Step 1 — Start
Start from what you already have.
You need one process with a clear start and end, plus the people who run it or the documents that describe it. Pick the row that fits. You can combine them later on the same diagram.
| You have | You do | patchley does |
|---|---|---|
| People who can explain it | Run the interview or workshop, speaking or typing. | Builds the diagram while you talk, so people see it and correct it. |
| A call in the calendar | Paste the Teams, Zoom, Webex or Google Meet link. | Joins as a visible participant, records only between Start and Stop. What was said lands as notes, and one step turns them into a draft of the map. |
| A handbook or policy | Upload one PDF or DOCX of up to 50 MB and name the process you want. | Reads for that one process, so a long handbook gives one clean diagram. |
| A recorded interview | Upload the MP3 or WAV file. | Transcribes it and drafts the diagram from what was said. |
| An existing BPMN model | Import the file. | Opens it as an editable diagram, ready to refine and analyse. |
Step 2 — Draft
What people say becomes the diagram.
Here is how sentences from an interview about a motor claim turn into BPMN. Each kind of statement has its own place in the model. More on diagrams →
| Someone says | The diagram shows |
|---|---|
| "The claims handler registers the claim in the claims system." | A task in the Claims handler lane, with the system attached. |
| "The customer sends us the repair invoice." | A document at the step where it is used. |
| "The underwriter then checks coverage." | A control step, marked in blue, in the Underwriter lane. |
| "If it's covered we approve the payout. If not, we decline." | A gateway asking "Covered?", with a yes path and a no path. |
Name one role per sentence, name the systems and documents, and give both outcomes of every decision. With responses switched on, patchley asks follow-up questions while you describe.
Step 3 — Correct
Say what's wrong. Decide what changes.
The first draft is where the discussion starts. You can edit on the canvas, but most corrections are faster to say out loud.
- 01
You say it
"The underwriter checks coverage before the handler registers the claim."
- 02
patchley proposes
The change is shown on the diagram. The diagram itself stays as it was.
- 03
You decide
Apply it or reject it. Your own edits stay in place.
- 04
A new version
Applied changes create a new version, and earlier versions stay available.
Step 4 — Analyse
One step, seen through different lenses.
Take "Check coverage" from the motor claim. You choose the lens, and patchley writes the analysis for every step from what was said and what the diagram shows. The texts below are shortened illustrations. More on analyses →
The underwriter compares the claim with the policy terms, records the result and passes the case on.
The step waits while the handler requests the policy file by email.
Coverage is checked before any payout. Evidence: the entry in the policy log.
The figures you provide or estimate for the step, such as cases and waiting time, laid out the same way for every step.
The questions your organisation asks about every process, answered step by step.
Change the diagram and the analyses follow. What you wrote or corrected by hand stays.
Step 5 — Present
The deck fills itself from the work.
patchley builds the PowerPoint from the diagram and the analyses, in your organisation's look. Text, tables, chart and diagram are editable in PowerPoint, and what you change in patchley's deck editor is kept when you refill the deck after a change. More on decks →
The process map
The motor claim as one readable picture, with lanes and control steps.
Findings, step by step
What the analyses found, such as where a claim waits, taken from the same model.
The control steps
What is checked, by whom, and what evidence it leaves.
What you end up with
One process, ready to work with.
Everything comes from the same model, so it stays consistent as the process changes. You can keep asking the analyst about it: "Where does a claim wait longest?" or "Which steps could an agent take over?"
The diagram
BPMN 2.0 XML, which opens in tools such as Camunda Modeler and Signavio, or SVG and PNG for documents and slides.
The analyses
One per step and lens, in step with the diagram, exported as XLSX when you need them outside patchley.
The deck
A real PowerPoint file for the steering committee.
The history
Every version of the diagram, so you can see what changed.