How to get started with visual workflow management

As much as we’re warned that we shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees, sometimes we can’t help it. It’s easy to get lost in details during the day-to-day grind.

In business, this is where visual workflow management comes in. It focuses on streamlining repetitive processes that keep companies running, such as approving purchase orders and paying invoices.

A visual workflow combines the power of visual communication with the ease of automation. There are a variety of software programs that facilitate visual workflow management. 

For example, Amazon Web Services recently introduced a new workflow designer to complement its automation platform, AWS Step Functions. Many businesses also use the popular and time-tested kanban board method to track a wide variety of processes.

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Why businesses should use visual workflows

Visual workflows help us focus on the tasks that actually help us reach our goals. Trying to tackle really long lists of procedures can lead to decision fatigue, depleting our mental resources more quickly. It’s easier to make difficult decisions and solve complex problems when basic processes are already taken care of.

Another reason businesses use visual workflows is to drive innovation. A visual workflow gives everyone access to the big picture of how the business functions, creating space for reflection about possible improvements and changes. It’s these improvements that push a company forward, freeing it from entrenched ways of thinking that no longer serve it.

Some managers may be apprehensive about adopting workflows that are different from their usual methods, but McKinsey notes that it takes “a leap of faith” to try out a visual workflow — a leap that’s well worth the benefits.

Benefits of visual workflow management

Here are some of the concrete ways that visual workflow management can transform your business. 

Strengthens collaboration

Everyone on your team has a job description, made up of a list of their responsibilities. A visual workflow illustrates the intersections of all these descriptions. When everyone knows where they stand in the company in relation to their coworkers and managers, they can work even better together.

Increases transparency and accountability

When employees can easily see what they need to do, they spend less time figuring out what to tackle and more time actually doing it. Employees thrive when they feel they’re actively contributing to the organization, and knowing that everyone on the team expects something of them increases the likelihood that they’ll follow through and succeed.

Visual workflows act as a safety net as well. If someone isn’t doing their part, it becomes immediately obvious when a task isn’t moving along. On the other hand, when workers are familiar with each others’ responsibilities and how tasks fuel each other, they’re encouraged to keep going.

Reveals what’s working — and what’s not

If a process step is too complicated, takes too long, or could use more automation, a visual workflow makes it not only obvious but also easy to fix. You can easily move employees around, group related tasks together, and simplify responsibilities.

A visual workflow also shows how much is on your employees’ plates, so you can better manage their workloads. Kanban is especially useful for managing workloads, as it incorporates work-in-progress limits — where managers limit the number of task cards allowed in any process stage at one time.

How to build a visual workflow

You can make workflows a breeze by researching software platforms with your specific needs in mind, especially those that have digital kanban capabilities. If you need to get started as soon as possible, the quickest route is to set up kanban boards through an intuitive platform such as Jotform Tables.

Follow these steps to build the right visual workflow for your business.

1. Map it out

It pays to go back to the drawing board. Use a whiteboard to draw all the steps in your various workflows. The number of steps will determine how many process stages you’ll represent in your kanban board. 

If you see any gaps or errors in your mock-up workflows, it’s easier to erase and experiment as much as you need to. Plus, drawing something manually tends to release your creativity, perhaps opening up possibilities you hadn’t thought of before.

2. Establish responsibilities

It’s important for everyone in your company to know their jobs within various workflows. The last thing you want is to have tasks languishing in the “in progress” stage because someone wasn’t sure what to do or was mistakenly waiting for someone else to do their part.

Take time to connect with your employees to ask for their thoughts on the workflow. They probably have plenty of ideas about how they would like to see workflows run.

3. Take it online

If you’re a visual thinker looking to manage tasks more efficiently, Jotform Boards offers a seamless solution. With a customizable, kanban-style interface, Jotform Boards lets you organize customer requests, form submissions, AI Agent conversations, and workflow tasks — all in one place. You can auto-generate tasks from different channels, set priorities, assign team members, and track progress without ever leaving your board.

Unlike traditional task management tools, Jotform Boards connects directly to your forms, workflows, and AI Agents, so you can streamline task creation and focus on collaboration. Whether you’re building a board from scratch or integrating it with your existing systems, Jotform Boards makes visual workflow management intuitive, flexible, and highly efficient.

4. Share the workflow

Make sure you train your team on the basics of using the visual workflow software so that everyone can access the board and managers can edit it when necessary.

This training will be successful if you codify your processes in a simple standard operating procedure. Additionally, set up a meeting to go over these procedures with every employee so they understand how to work together to make the new software work.

5. Keep tweaking

When a visual workflow operates seamlessly, it’s easy to forget about it. But you should occasionally revisit the workflow to see how it can improve. At least once a quarter, ask employees if anything in the system isn’t working for them.

As you view your workflow each day, take note of any bottlenecks to address with your team. Remember, the system is supposed to make your life easier, not more complicated.

There’s always a bit of uncertainty in business. Resilience is the key to surviving the ups and downs of your market and industry. And building resilience starts with adopting visual workflow management.

Photo by: drobotdean