Crafting Technical Documentation

How To Model a Business Process From Scratch Most process documentation is outdated the moment it's written. Why? It's based on what people think happens, not what actually happens. Here's the 5-step process I use: 1. Identify the Process Trigger → What event starts the process? → Who initiates it? What do they receive? → No clear trigger = a task without purpose 2. Interview the People Who Do the Work → Talk to the people doing the job, not the manager → Ask what they actually do, not what the policy says → The gap between documented and reality is where your best findings live 3. Draft the AS-IS Swim-Lane Diagram → One lane per role or department → One box per activity → Label every handoff with what's being passed 4. Annotate Pain Points Directly on the Diagram → Delays, rework, handoff failures → Manual workarounds → Anything done in Excel instead of the system 5. Model the TO-BE Process → Remove steps that add no value → Fix handoffs: what gets passed, to whom, and when → Add clear boundaries so no one is guessing The visual guide breaks down each step with tools and prompts. ↓ --- ♻️ Repost to help a BA or PM document processes that actually reflect reality. P.S. Which step do you find most difficult to get right?

I asked a CEO last week: "What percentage of your company's critical processes exist only in your head?" His answer: "Probably 60%." When I asked why, he said: "No one can document them as well as I can execute them." That's the process paradox that keeps founders trapped: the very expertise that built your business becomes the ceiling that prevents it from scaling. Undocumented processes aren't processes at all. They're tribal knowledge with an expiration date. After implementing EOS with hundreds of entrepreneurial companies, I've identified the Process Component as one of the most neglected of the Six Key Components. Leaders believe documenting processes will: 1. Take too much... time they don't have 2. Stifle creativity and flexibility 3. Be ignored by the team anyway But the data tells a different story. Companies with documented core processes grow 3X faster than those without them. Here's the 3-step framework we use in EOS to break this cycle: 1️⃣ Identify your core processes Don't try to document everything. Start with the 5-7 processes that drive 80% of your business results. For most companies, these include: HR, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Accounting, and Customer Service. 2️⃣ Document at the right level Resist the urge to create 50-page manuals. For each process, identify 5-15 high-level steps that anyone with basic competence could follow. The goal isn't perfection. It's clarity and transferability. 3️⃣ Make them Followed By All This is where most systematization efforts fail. FBA (Followed By All) is the checklist that ensures every Core Process in your business is clearly documented and consistently followed by everyone on the team. Review processes quarterly, measure adherence, and refine based on results. One client who implemented this approach reduced their onboarding time from 12 weeks to 4 weeks. Another increased production capacity by 35% without adding headcount. Every day you delay systematizing your business is another day your growth remains capped by your personal bandwidth. The question isn't whether you need documented processes - it's how much longer you can afford to operate without them. Ready to break free from being the bottleneck in your business? Join hundreds of entrepreneurs who receive my weekly Clarity Break Thoughts: www.markodonnell.me

I just discovered how construction companies are creating complete SOPs in 45 minutes instead of 18 months. Building PPL shared their exact framework, and it's brilliant. Most companies approach process documentation like they're writing a manual for NASA. ❌ Old Way (18 months): • Form process improvement committee • Research industry best practices • Draft formal documentation • Endless revision cycles • Launch and pray people use it 18 months later, you have a beautiful manual that sits on a digital shelf collecting dust. ✅ New Way (45 minutes): • Grab your best person for this process • Record them explaining it to someone new • Use AI to structure the messy conversation into clear steps That's it. Building PPL worked with a construction company that had been "meaning to document processes" for 3 years. In one afternoon, they captured their entire submittal process—including all the unwritten tricks that actually make it work. The difference was they stopped trying to create something perfect and started extracting knowledge that already existed. Your people already know how to do the work. They just need help getting it out of their heads. Here's how to get started: STEP 1 - Pick Your Paint Point • List your 5-8 core processes that cause chaos when key people are out • Pick the one causing the most pain RIGHT NOW STEP 2 - Extract The Knowledge • Record your expert walking through the process • Don't script it. Let them ramble. • Capture the WHY, not just the WHAT STEP 3 - PACKAGE • Use AI to transform rambling conversation into clear steps • Simple format: Purpose → Steps → Success Definition • Store where people actually look for information What used to take committee meetings and corporate writing now happens over coffee. Your challenge: • Pick ONE process that confuses new people • Block 45 minutes on your calendar • Follow the framework: Identify → Document → Package You can start with just a phone recording and some AI help. Building PPL has turned this into a science, but the basics work for anyone. Construction is complex enough. Your processes don't have to be. 👇 Which process will you document first?

