Define responsibilities.
Set standards.
Manage risk.
Coordinate work.
Maintain controls.
Support compliance.
Create accountability.
But systems can accumulate over time.
Another procedure.
Another form.
Another approval.
Another checklist.
Another reporting requirement.
Eventually the system can become work in itself.
More system isn't always more control.
Start with purpose.
Before creating another process, ask:
What problem are we trying to solve?
What decision needs to be supported?
What risk needs to be controlled?
Who needs to use this?
What do they need from it?
What evidence needs to exist?
The answer may be a procedure.
It may also be:
A physical control.
A clearer standard.
Better information.
A redesigned process.
A decision rule.
Automation.
Removing something unnecessary.
Don't begin with the document.
Begin with the work.
Work as Intended.
Management systems describe organisational intent.
Policies.
Standards.
Procedures.
Plans.
Risk assessments.
Permits.
Roles.
Training.
Performance requirements.
These establish how the organisation expects work to happen.
That is Work as Intended.
It matters.
But it is not evidence that the work happens that way.
Work as Done.
Operational reality contains:
Variation.
Constraints.
Competing priorities.
Changing conditions.
Local knowledge.
Equipment limitations.
Time pressure.
Unexpected events.
Adaptation.
Work as Done is what people actually do to achieve the objective under those conditions.
The relationship between the two tells us something important about the system.
The system tells us what should happen.
The work tells us what actually happens.
The gap is information.
When Work as Done differs from Work as Intended, organisations often try to close the gap immediately.
Sometimes they should.
But first ask:
Why does the gap exist?
Has the work changed?
Is the requirement practical?
Is the procedure understood?
Does it conflict with another requirement?
Does it create unnecessary difficulty?
Are resources available?
Has a better method emerged?
Is the adaptation weakening protection?