Worksheet
System Design (The Six Questions)
What this is: The one-page template for turning any recurring task into a complete system. Fill it in once per system; post the result where the work happens.
Used in: Volume 02, Chapter 2: The Six Questions · Method: Volume 02, Chapter 3
1
System Name
| Question | Your Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. Why does this system exist? (one sentence, what does it protect?) | |
| 2. Who owns it? (ONE name, answerable that it happened) | |
| 2b. Who performs it? (if different from the owner) | |
| 3. When is it performed? (observable trigger: date / day / count / event, never "regularly") | |
| 4. How is it performed? (numbered steps, or point to the card/checklist at the workstation) | |
| 5. How is success measured? (a number or checkable fact) | |
| 6. What happens if it fails? (backup → who is told → what gets recorded) |
2
Sign-Off
| Name | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| System owner (has seen their name on this) | ||
| Tested by someone other than the author on | ||
| Next review date |
Sticky Note Tip
A system is only finished when someone other than its author has completed the task using only this sheet. Every question they had to ask out loud is a missing line. See the testing step.