People.

Work as it happens

We observe current practice alongside the documented process. That includes scraps of paper, side spreadsheets, informal checks and conversations. A workaround is not automatically bad practice. It may be carrying information the formal system has nowhere to put.

We also look for articulation work: the arranging, reminding, translating and negotiating that makes everyone else's work possible. It is often concentrated in a few people and almost never represented in a system specification. Removing it without understanding its purpose creates a different problem.

Change designed with people

The people affected by a change are involved while it is being shaped, not only when training begins. Watching a task often surfaces details that nobody thinks to mention in an interview: where the figures come from, who checks them and why a step that looks unnecessary is still there.

Some existing practices need support. Some can be retired. Others are compensating for a decision that leadership has not made. We separate those before asking people to adopt a new process.

Why people come first

People hold the history, knowledge and values that make one business different from another. What we learn by observing their work becomes an input to the strategy work that follows.