Periodically surface process schemas by extracting embedded…
Periodically surface process schemas by extracting embedded assumptions (about risk, capability, sequencing, quality) and evaluating them against current reality, because processes designed for past contexts become organizational fossils when their assumptions are no longer valid.
Why This Is a Principle
Derived from Schemas as Knowledge Organization Structures (schemas organize and guide processing), Process variation consists of two fundamentally different… (process variation has common and special causes), and Every system is perfectly designed to get the results… (every system is designed to get its results). This prescribes regular process schema review because processes encode schemas that become misaligned as context changes. It's preventive maintenance for organizational infrastructure.
Source Lessons
Process is an organizational schema
Standard operating procedures, workflows, and routines are not just instructions — they are codified organizational schemas that embed assumptions about how work should flow, who should be involved, and what quality means. When processes are treated as fixed instructions rather than living schemas, they become organizational fossils: perfectly preserved structures from an environment that no longer exists.
Making organizational schemas explicit
Surfacing and documenting the organization's shared assumptions is the first step to improving them. The practice of making schemas explicit transforms invisible forces into visible choices — choices that can be examined, tested, and deliberately maintained or revised.