Process Discovery
Part of Document-heavy process automation
Mapping the steps in document intake
Map document receipt, case matching, preparation and handoffs so unusable or unmatched submissions stay visible.
Map document intake from a file or paper item's arrival to the point where a named owner has a usable document linked to the right case. Cover every receipt channel, registration step and handoff. A map that starts at extraction misses items that could not be opened, matched or prepared.
Set the intake boundary
Choose one case type and define which submissions the map covers. Start at the first observable receipt event, such as arrival in a monitored inbox or portal. End when the document is linked to the correct case, identified by type and ready for its next check. Intake completion does not mean the case has been approved.
For each channel, record who receives the item, where it is held, how a case reference is assigned and how receipt is acknowledged, if acknowledgement is part of the process. Email attachments, portal uploads and paper scans may meet in one queue, but their failure points can differ.
Trace each handoff
Use recent cases, subject to appropriate access, and ask intake staff and the receiving team what happened. At each step, capture more than a box labelled “process document”.
| Map field | Question |
|---|---|
| Input | What file, page set or message arrived? |
| Case identity | How was it matched or registered? |
| Owner | Who has the next action? |
| Check | Can the item be opened, read and identified well enough to move on? |
| Output | What document, status and reference does the next worker receive? |
| Return route | Who follows up an unmatched or unusable item? |
For a combined upload, decide whether pages should stay together or be separated into document types. Some document-processing products support splitting and classification, subject to product and configuration limits. Map the required result before choosing a feature.
Show failures where they occur
Mark a password-protected file, missing attachment, duplicate submission or wrong-case document at the step where it is noticed. Record whether staff request a replacement, investigate the match or hold the item. Link a corrected submission to the first receipt so the earlier wait stays visible.
Give each exception an owner and next check. “Manual review” alone does not tell the worker what to decide or where to send the item. Hold a document whose case identity is uncertain for authorised investigation rather than guessing its match.
Check the map's endpoint
Walk an ordinary item, a corrected submission and an item still pending through the map. Ask the receiving team whether the endpoint supplies the document, type, case reference and context they need. Repair the route where they must reconstruct missing information. Field validation and business approval are later stages, outside this intake endpoint.