Ok guys. You fought one fire too many and said enough's enough, our agency needs a process for this. So you made that beautiful SOP with all the links and had everyone dump everything from their brain... and yet... still nobody knows wtf is supposed to happen. You want to actually solve the problem, your process has to be 1. simple 2. usable 3. scalable. Easier said then done. I know, me, an ops/finance/leadership expert and I'm still saying it's tough. Why? Bc we're human! This is the work we want to just be done already so we can have the results, but we don't actually want to invest the time, discipline, or finances to do it well. So here’s the method that worked best for me growing an agency from startup to $10M with systems that actually stuck (& didn't suck 🤣 ). 🔍 Simple = clear. Simple ≠ basic. Start with a visual map. (Miro, Canva, or ClickUp all work great.) Something that helps your brain see the big picture before zooming into the steps. Then outline the process in a doc: » Each task » Who owns it » When it’s due (relative to the overall workflow) » Description + links to resources/templates » Checklist of actions » Subtasks + dependencies Your tasks should be your source of truth, where the process is integrated into the actual work. Great process documentation doesn’t have to be hunted down bc it's right in front of your face where the work happens. 💪🏽 Usable = actually followed. Usable ≠ I understand it, why don't you. Once the process is defined, build it into your PM platform as a template. Monday, ClickUp, Asana, Teamwork... take your pick, idc, but ideally use ONE. Then roll it out with patience. ↳ Host walkthroughs. Share the why, explain the goal, set expectations, & *walk* through the flow. Highly recommend multiple sessions for team-specific & role-specific nuances. ↳ Run a mock client exercise. Assign the full process like it's real and watch for friction. You'll catch gaps, errors, missing links, unclear instructions, before it goes live. ↳ (I know I'm a broken record but) Build accountability into the process. If something gets skipped, the workflow should stall. If you have to manage people through reminders and nudges, that's a flag the process isn't solid yet bc when it's clear and owned, the gaps reveal themselves. 📈 Scalable = evolves with you. Scalable ≠ reinventing the wheel. The process doc is your editable hub. When something needs to be changed, you should have roles responsible to update the doc, confirm with leadership or team, & apply the update to the task templates. Use a highlighting system in the doc to track: • Needs updating • Changed, not yet confirmed/approved • Approved + ready to go • Remove highlights once it's live in the system And that’s it. That's how to build a process that holds steady AND stays flexible. And when you do it this way, your processes support growth without burning people out along the way.

Most documentation fails because it breaks these principles. Not because technical writers don't know how to write. Because they're working without a framework for making better decisions. Here are 6 documentation principles technical writers actually follow: 1. Write for the user who knows the least → Define terms on first use and use them consistently → If your docs serve beginners, they serve everyone 2. Show, don't just tell → Add examples after every explanation → Use real data in examples, not placeholder text 3. Make it scannable and accessible → Use clear headings and semantic HTML → Add alt text for images, put critical info first 4. Document the "why," not just the "how" → Start feature docs with "What this solves" → Explain trade-offs in configuration options 5. Test docs with real users before launch → Validate with real users during QA, not after release → Block launches if docs don't work for actual users 6. Write like you're talking to one person → Use "you" instead of "users" or "one" → Read it aloud. If it sounds robotic, rewrite it. These principles aren't rules. They're judgment calls that guide better documentation. You'll break them when it makes sense. But knowing them helps you decide when and why. Save this for the next time you're making a tough documentation decision. Reshare it if you're a technical writer who uses these principles daily. Which principle do you follow most consistently? Drop the number in the comments. 👇 Want more career insights for writers: 1. Follow Joshua Gene Fechter 2. Like the post 3. Repost to your network

Ask Stephany: "How do I document a process when the process is different for every client?" This is one of the most common challenges I hear from service providers, and I totally get the frustration. You know you need documented processes, but when every client seems to require a completely different approach, it can feel impossible to create anything standardized. Here's the thing: even when client work feels wildly different, there's usually more consistency than you think. The key is identifying your core framework while building in flexibility for variations. 👉 Start with your foundation: Every client project likely follows some version of the same basic structure, even if the details differ. For example, you probably always have an onboarding phase, some form of discovery or assessment, execution phases, and wrap-up activities. Document this high-level framework first. 👉 Create template workflows with decision points: Instead of trying to document every possible scenario, create your main process flow and build in clear decision points. Think "If this, then that" logic. For instance: "If client needs X, proceed to workflow A. If client needs Y, proceed to workflow B." 👉 Use modular documentation: Break your processes into smaller, interchangeable modules. You might have standard modules for client communication, project kickoffs, specific service deliverables, and billing. Then you can mix and match these modules based on each client's needs while still maintaining consistency in how each piece gets executed. 👉 Document your exceptions: When you do encounter something truly unique, document it as a case study or exception process. Over time, you'll likely find that many of these "one-off" situations actually repeat with other clients, and you can build them into your standard decision tree. The goal isn't to make every client identical, it's to ensure you're delivering consistent quality and not reinventing the wheel each time. Your clients will actually appreciate this systematic approach, even when their needs are unique. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 "𝘈𝘴𝘬 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘺" 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵.

A lack of process, documentation, and SOPs can cost your agency thousands of $$$ per month. A lack of process leads to: ➝ Nobody knowing what to do ➝ Missed deadlines ➝ Things slipping through the cracks ➝ Significant decreases in productivity ➝ Misaligned expectations across the team or with clients ➝ CHAOS Here's two common mistakes surrounding a lack of process documentation and how to solve them: ❌ Incomplete Task Descriptions Agencies often have tasks built but they lack details explaining the actual work needed. For example, a task is named "Draft blog post" but doesn't include any information about topic, length, voice, or other requirements. Why it fails: ➝ Team members don't have enough context to complete tasks effectively. ➝ You end up providing details over chat which is difficult to search later. ➝ Important requirements get overlooked since they aren't captured in ClickUp. ❌ Unclear Expectations Beyond task names, there's no info provided about what constitutes successfully completing the work. For example, a social media post task doesn't specify the number of posts, which networks to use, or any client expectations. Why it fails: ➝ Work may be completed differently than expected, requiring revisions. ➝ Team members use inconsistent approaches rather than following guidelines. ➝ Quality and adherence to brand standards drops without clear expectations set. ✅ Here's how to avoid these mistakes: The process needs to live where the work gets done. This is a foundational component of the ZenPilot methodology. If you want to create clarity for your team, every task needs to have the 4 C's: 1️⃣ Concise name - Use a clear, short name (this should be a verb) summarizing the work. 2️⃣ Context - Provide background like goals, relevant links, and supporting materials from the client. Make sure your account managers document and provide context to the team! 3️⃣ Checklist - Outline the exact steps & requirements needed to complete the task. 4️⃣ Criteria - Provide the process that defines what constitutes a job well done. ------------ ✋ Is there anything else you'd add?