Workflow

Identify the issue

Recognize that there is a problem in the organization that needs to be addressed. This could be brought up by a representative, community members, a Discord conversation, or through regular research.

The following steps can also be completed as part of a Solution Architecture sprint in a collaborative workshop.

Evaluate the current state of the organization

Gather information about the current state of the organization. This may involve reviewing the existing tool configuration and infrastructure.

Identify opportunities for improvement

Examine the system for gaps, risks, hazards, and weaknesses based on the initial conversation about the issue and the current infrastructure. This includes tools and interactions between organizational contributors and their specific functions. Refer to the Systems Engineerif you have questions about the overall map of interactions.

Create stakeholder journey

List all stakeholders involved in the problem or improvement process, outline their goals, and develop a step-by-step journey for how each stakeholder achieves their goals and interacts with others along the way.

With the identified issues and processes in mind, determine the specific goals you want to achieve for a particular target group. This could include simplifying a process, improving communication, or reducing errors. Your goals should be clear, measurable, and focused on meeting the needs of the users.

Map out the entire process that the users will follow, starting with the user (rectangular box on the left), then placing the desired outcome to the end of the journey on the far right. Then, describe the moment they start interacting with the organization to when they achieve the desired outcome.

This user journey should consider all potential touchpoints, interactions, and decisions the user might encounter along the way.

Forks

Consider that some readers might be interested in more elaborate content on a particular area or follow a more specific path, that may not be required for the majority of users. You can visualise these divergent paths by forking them off. The forked paths can indicate the need for a sub-page in the documentation.

Research and experiment with solutions

Delve deeper into specific tools and solutions, experimenting with what is possible in order to determine the best options for supporting the stakeholder journey.

Analyze different approaches and possible solutions, conducting light research to determine the lowest cost and highest quality options to address the issues identified.

Map potential solutions to the stakeholder journey

Adjust the user journey to reflect desired organizational behaviors and technological limitations, ensuring that the proposed solutions work well with the user journey.

Hand off the design

Pass the stakeholder journey and documentation to a Solutions Architect, who will create a prototype or first version of the combination of tools, and to a Documentation Writer, who will write up the public documentation and guide for interacting with the updated solution. Make sure you clarify all details and potentially set up a call with your team members.

Review the implemented solution

Once the solutions architect and documentation writer have completed their tasks, review the new organizational design and tooling to ensure consistency within the organization. Observe how contributors interact with the solution and fix small issues to ensure a frictionless experience.