--- title: "Process Profile: a template for capturing a business process – Riccardo Nentwich" description: "Free PDF template: capture a business process on one page, no prior knowledge needed. With instructions and examples." url: "https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/process-profile/" language: "en" translation: "https://riccardonentwich.com/wissen/prozess-steckbrief/" updated: "2026-09-21" --- [Insights](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/)[Tool](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/?type=tools) # Process Profile: capture a business process on one page A template for recording a process the way it actually runs today. No process modelling, no software, on one page. - Author [Riccardo Nentwich](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/about/) - Published 21 September 2026 - Format Fill-in template [Download the profile](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/process-profile/#download) PDF · 3 pages · A4 · free, after briefly entering your contact details Before anyone talks about a solution, it has to be clear what you are talking about. The Process Profile records a process on one page: how it starts, what should be there at the end, who does which steps with which system, and where time is lost along the way. The template does not require any knowledge of process modelling. It works with a pen, in conversation with the person who handles the process every day. Use ## What the profile is for - **Understanding a process** before deciding on a change or on automation. - **Making several processes comparable** when the question is which one to tackle first. More on this in the article [Which process should you automate first?](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/which-process-to-automate-first/) - **Preparing a conversation**, internally or with an external partner. With the completed sheet, the conversation starts with the process rather than with general assumptions. The profile describes the current state. It is deliberately not a form for improvement ideas. Those come more easily once the process is visible. Contents ## The eight fields 1. 01 Trigger: What starts the process? The event that starts a case: an email, a call, a document, a deadline. ExampleA supplier’s order confirmation arrives as a PDF by email. 2. 02 Result: When is a case done? What is there at the end, and where? A clear end stops the process from sprawling as you describe it. ExampleDelivery date and price are recorded against the order in the system, and the PDF is filed. 3. 03 Process today: Which steps happen – who does what, with what? Describe the normal case, the way it actually runs. For each step, mark where things are transferred, searched for, waited for or queried. ExamplePurchasing opens the PDF, looks up the order in the system and types in date and price (T, S). 4. 04 Volume and time: How often does the case come up, and how long does it take? Frequency, handling time per case, number of people involved. Tick whether the figures are estimated or measured. ExampleAbout 25 a week, around 5 minutes per case, two people – estimated. 5. 05 Exceptions: What does not go to plan? Deviations and roughly how often they occur. Exceptions often decide later how much can be automated. ExampleThe price differs from the order. Only part of the order is delivered. 6. 06 Decisions: Where does a person have to decide – and why? Points where experience, responsibility or consultation are needed. They stay with people even after a change. ExampleAccept a price difference or raise a complaint with the supplier. 7. 07 Errors and rework: What goes wrong, and what then has to be corrected? Typical errors and their consequences – including those that only show up later. ExampleA wrong delivery date in the system; planning works with the wrong date. 8. 08 Biggest friction: Which one point would you change first? The point that costs the most time, nerves or queries – from the point of view of the person who handles the process every day. ExampleTyping up the values from the PDF. In the “Process today” field, four letters mark where time is lost: **T** for transferring by hand, **S** for searching, **W** for waiting and **Q** for queries. These four points are almost always where simplification can start. ![Cover of the Process Profile: the title “Capture a business process on one page” and a graphic in which scattered work steps become an ordered process.](https://riccardonentwich.com/downloads/process-profile-page-1.png) Downloadable tool Process Profile The profile to fill in and instructions with examples. The example is fictitious. - PDF · 3 pages · A4 - Free [Download the profile](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/process-profile/#download) After briefly entering your contact details ## How to go about it 1. Choose one process and describe only that one. If it doesn’t fit on one page, it is probably two. 2. Fill in the profile together with the person who handles the process every day. Anyone who only knows it from the outside will miss the detours. 3. Describe the normal case. Exceptions have their own field. 4. Under volume and time, note whether the figures are estimates. If the process makes the shortlist, it is worth measuring it with the [“Measure First” tracking sheet](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/measure-first-tracking-sheet/). Download ## Process Profile - PDF · 3 pages · A4 The form requires JavaScript. Alternatively, send me a short email at and I will send you the document. Form: only usable in the HTML version (). Would you like to look at a specific process together? [Arrange an initial call](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/initial-call/) ## Goes well with Tool ### [Measure first: a tracking sheet for manual processes](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/measure-first-tracking-sheet/) How often, how long, how many queries and exceptions? A tracking sheet for recording a manual process for two weeks and then evaluating it simply. Tracking sheet with evaluationPDF 10 September 2026 Insights ### [Which process should you automate first?](https://riccardonentwich.com/en/insights/which-process-to-automate-first/) Several candidates, one first project: prioritising with six criteria, a simple comparison grid and the most common mistakes when choosing. 6 min read 20 August 2026