Use this guide when people need to replace familiar steps with new ones. Build it with a daily user and someone who knows the new process.
The result is a short card people can open and follow during the task. It should stay useful after training, whenever someone needs the next step, a result check, or help with a problem.
1. Choose the tasks that need a guide
Start with common tasks, tasks where mistakes could cause harm, and tasks others rely on. Include rare problems that matter. Choose the number of cards your team needs.
| Task | How often? | What could a mistake cause? | Who relies on the result? | What changes? | Include now or later, and why? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Task] | [Frequency] | [Impact] | [Person or next task] | [Steps, choices, defaults, or handoffs] | [Decision] |
[Task]
- How often?
- [Frequency]
- What could a mistake cause?
- [Impact]
- Who relies on the result?
- [Person or next task]
- What changes?
- [Steps, choices, defaults, or handoffs]
- Include now or later, and why?
- [Decision]
If the current process is unclear, observe the old sequence through Discovery Day before writing new steps. Keep the result you need. You do not have to keep every old workaround.
2. Write one task card
Copy this card for each task. Keep the key checks, even when the steps seem obvious. Write for a person using the card during the task. Make the next action, result check, and response to a problem easy to find.
Task / intended role / guide owner / version / date last checked: [Complete]
When to use it: [What starts the task?]
Before you begin: [Needed information, access, and approvals; anything else that must be ready]
Previously: [The old steps people will recognize]
Now: [Where to start and which steps to follow]
Why it changes: [The result or safeguard these steps protect]
| Step | Action | Check before moving on |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Start in the right place] | [How do you know it is right?] |
| 2 | [Do the next step] | [Check the needed information, choice, or condition] |
| 3 | [Finish or hand off the task] | [Check the result and confirm who has it next] |
1
- Action
- [Start in the right place]
- Check before moving on
- [How do you know it is right?]
2
- Action
- [Do the next step]
- Check before moving on
- [Check the needed information, choice, or condition]
3
- Action
- [Finish or hand off the task]
- Check before moving on
- [Check the result and confirm who has it next]
Add only the steps this task needs. Check button and field names in the actual system before using them in the card.
Finished means: [The result and where to see it]
Stop the old habit: [Which old step must stop, why, and any approved temporary exception]
If this happens, do this:
| Problem | What to do now | Who can help, and how to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Information or approval is missing | [Pause that step and get what is needed] | [Role; contact route; backup] |
| The result or handoff is missing | [Check what happened before trying again. Avoid duplicate records and keep the record number or link.] | [Role; contact route; backup] |
| [Other problem for this task] | [Approved response] | [Role; contact route; backup] |
Information or approval is missing
- What to do now
- [Pause that step and get what is needed]
- Who can help, and how to reach them
- [Role; contact route; backup]
The result or handoff is missing
- What to do now
- [Check what happened before trying again. Avoid duplicate records and keep the record number or link.]
- Who can help, and how to reach them
- [Role; contact route; backup]
[Other problem for this task]
- What to do now
- [Approved response]
- Who can help, and how to reach them
- [Role; contact route; backup]
Where to open the card: [Direct link or location people can reach while doing the task. Check access for each role.]
Related guide / old instructions this replaces: [Where the current guide lives and what it replaces]
3. See one completed example
At Northpoint, users created turn-related orders outside the intended turn process. The following card is an illustrative reconstruction of how to teach that change. The task and failure mode come from my experience; the role names and responses below are proposed examples. They are not checked instructions for a current product.
Task / intended role: Create an order tied to a property turn / maintenance coordinator. Guide owner: maintenance process owner. Version: example only.
When to use it: A turn needs work assigned to a vendor or internal team. Before you begin: Confirm the correct turn record, property, authorized work, and access. The organization must supply the actual field and approval requirements.
Previously: Create a standalone order and track the turn separately. Now: Start from the intended turn and create the order in that context. Why it changes: The turn record should show the work and its status to the next person responsible.
| Step | Action | Check before moving on |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find the turn for the correct property. | Property and turn identifier match the work request. |
| 2 | From that turn, create the related order using the organization's verified instructions. | Required information and approvals are present before saving. |
| 3 | Open the resulting order and turn. | The order appears under the correct turn and the next responsible person can see it. |
1
- Action
- Find the turn for the correct property.
- Check before moving on
- Property and turn identifier match the work request.
2
- Action
- From that turn, create the related order using the organization's verified instructions.
- Check before moving on
- Required information and approvals are present before saving.
3
- Action
- Open the resulting order and turn.
- Check before moving on
- The order appears under the correct turn and the next responsible person can see it.
Finished means: One valid order is visible under the correct turn and its handoff is accepted. Stop the old habit: Do not create a standalone order for turn work when the approved process requires the turn path. A temporary exception must be approved and recorded.
| Problem | What to do now | Who can help, and how to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| The turn or required approval is missing. | Pause the order; obtain the correct record or decision. | Turn process owner through the agreed support route; use its backup if unavailable. |
| The order is saved but missing from the turn. | Keep the existing order reference. Do not create a second order until the link and records are checked. | Launch support owner through the urgent or blocked-task route, based on impact. |
The turn or required approval is missing.
- What to do now
- Pause the order; obtain the correct record or decision.
- Who can help, and how to reach them
- Turn process owner through the agreed support route; use its backup if unavailable.
The order is saved but missing from the turn.
- What to do now
- Keep the existing order reference. Do not create a second order until the link and records are checked.
- Who can help, and how to reach them
- Launch support owner through the urgent or blocked-task route, based on impact.
Where to open the card: The team's current task-guide location, accessible during the work. Related guide: The current turn work instruction and support plan. Before operational use, replace these generic references with verified links, system labels, permissions, approvals, contact routes, and a checked version date.
4. Test and maintain the card
Ask a user to find the current card where they normally do the task. Watch them use it. Provide supervision where a mistake could cause harm, but let the card supply the directions. Using the card is expected. This is not a memory test.
Note when the user struggles to find it, pauses, lacks information, makes a wrong choice, or asks for help.
| Test date / user role | What the user did / test notes | What the card missed | Who will update it / by when | New test result / who checked it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Complete] | [Complete] | [Complete] | [Complete] | [Complete] |
[Complete]
- What the user did / test notes
- [Complete]
- What the card missed
- [Complete]
- Who will update it / by when
- [Complete]
- New test result / who checked it
- [Complete]
The card is ready when a person using it can:
- Complete the task.
- Recognize the correct result.
- Respond correctly when something goes wrong.
Check all three by watching the user, including a suitable problem exercise. The instructor should not need to supply missing directions. Attending training does not prove someone can do these things. Test with the guides and support people will have during normal use.
Check the card again when system settings, steps, or roles change, or when problems repeat. Remove old instructions or clearly mark them as replaced.
Next action
Give the current card to the launch support owner. Use the test results in the readiness review.
Supporting source
- Year One, Episode 5: Property Meld to AppFolio — The Hardest Maintenance Migration — I discuss the difference between understanding a system and changing a familiar task, including orders created outside turn tracking. The completed card is illustrative.