Contrast Described And Observed Workflows

---
name: contrast-described-and-observed-workflows
description: Compare an approved internal workflow with consented case observations to expose actual variants and undocumented exception paths.
---

# Contrast described and observed workflows

## Use

Use when a team needs to know whether work follows a documented process. Analyze only supplied, authorized observations or event records. Do not collect worker activity or infer individual performance.

## Inputs

- Approved process version, step identities, allowed branches, and effective period.
- Observation scope and consent or access boundary, with case identifiers and ordered events.
- Definitions for case start, completion, and exceptions.

## Procedure

1. Render the approved route as steps and allowed branches. Keep its rules separate from what the records show.
2. Reconstruct each observed case path from its ordered events. Mark missing, duplicate, or uncertain transitions rather than filling them in.
3. Align case steps with the approved route. Classify a difference as an allowed variant, undocumented step, skipped required step, or unresolved mapping.
4. Count cases by path only within the supplied observation population and period. Keep unknown or incomplete cases in the denominator and report their count separately.
5. Return a side-by-side route map, case references for each deviation, recurring exception paths, and questions for process owners. Describe observed practice without treating frequency as approval.

## Completion check

A documented happy path is not reported as actual practice when observed cases repeatedly include an extra approval or manual handoff. Each claimed variant has case evidence and a stated observation scope.

## Stop

If observation authority, process version, case identity, or event order is missing, report the comparison as incomplete. Do not monitor staff, contact workers, change policy, or label a person noncompliant.