Make it timeless.
Capture ‘what has to happen’, not ‘how it happens now’.
Describe what happens as the desired outcome from the perspective of the customer, not your internal shorthand – ‘Prepare for CVL’, not ‘pre-appointment’.
Make it technology agnostic. Refer to props in the abstract – ‘our accounts system’, ‘our CRM System’ ‘Stores’, rather than the specific: ‘Xero’, ‘Capsule’, ’22 Park St’. You can include what’s current in the description of the Prop so the information is there when needed.
Refer to Roles not individuals – ‘Connoisseur’, ‘Gallery Assistant’, rather than ‘Jean’ or ‘Fred’.
Create prompts for people who know what they’re doing, rather than detailed instructions for people who don’t. My favourite example is the simple ‘Film cool stuff’.
When you design and describe a process like this, to be deliberately unfashionable and generic at the right level, it lasts. Like the proverbial little black dress.
It stays relevant, and as a result stays useful, and used.
You can only do this because human beings are brilliant at grasping overall structure, and even better at flexing themselves around it to deal with a specific situation.
So let them.
Save the human energy and ingenuity for what matters – delighting your customers, not wrangling your processes.
Discipline (but not too much) makes Daring possible.