
| Handoff | Who receives it next and what they need |
04Section
How to write one in 30 minutes
- 01Pick the process that causes the most rework or callbacks. Start there, not with the easiest one.
- 02Watch your best person do it once and write down what they actually do — including the small checks they make without thinking.
- 03Read it back to them and mark every place they say 'well, it depends'. Those are your decision points.
- 04Cut anything that is craft rather than sequence.
- 05Have someone who has never done the job read it out loud and mark where they hesitate.
05Section
Keeping it alive
Documents rot. Give each one a named owner and a review date each season. The most reliable maintenance trigger is a callback: every time work has to be redone, the first question is whether the process was wrong or whether it was not followed. Both answers lead to a change.
Aim for coverage of your top ten processes before perfection of any one of them. Ten adequate pages beat one excellent one.
Do this first
One page per process: trigger, steps, finish standard, handoff. Test it with someone new and fix wherever they hesitate.
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