The map comes before the tool

A publishing bottleneck is not always where the work takes longest. A file may need ten minutes of processing, then wait three days because nobody knows who can validate its next state.

That is why a workflow should be drawn before software is selected. Name the input, the expected output, the person who acts, the person who validates, and the evidence that allows the chain to continue. Include the route back when a correction arrives.

This map changes the buying question. Instead of asking which platform has the most features, ask whether it preserves identifiers, sources, decisions and points of recovery. A tool can make an understood passage more reliable. It cannot supply a missing responsibility or turn “in progress” into a verifiable state.

The map is modest, but it gives editorial, design and production a language they can share.

adrienbeaulieu.com