The space between steps
A sales contract is signed. The deal moves to the next stage in the CRM, and the sales team has done its part. Operations is ready to set up the customer, but the account details still need a manual check before they can enter the next system. The contract is complete. The handoff is waiting.
A workflow diagram might show a single arrow between sales and operations. Inside that arrow are several conditions: the right information has to arrive, someone has to know it is ready, and the receiving team needs enough context to act. Following those conditions gives the delay a shape the team can examine.
Find what the next team needs
Start at the receiving end. Ask what operations needs before work can begin, then trace each requirement back to its source. The check may catch missing account details, confirm a contract term or reconcile records that do not agree. Its purpose matters when deciding whether to change it.
Put the records beside the people’s account of the work. A timestamp can show when a deal changed stage; the person receiving it can explain why that event was not enough to proceed. Together, they help distinguish a missing field from an unclear responsibility or a dependency that arrives too late.
Make the delay specific
Write the finding in terms someone can check: the contract is signed, the account is awaiting reconciliation, and operations can begin when that check is complete. Identify where each part of the explanation comes from. If records disagree or a step is missing, keep that uncertainty visible.
This makes the next conversation more useful. The team can consider assigning the check clearly, completing it earlier or passing the required information directly. Each proposal addresses a particular cause, and each can be compared with the current workflow before anyone commits to it.
Start with one handoff
Choose a handoff your team recognizes. Mark the moment the work is ready to leave one team and the moment the next team can actually begin. Record the information, responsibility and conditions that connect those two moments. That is enough to start an investigation without mapping the whole organization.
Shaper BQ follows this sequence: surface the bottleneck, inspect the workflow and its evidence, then compare a possible change. The aim is a finding the people doing the work can understand, question and use to decide what comes next.