FDE-015field-patterns/workflow-mapping.mdUPDATED: 06/18/2026
Workflow Mapping
Pattern
Name: Workflow mapping
When to use it: When a customer describes a messy manual process and wants automation, AI assistance, or system integration.
Why it matters for FDE roles: It turns vague operational pain into states, owners, transitions, exceptions, and automation candidates.
Plain-English Description
Workflow mapping is the practice of drawing how work moves from trigger to outcome, including who owns each step and what happens when something goes wrong.
Situation Signals
- Job listing signal: workflow automation, operations, implementation, process improvement.
- Customer signal: work is tracked in spreadsheets, messages, tickets, or memory.
- Project signal: automation is requested but the process has no explicit states.
What To Ask
- What event starts this workflow?
- What are the possible statuses?
- Who can move an item from one status to another?
- What exceptions happen often?
- Which steps are safe to automate now?
What To Do
- Identify trigger, states, owners, actions, and exit criteria.
- Mark manual, assisted, and automated steps separately.
- Add exception states instead of hiding failures.
- Define the audit trail before implementation.
Artifacts To Produce
- Diagram: state machine or swimlane workflow.
- Checklist: states, owners, transitions, exceptions.
- Demo/prototype: one workflow item moving through the core states.
- Customer-facing note: automation candidates and human review points.
Failure Modes
- Automating a process no one can explain.
- Leaving failed or low-confidence items without an owner.
- Treating exceptions as edge cases when they are common.
- Removing manual judgment before trust exists.
Interview Language
One sentence I could say in an interview:
I map workflow automation as states, owners, transitions, exceptions, and review points before deciding what software should do automatically.
Relevant work experience for this pattern: