I think most reasonable people would agree that neither too little nor too much process is ideal. But figuring out what “just enough” looks like is harder than it sounds. Here are some thoughts that might help frame it.

There is always a cost to running a process, and there are benefits you hope to get from it. In principle, the benefits should outweigh the costs, ideally by a considerable margin. This sounds obvious, but in practice it’s trickier. People often overestimate how much a process will help, underestimate the cost of maintaining it, and assume it will succeed simply because it exists.

A few questions might help guide the evaluation. Before we dive in, let’s define process here as manual repeatable steps that a team follows.

1. Is there a clear goal for the process?

Surprisingly often there isn’t. Sometimes the motivation is vague: “more consistency”, “more accountability”, “more visibility”. Without a well-articulated outcome, it’s hard to judge anything that follows.

2. If there is a goal, is it measurable?

It’s hard to improve on things that you can’t measure. Be wary of being overly generous toward whatever we put effort into.

3. If the goal is measurable, can this process meaningfully influence it?

Processes rarely work in isolation. They often work much better as part of larger initiatives. Is this new process part of a larger initiative?

4. Are there existing mechanisms that already move toward that goal?

Maybe we’re better off adjusting something we already do, rather than creating something new. And those mechanisms don’t need to be processes.

5. Who is actually going to run it?

Do they have the time, the capability, and the authority to keep it going?

6. Will the team naturally adopt it, or will it require constant reminding?

A process that needs ongoing enforcement is expensive to maintain. It’s often more effective to identify how people work and make small adjustments.

7. Does the process have an end, or is it effectively perpetual?

Processes rarely die on their own. Over time, the purpose fades and the ritual remains. Like alerts, they’re easy to create and surprisingly hard to decommission.

8. And ask: how many processes are already in place?

Teams only have so much cognitive bandwidth. A process you introduce competes with every other process people are already following. This is especially true for those that are inorganic.

After thinking through these, you might notice that introducing a new process is often more costly than it first appears. And that there are usually lighter-weight alternatives that achieve similar ends with less overhead. This isn’t an argument against process in general. Well-designed processes absolutely have their place. It’s more a reminder to be a bit more mindful about when and how we introduce them.