Start with a single event
Choose a specific trigger: a website inquiry arrives, a quote is approved, or a customer record changes. Write down what starts the process and what a completed process means. “Automate sales” is too broad; “route an eligible service inquiry to the right owner” is concrete.
Follow the record
List the information that needs to travel with the work. Identify which system owns each field, where it is read and where it can be changed. Agree what happens when required information is missing or an existing record already matches.
Make decisions explicit
Document the rules for qualification, ownership and follow-up. Include a review path for unusual cases. If two people interpret a rule differently, clarify it before putting it into software.
Test the exceptions
Use sample records to walk through a normal inquiry, a duplicate, an opted-out contact and an incomplete request. A workflow is understandable when each case has a clear next action and an accountable owner.
Make the handoff understandable.
Before choosing a tool, define what needs to happen, which record carries the context and who owns the next decision.
Explore a sample workflow