Skip to main content

Astute Business Process Diagnostic

Find the Process Gaps That Quietly Cost Your Business.

In about five minutes, assess how consistently work is done, who owns it, how it is controlled, how departments work together, what management can see and whether recurring problems are actually fixed.

24 practical questions6 critical areasImmediate diagnosis

Before you start

Answer for what normally happens, not what should happen.

The diagnostic becomes useful only when the answers reflect day-to-day reality. Choose the closest answer even if the current situation is not ideal.

1No, not at all
2Rarely
3Sometimes
4Most of the time
5Yes, consistently
Area 1 of 60% answered
01

Area 1 of 6

Doing Work the Same Way

This checks whether important work is done in a clear, repeatable way instead of depending on who is doing it.

01People who do the same job generally do it the same way.Example: Two customer service officers should follow the same basic steps when handling the same type of complaint.
02Important jobs have clear steps that employees can follow.Example: Staff know the steps for receiving stock, approving a purchase or onboarding a new customer.
03Staff can find the instructions, forms or checklists they need without depending on one person.Example: Work does not stop because the person who normally knows the process is absent.
04A new employee can learn an important job without relying only on verbal explanations.Example: A new warehouse officer has a clear process, checklist or guide to help them learn the work.
02

Area 2 of 6

Knowing Who Is Responsible

This checks whether people know what they own, what they can approve and who must act when something goes wrong.

05For important work, it is clear who is responsible for getting it done.Example: Everyone knows who owns a customer complaint from the time it is received until it is closed.
06Staff know who is allowed to approve important decisions.Example: People know who can approve a discount, purchase, payment, refund or stock release.
07Staff know who to report a problem to when they cannot solve it themselves.Example: A delayed delivery is quickly escalated to the right manager instead of being passed around.
08When something goes wrong, management can tell who was responsible for that part of the work.Example: If an order was released without approval, the business can identify where the process failed and who owned that step.
03

Area 3 of 6

Checking Important Work

This checks whether the business has simple safeguards that prevent mistakes, unauthorised actions and avoidable losses.

09Important activities have checks or approvals before they are completed.Example: A payment, purchase or customer credit request is checked and approved before action is taken.
10The business keeps proof of important work and decisions.Example: Approvals, delivery records, inspection results or payment evidence can be found when needed.
11Staff use the correct forms, registers or checklists for important activities.Example: Goods received are recorded on the approved receiving document rather than on loose paper or personal notes.
12Management can trace an important transaction from beginning to end.Example: A manager can follow a purchase from the request, through approval and ordering, to receipt and payment.
04

Area 4 of 6

Departments Working Together

This checks whether work moves smoothly between departments instead of getting lost, delayed or argued over.

13It is clear what one department must give another department before work can continue.Example: Sales knows exactly what information Operations needs before it can process a customer order.
14Departments usually receive the information they need on time and in a usable form.Example: Finance receives the approved documents it needs before being asked to make a payment.
15People understand where one department’s responsibility ends and another department’s responsibility begins.Example: Customer Service and Sales do not argue over who should follow up a particular customer issue.
16When the same problem keeps happening between departments, management fixes the cause.Example: Repeated delays between Procurement and Warehouse lead to a process change, not another round of blame.
05

Area 5 of 6

Management Knowing What Is Going On

This checks whether managers have useful information to see delays, poor performance and problems early enough to act.

17Management has simple measures that show whether important work is being done well.Example: Management can see delivery time, complaint closure time, production rejects or order turnaround time.
18Managers are told about important delays, mistakes and unusual problems quickly.Example: A serious customer complaint or missed delivery does not remain hidden until the customer escalates it.
19Important activities have clear targets or acceptable limits.Example: The business knows how long quotation approval should take or what level of production waste is acceptable.
20Managers regularly review results and act when performance is poor.Example: If late deliveries increase for two months, management investigates and assigns corrective actions.
06

Area 6 of 6

Fixing Problems So They Do Not Keep Coming Back

This checks whether the business solves the real cause of repeated problems and improves the way work is done.

21When a problem keeps happening, the business looks for the real cause.Example: Instead of repeatedly blaming staff for wrong invoices, management checks why the invoicing process allows the error.
22Actions to fix important problems are given to a named person and followed until completed.Example: After an audit finding or customer complaint, someone owns each agreed action and a due date is tracked.
23The business checks whether a fix actually worked.Example: After changing the dispatch process, management checks whether wrong deliveries have really reduced.
24Processes are updated when the business changes or a better way of working is found.Example: A process is revised when a new branch opens, software changes or repeated customer feedback shows a weakness.
07

Your result is ready

Where should we send your copy?

Enter your details to see the result immediately. We will also email you a premium summary you can keep and review.