How to Run a Process Walkthrough

Last week, I tried something new.

I was working with a group on a logistics process, and it seemed to me that the whole discussion was too cerebral. We had a one-dimensional Visio image on a screen, but no process is one-dimensional.

Any process is 4 parts people, 2 parts machine, 1 part time, 1 part emotion, 3 parts fumbling in the dark, and 1 part flowchart..
That's on a good day.

You probably know by know that I'm a sports nut. So, I reached into my sports metaphor toolbox and suggested we do a 'no-pads' walkthrough.

Let's print out each process box on a 8x10 piece of paper, lay it out on a floor, and - like a giant chess board - literally walkthrough it and see what happens.

So, yesterday we tried it. It was amazing to see the difference. Staring at a projected screen is entirely a left-brain event. As soon as we stepped up and walked around our '3-D swimlane chart', people noticed problems. Right brains become engaged.
Imagine the power of using your whole brain at work... no, really... imagine!!
In 90 minutes, we changed about 60% of the process - simplifying and clarifying it.

I was pretty proud of myself, until Ken informed me that this is a standard event in the world of process mapping. Oh well. It was still pretty cool...

Where would a walk through help your team?