Examine a handover

Use this when work waits for information, clarification, or approval between people. Begin with a few recent instances that the people involved can describe accurately.

1. Record what happened.
Choose three recent handovers of the same kind. Record when the work was ready, when it was passed on, when the recipient could begin, and when it was completed. Include returns for clarification.

2. Ask both people.
Ask the sender what they believed was complete. Ask the recipient what they needed to proceed. Record the missing information or decision in their own terms. Check whether the same issue occurred in each instance.

3. Locate responsibility.
Identify who supplies the information, who makes the decision, and who can approve a change. Account for privacy, safety, contractual, and operational requirements.

4. Choose one change.
Agree a change small enough to reverse, such as adding a required reference to a handover note. Record the expected effect, trial period, who will maintain it, and the conditions for stopping.

5. Try it in actual work.
Use the change on a small agreed set of handovers. Record waiting, clarification requests, completion, and the extra effort required from each person. Keep sensitive content in its authorized location.

6. Decide from the observations.
Review the trial with both people. Compare similar work and account for changes in volume or difficulty. Keep, revise, or remove the change. Record the reason and who owns the next step.

WORKSHEET

Work and trigger:


Recent instances and dates:


Sender and recipient:


Ready / received / actionable / completed times:


Missing information or decision:


Decision owner and permission:


Proposed change and expected effect:


Trial size, review date, and stop conditions:


Observed result and additional effort:


Decision, owner, and next review:


Check whether the intended recipient could act, whether work was actually completed, and whether effort moved to another person. Pause if the change creates errors, exposes information, or exceeds the agreed scope. A short trial may require repetition before it supports a lasting decision.

REASONING

All three requests lacked a reference the recipient needed. The trial checks whether supplying it reduces clarification. Approver availability remains a separate possible cause of delay. Record clarification time and total processing time.

Try the reasoning on another instance

Ask a colleague to apply the worksheet to another safe instance and explain their decision. Record what they found unclear and when they would ask for help.

Explanation being tested:


Other possible explanation:


Observation that would change the decision:


What another person needed to use this method: