The Discovery Day operating loop

Use this loop when a workflow may have changed, is causing repeated friction, or has not been checked in a while. The goal is to learn what the work needs now. The goal is not to schedule a long review every time someone raises a concern.

1. Notice a signal

A review may be useful when:

• a system, role, or handoff is changing;
• people keep reporting confusion, duplicate work, or unclear ownership;
• extra hours or personal tracking are keeping the process afloat; or
• the written method has not been checked against actual work.

These are prompts for judgment, not a score. If a resident, owner, teammate, or property faces an urgent service or safety issue, respond to it first.

2. Check the documented method

Ask the people doing the work whether the method is current, used, and accurate. Check the tools, roles, handoffs, exception path, and proof of completion.

If the method is still accurate and the team can use it, record what you checked and when to check again. Fix a clear documentation error directly when that is enough. Do not call for a live observation just to follow the loop.

3. Observe when a question remains

If the method is out of date, use is uneven, or the cause of a repeated problem is not clear, run a targeted Discovery Day. Start with the signal, then write the question it raises. Keep the question in mind, but leave the demonstration open: ask the people doing the work to show how they normally handle it, and follow the work across roles, tools, handoffs, and unexpected paths. The purpose is to capture what happens, not to test a theory or guide the person toward an expected result. Do not coach, correct a step, or change a system or workflow while observing. Save changes for after the walkthrough. If an immediate safety or service issue needs action, pause and respond to it first.

The field guide has the preparation steps, questions, and note sheet.

4. Decide what should change

Write down what you saw separately from what you think it means. Then agree on a small set of next actions. Each action needs an owner, a due point, and a way to tell whether it is done.

Observation can show how the current method works. It does not prove that the method is the right one. If the required outcome has changed, consider a new design instead of preserving every old step.

5. Update the support and recheck

Update the instructions, training, system settings, or handoffs that the decision changes. Tell the people who need the change to do the work.

Return to the workflow after the change. Ask a practitioner to use the updated method and check whether the intended work happens. If it does not, find out what is still missing and choose the next action.

A light review rhythm

As a starting practice, check a bounded workflow about every six months; do not let more than a year pass without checking whether its method still fits. This is a recommendation, not a rule for every team. A meaningful change or a serious signal may call for a review sooner. If a light check finds no drift, a full observation session may not be needed.

At a glance

Signal → Check the method → Observe when needed → Decide and assign → Update support → Recheck the work

Useful output: a record of what was checked, what was observed, the decision, the owner for each next action, and how the result will be checked.