Before a team can improve a process or role out an improvement, the members must understand how the process they are dealing with works. The most useful tool for studying any current (administrative work as well as delivery) process is by representing it in a flow chart. To develop an accurate flow chart, the team assigns one or more members to observe the flow of work through the process. It may be necessary for the observers to follow the flow of activity through the process several times before they can see and chart what actually occurs. This record of where actions are taken, decisions are made, inspections are performed, and approvals are required becomes the "as-is" flow chart. It may be the first accurate and complete picture of the process from beginning to end.

As the team starts work on this first flow chart, they need to be careful to depict what is really happening in the process. They don’t want to fall into the trap of flow-charting how people think the process is working, how they would like it to work, or how an instruction or rule says it should work. Only an as-is flow chart that displays the process as it is actually working today can reveal the improvements that may be needed, or the impact measures taken will have.

When teams work on processes that cross-departmental lines, they may have to talk to people at all levels who are involved in or affected by the process they are working on. It is even more important to get an accurate picture of these cross-functional processes than those whose boundaries are inside a work unit or office.