As some of you may know, I’m interested in landscape archaeology – looking at what’s around me in the landscape and tracing features and signs of previous land use. As part of my study, I’m learning to recognise features that might be quite old and to deduce the reasons that they are there. It’s more interesting than it sounds, honest!
Some people are amazed when I tell them what I do for a day job – but it’s so different! Is it? That well-worn lane is where it is because over time, people have found that this is the easiest/best way to get from a to b. Yes, there’s that other way, but it’s boggy in Winter, but this path is always passable, and therefore gets used more. People see the path and use it because it *is* a path, and there it still is today.
It’s the same with business processes. They are a way of getting from a to b, and over the years people have worked out what the best way of achieving that is. On first inspection, you might well ask why they don’t take that other route, as you can’t see any good reason not to. But people that have been there a while know the pitfalls and may even have been that route themselves.
Just as you might put up a sign in the landscape to warn of possible dangers, it’s important to note the other routes that were considered, and why they are not suitable. You stop the potential for endless circular discussion by documenting the warnings, but more importantly, you also allow for the re-evaluation in future, if the pitfalls are made safe. Knowledge is powerful stuff.
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