First Workflow Map · 10 business days
Choose what to fix first.
In 10 business days, we map one business function, show where work slows down, and leave you with one clear decision about what to build first—or a clear decision not to build.
- 1
Follow one stream of work
Inputs, rules, systems, problems, and handoffs
- 2
Prioritize only what the source records support
Missing information stays visible and blocks unsupported priorities
- 3
Decide: build, investigate, protect, or stop
One decision package you can use with any implementer
What you receive
Keep the map. Keep the reasoning.
The workflow map and First-Build Brief are yours to use with TruePulse Labs or another implementer.
- Workflow map showing how work moves
- Map register and repeatable priority sheet
- Notes showing what we saw, assumed, and do not know yet
- Current baseline and missing-information summary
- Top three opportunities
- Explicit list of actions to keep human-approved
- One First-Build Brief an implementer can use
- Editable source files (CSV and JSON)
What each map item records
Each item records its input, output, owner, system, decision rule, control, failure mode, and handoff. It also records time, volume, variation, and confidence in the source. A department is not a map item.
What the decision page says
Build, investigate, protect, or stop. Each conclusion links back to the source records and stands on its own, whether or not an implementation follows.
Is this a fit?
Enough repetition to see the work clearly.
This works best for a 101 to 500 employee company with a real workstream, a named owner, and enough history to see what is really happening.
- A named sponsor and process owner
- Work that repeats or runs against a deadline
- Case or transaction IDs we can follow
- Past cases or representative examples
- A measurable delay, rework, exception, or deadline problem
- High-impact decisions stay with a named person
Five workflows we often map
- AP invoice exceptions
- Deal approvals
- Field-service job readiness
- IT ticket routing
- Audit-evidence assembly
These are examples, not products or claims about past delivery. Every example uses the same map built from source records and the same fit check.
What is included
Small enough to finish.
The map documents the work and specifies the next step. It does not connect to production or build an agent.
- Work covered
- One function or one connected stream of work
- Workflows
- Up to three connected workflows
- Map
- Up to 25 work steps or decision points
- People
- Up to five stakeholder interviews
- Systems
- Up to six source systems represented
Not included
No production credentials, integrations, writes, or agent build are included. Those belong only in a separately accepted implementation.
What we need from you
Bring real cases, not a polished story.
After the requested inputs are ready, expect 5 to 6 total team-hours from your team.
- 01One 60-minute kickoff with the sponsor and process owner
- 02Up to three 45-minute conversations with people doing the work
- 03A 90-day work-item or case export, or 50 to 100 representative cases
- 04Current procedures, checklists, forms, escalation rules, and normal and exception examples
- 05System list, current measures, deadlines, and control policies
- 06Finance-approved value assumptions only if you want a dollar estimate
How we prioritize
Unknown is a valid answer.
We prioritize a map item from 1 to 5 only when source evidence exists. A question mark replaces a guess. A critical unknown makes us investigate and blocks prioritization.
Sample source notes
Show the source, not false certainty.
Each statement in the map is marked as seen in the source records, inferred from them, or still unknown. These examples show the format, not a finding about a buyer.
- Seen in source records
- Sample entry: invoice ID, purchase-order ID, receipt status, and work-item owner appear in the reviewed source record.
- Working assumption—confirm with the owner
- Sample entry: one combined packet may remove a repeated lookup. Confirm it with the buyer team.
- Not yet known—confirm during review
- Sample entry: we do not yet know whether supplier bank-change alerts are consistently available. Do not prioritize related work until we confirm it.
Each map item gets one next-step label: Remove, Combine, Automate, Assist, Protect, or Investigate.
Sample AP invoice exception step
Prepare the exception packet
These numbers show how prioritization works. They are not a finding about a buyer, a promised result, or measured savings.
