Process Experiments
Part of Productivity for managers
Removing an obstacle instead of adding another report
Find the blocked step, choose a remedy that changes it and check whether work can proceed without shifting the problem elsewhere.
When work is blocked, identify the next step that cannot happen, who can change that condition and when you will check the remedy. Request another report only if it supplies information needed for that decision.
Find the blocked step
'The project is delayed' describes a consequence. Ask the owner what they were ready to do next and what stopped it. A missing input, a waiting approval, unavailable access or the same specialist committed elsewhere each calls for a different action.
Inspect the current work and ask the owner what they have tried. Check with the person who receives the result too: an apparent blocker may be an essential check that cannot simply be removed.
Choose a remedy that changes the condition
| Obstacle | Manager's next move |
|---|---|
| Missing information or access | Ask the responsible owner for the information or arrange approved access. |
| Approval waiting | Put the precise question to the authorised decision-maker and agree when an answer is needed. |
| Conflicting instructions | Bring the relevant owners together to settle the direction and tell the worker. |
| Necessary work exceeds available time or skills | Take scope, timing, cover or resourcing choices to someone who can change them. |
Give a temporary workaround an owner and an end point. Do not bypass a required approval or quietly shift an excessive load to someone else.
If workers repeatedly raise similar conditions, use the workplace's appropriate risk process as well as fixing the immediate blockage.
Obstacle types and appropriate manager responses
- Missing information or accessAsk the responsible owner for the information or arrange approved access.
- Approval waitingPut the precise question to the authorised decision-maker and agree when an answer is needed.
- Conflicting instructionsBring relevant owners together to settle direction and inform the worker.
- Work exceeds available time or skillsTake scope, timing, cover or resourcing decisions to someone who can change them.
Record the action and check the effect
In the existing work record, note the blocked step, the agreed action, its owner and the next check. Tell affected colleagues if a promise or handover changes. Mark a remedy that needs approval as pending until it is approved.
At the check, ask whether the original work can proceed and whether the response caused a new wait or unreasonable demand elsewhere. If the obstacle recurs, examine the relevant process or authority boundary.
