Process documentation in business consultancy

hsp.talk: An interview with Andreas Wagner

In business consultancy, it is a useful tool that helps companies document processes so that they can subsequently identify opportunities for optimisation. Andreas Wagner is a management consultant and was looking for software to help with the creation of the Procedural documentation supports. A word processor cannot do that, in his view – that much can already be revealed. Listen to the interview below, or read the transcript.

Paul Liese: Mr Wagner, you’ve dropped in to see us quite spontaneously today to discuss process documentation using our software. I believe you messaged me on Wednesday evening to ask if we could meet at short notice on Friday.

Andreas Wagner: Yes.

„Pleasantly spurred on“

Paul Liese: Perhaps just briefly for our prospective clients and customers: How did you come across us – or hsp in general?

Andreas Wagner: Yes, Mr Liese, it’s actually rather bizarre. I’ve been looking into the subject of procedural documentation for some time now. There’s a template for procedural documentation doing the rounds online which you can have a look at; it basically works like a Word file. When you work with it, you realise just how complicated it is. I came across a reference to it in a Google search, where someone claimed that creating procedural documentation using Word was very cumbersome and difficult. That really hit home for me. Then I read this article – it was written by you, Mr Liese – and at that moment it was clear to me: “you’ll have to keep looking“. We got in touch quite soon after that. That was because you effectively prompted me to write in the chat at the bottom of your page – I’d actually just been about to click „OK“ on the privacy policy – and you replied straight away. And now here I am, quite spontaneously, in fact. I thought to myself that if it’s done remotely, it can and will work technically, but I’ll ask if it’s possible on Friday – always a lovely day – in Hamburg – a lovely city – and in that respect I’m now very pleasantly excited, almost overwhelmed. I’m looking forward to getting out of the car today so I can get to grips with the programme. Hopefully it’ll be a rainy weekend, so I can really get to grips with it properly.

Paul Liese: Yes, I still remember. You messaged us via the chat and we couldn’t reply straight away. Then we wrote back two days later. I think that’s how it went. But in the end, we did manage to connect. I think that’s a good story. You’ve also described your first impressions. What advice would you give us? What can we do better? What helps you to raise awareness of the topic of procedural documentation amongst your clients?

Andreas Wagner: I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that would be of any use to you. It’s more of a point for me to take on board myself. We’ve just been looking at it here on the big flipchart, and I’ve realised that for me it’s a question of adapting – in other words, seeing and recognising that it’s not that simple. But that’s got nothing to do with you; there’s a lot on the page. In that respect, it’s something I need to get to grips with. For me, there would be two or three screens in total that play a part. I’ll make the necessary technical adjustments to ensure it works as well as possible.

Paul Liese: That’s lovely. I’m looking forward to working with you.

Andreas Wagner: I’m also happy to give feedback. You’ll realise – if nothing else, from the questions I keep asking – that there’s still a point to be made here. Of course, it might well be helpful to consider whether to produce a handbook.

„Printing it out now is a bit silly“

Paul Liese: You’ll receive that as a PDF in a moment.

Andreas Wagner: Great, that answers the question. Because I had a quick look and thought, „It’d be a bit daft to print it out now“. They can read your mind.

Paul Liese: Not quite, but I’m trying.

Andreas Wagner: Your experience alone ensures that you’re right at the forefront. Apart from that, I can’t imagine anyone else being on a par with what you offer. I don’t think anyone has realised this yet, because it’s most likely an enormous amount of work. Anyone who’s ever done any programming – I did it 30 years ago – knows that every character that appears on the screen has to be stored in some form of code, and then there’s the whole process of bringing it all together. And it’s the technical side that really fascinates me; the fact that you’re an expert – and perhaps more of an expert in process documentation than in programming.

Paul Liese: Yes, I don’t know much about programming. That’s what my staff are there for.

Andreas Wagner: You think through the user’s brain, so to speak, and that’s really what makes it special.

Paul Liese: Thank you very much.

Andreas Wagner: I’d be happy to.