- Confidence
- High · 1.00
- Priority
- 81 / 100
- Result
- Needs review before any build decision
| B | A | D | V | R | S | J | X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
See how the priorities are set
- B
- How much work is stuck
- A
- Fit for automation
- D
- Data available
- V
- Business importance
- R
- Repeats with little variation
- S
- Safe to try
- J
- How much expert judgment it needs
- X
- Duplicate work
See how the priority is calculated
20 × (0.20B + 0.20A + 0.15D + 0.15V + 0.10R + 0.10S + 0.05J + 0.05X) × confidence
Priority combines severity, fit, available data, business importance, repeatability, safety, judgment required, and duplicate work. Lower confidence lowers the priority. Safety and trust are guardrails, not bonuses.
75–100
A First-Build Brief is possible only with a named owner, usable data, a starting measure, stable IDs, and an approval point.
60–74
Validate with a representative sample or a read-only trial.
Below 60
Wait. We do not turn a low priority into a reason to build.
Critical unknown
Mark it Investigate and do not prioritize it until the missing evidence is available.
Sample decision
Three possible improvements. One decision that stays with the owner.
An AP exception map might surface opportunities like these. Your list would come from your source records.
Remove
Stop asking for the same details twice
Reuse the information already attached to the invoice instead of asking a person to find it again.
Combine
Make one review packet
Bring the invoice, purchase order, receipt, policy rule, and history into one place for review.
Assist
Send the packet to the right owner
Show the source records and confidence so the person responsible can approve, return, or escalate the exception.
Keep with a person
Keep payment release, supplier bank-detail changes, and policy-exception decisions with the named owner.
One First-Build Brief
Enough detail to start without starting over.
Move no more than one workflow step into implementation. If you choose TruePulse Labs, this brief becomes the implementation statement of work.
- Workflow and step boundary
- Source systems and required data
- Named owner and approval point
- Evaluation set and starting measure
- Acceptance measures and controls
- Dependencies and missing information
- Optional 30-day read-only trial plan
- Fixed implementation price and timeline
10-business-day delivery
Evidence before a build decision.
Day 1
Set the scope
Agree the question, the owner, the process, and the records we need.
Days 2–4
Review real cases
Talk to the people doing the work and review cases, procedures, and examples. Mark what we saw, assumed, and still do not know.
Days 5–7
Build the map and prioritize opportunities
Set the starting measure, prioritize eligible map items, and label each possible action.
Day 8
Review and correct the map
Your team checks the map, tests assumptions, and fills important gaps.
Days 9–10
Package the decision
Receive the prioritized map, source files, and one build-or-no-build decision. If the evidence supports a build, you also receive the First-Build Brief.
Fixed price
$5,000
Pay 50% at kickoff and 50% when you accept the package. We credit the full $5,000 toward a qualifying implementation that starts within 30 days.
Check fit before you buyWho this is for
We start with work where the rough annual cost or risk is plausibly at least $50,000 and a successful build could support a separate decision of at least $25,000. This is a screening rule, not a promise about your result.
Day-three stop
If the source records cannot support a clear map by day three, we stop and do not bill the final 50%.
Acceptance protection
If you provide the requested inputs on time and the final package does not meet the acceptance definition by day 10, we waive the final 50%.
A no-build decision is a valid result
A well-supported no-build decision still counts as successful delivery. You still receive the standalone map, source notes, decision record, and editable source files.
How you can check the work
You can check each requirement yourself.
- Every map item links to a source record or is marked as an assumption or unknown.
- No critical unknown receives a priority.
- Your team can reproduce the priority from the source notes.
- The package contains one First-Build Brief or a documented no-build decision.
- The acceptance measures are observable, not projected savings.
Optional 30-day implementation
If you choose to build, start with one cleared workflow.
If one workflow clears the priority and safety checks, the First-Build Brief becomes the statement of work for one separately priced, fixed 30-day implementation in read-only or supervised shadow mode. There is no second open-ended discovery phase.
01 · Read
Read source records without writing back
02 · Prepare
Build the review packet with evidence and confidence
03 · Compare
Test against past cases or team decisions
04 · Accountable-person decision
- Approve the next step
- Return for context
- Stop the build
One function. One supported decision. Ten business days.