Processed cheese.

It doesn't matter where you work, what kind of industry, what decade it is. Someone, somewhere--EVERYWHERE--is working on a process. Outlining a process. Automating a process.

If you say the words "process automation" three times in one day, you will summon a consultant right out of the wall. True! It's the business equivalent of saying, "Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!"

Needs assessment. Requirements documents. Steps and steps and steps. Milestones.

Millstones, more likely. Don't you think?

I like processes well enough. I think it's good when things are orderly. I worry, though, that people get so wrapped up in processes that they lose the ability to think. I like having a nice set of tasks, in order of importance or necessity. That way, my mind is free to roam down the interesting little paths that appear while I'm checking items off that list.

Processes should be liberating. Not binding or constricting. Processes should enhance; never encumber. They should give us a framework to ensure things are not forgotten. They should not be the sum total of what we do each day, however. Just a little note. Some food for thought. Don't get too caught up in the old Gantt chart.