The Friction Audit Playbook
Most organizations don't know where friction lives — they only feel the symptoms. This playbook gives you a repeatable method to map it precisely.
Step 1 — Map Every Handoff
List every point in your primary workflows where work or context transfers from one person, team, or system to another. For each handoff, record: who sends, who receives, the medium (Jira, email, Slack, meeting), and the average time delay. Most organizations find 8–14 handoffs in a single feature cycle.
Step 2 — Score Friction at Each Node
Rate each handoff on two axes: context fidelity (1–10, how much original intent survives) and time cost (1–10, relative delay). Multiply to get a friction node score. Sum across nodes for a workflow friction index.
Step 3 — Identify Compounding Points
Some friction compounds — a delay early in the process multiplies downstream. Mark any node where a delay of +1 day causes >2 days of downstream impact. These are your highest-ROI intervention targets.
Step 4 — Classify Root Cause
For each high-friction node, classify root cause: (A) Missing information at handoff, (B) Wrong medium for complexity level, (C) Approval/authority bottleneck, (D) Tool or system gap. Each class has a different elimination protocol.
Step 5 — Baseline and Measure
Record your Workflow Friction Index before any intervention. Commit to re-measuring at 30, 60, and 90 days. Without a baseline, you cannot prove improvement or identify regressions. Use the Friction Score Calculator to generate a shareable score.
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