Consider the division of a general activity into two or more alternative activities
Create two (or more) variants of activities
Reijers, H., & Liman Mansar, S. (2005). Best practices in business process redesign: an overview and qualitative evaluation of successful redesign heuristics. Omega, 33(4)
A special form of the triage heuristic is to divide a task into similar instead of alternative tasks for different subcategories of the case type. For example, a special cash desk may be set up for clients with an expected low processing time.
The triage heuristic is related to the task composition heuristic in the sense that it is concerned with the division and combination of tasks. Note that the heuristic differs from it in the sense that alternative tasks are considered.
When applying the pattern in its main form, it is possible to design tasks that are better aligned with the capabilities of resources and the characteristics of the case. Both of these improve the quality of the workflow.
Distinguishing alternative tasks also facilitates a better utilization of resources, with obvious cost and time advantages. On the other hand, too much specialization can make processes become less flexible, less efficient, and cause monotonous work with repercussions for quality. This is lifted by the alternative interpretation of the triage heuristic.
Foundational free Patterns
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Assign a responsible individual for handling each case type
Determine whether activities are related to the same type of case and, if necessary, distinguish new business processes
If capacity is insufficient, consider increasing the available number of resources
Minimize numerical involvement
Too many cooks spoil the broth
Consider to deepen or broaden the skills of resources
Let products appear greener
Explore whether a process can easily be used for additional products or services
Workload-based task assignment
Allocate tasks based on individuals' incomplete workload
Combine small activities into composite activities
Start implementing actions that can offset or counterbalance the environmental effects generated by business processes that cannot be changed.
Determine whether activities are related to the same type of case and, if necessary, distinguish new business processes
Design business processes for typical cases and isolate exceptional cases from the normal flow
Consider to deepen or broaden the skills of resources