Illustrative sample · Fictional organization and evidence
Workflow & Tool Diagnostic
A practical diagnosis of work, handoffs, visibility, and capacity.
Executive readout
Harborline Advisory is a fictional 24-person service firm. Work is requested in email, planned in a task board, and delivered in a client portal. The team can complete the work, but managers cannot see a dependable cross-client queue or estimate near-term capacity. Overall status: Needs attention.
Current workflow
| Step | System / owner | Observed gap |
|---|---|---|
| Request | Email / account manager | Requests arrive with inconsistent due dates and service type. |
| Plan | Task board / team lead | Some tasks lack a portal link, size, or named owner. |
| Execute | Client portal / specialist | Progress is visible inside each engagement, not across the portfolio. |
| Review | Spreadsheet / manager | Weekly report requires manual reconciliation. |
Evidence and findings
| Finding | Illustrative evidence | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Task coverage is incomplete | In a sample of ten active engagements, three lacked a corresponding current task. | A dashboard built only from the board would understate work. |
| Effort has no common unit | Teams use small/medium/large informally; definitions vary. | Capacity cannot be compared with incoming demand. |
| Reporting is manual | Manager spent roughly two hours preparing one weekly view. | A stable operating view could free management time. |
Recommended path
| Horizon | Action | Test for success |
|---|---|---|
| Now | Require owner, due date, work type, size, and portal link on active tasks. | At least 90% completeness in a two-week sample. |
| Next | Map small/medium/large to hour ranges and compare with actual effort. | Managers can explain capacity assumptions. |
| Later | Test a read-only portfolio view using the validated task data. | A manager can answer workload and deadline questions without manual reconciliation. |
Decision requested
Pilot task standards and sizing before selecting new software. At the end of two weeks, review completeness, report preparation time, and whether managers can identify overload.
All names, counts, and observations in this sample are illustrative. This is an example of the deliverable format, not a claim of client results.