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- Process Debt Is the New Technical Debt
Process Debt Is the New Technical Debt
Messy workflows drain revenue faster than buggy code. Run a 2-minute gut check, then use the Map → Slice → PATCH framework to erase your process debt (AI optional).
Zubin Teherani
July 22, 2025
Your engineers refactor legacy code every sprint. Who refactors the five-person sign-off needed to refund nineteen dollars? That is what I call process debt and the interest rate is brutal.
If “check with finance” is still a Slack emoji, congratulations, you’re paying interest on your process debt.
Why Process Debt Happens
Process debt happens for the same reason that tech debt happens. You f’ed it and shipped it.
No shame…that’s how startups win. The problem is, entire workflows end up held together by nested IFs in an Excel sheet.
I’ve seen this issue incredibly prevalent for companies started in the pre-AI era. You know that you need AI to update your workflows, but migrating an entire workflow is daunting.
Plus, slapping automation on top of a bad process doesn’t get you efficiency, it gets you more chaos. A robot that files bad spreadsheets faster is still filing bad spreadsheets.
When does Process Debt get Pricey enough to Fix?
Sometimes art is better than science (a little science does help though). Use this two-minute gut check to determine if you should address a process.
Grab any recurring workflow (customer refund, new-hire onboarding, weekly metrics roll-up) and run it through these four yes-or-no questions:
Mark Yes or No | Why you should care |
|---|---|
3+ handoffs? | Every extra hop adds delay, drops context, and ups the error odds. |
Do teammates spend 15+ min a day hunting info? | When five people waste 15 min a day, you’ve lost a full headcount by Friday. |
Prone to error? | One fat-finger can nuke revenue or forecasts. |
New hire needs > 2 weeks to learn the process? | Long ramp = hidden complexity. |
Scoring:
0–1 “Yes” → Ignore for now.
2 “Yeses” → Fix this quarter.
3+ “Yeses” → Sound the alarm and send coffee.
Hit all four? You don’t need AI…you need a hazmat suit.
Anything scoring 2 or more jumps to the top of your backlog.
Map → Slice → PATCH: Low-Stress Fixes in Bite-Size Steps
Instead of planning a soul-crushing “process overhaul sprint,” use this mini-playbook to chip away at the mess without blowing up your week.
Think of this as refactoring for ops. The goal is to layer small, reversible tweaks that stack up fast.
Yes I made up another framework.
1. Map (≤ 30 min)
Record once. Hit Loom, walk through the flow end-to-end.
Sketch the skeleton. Drop each step and owner onto a one-page whiteboard or FigJam.
Snapshot Sheet. Copy the steps into a table: Owner · Tool · Weekly volume · Pain 1-5. If the map won’t fit on one PDF, split it into smaller flows.
Remember, the fastest way to automate a part of a process is to throw it out completely.
As you go through mapping, think about removing or simplifying the entire process itself.
2. Slice
Pick one step that is:
High-volume (≥ 20× month)
Rule-based (“if X then Y”)
Safe to fail (won’t anger customers if it breaks)
Mark it with a ⭐ in your Snapshot Sheet.
3. PATCH Loop (≤ 1 hour)
Phase | What you do | Pass/Fail check |
|---|---|---|
P — Pinpoint | Clip the Loom segment for the ⭐ step. | Problem fits in one sentence. |
A — Assess | Time it once; count clicks. | Numbers fit on a Post-it. |
T — Tweak | Delete a step, add a template, or drop in one Zap/script. | Change ships without an IT ticket. |
C — Check | Run it for 1–2 days. | ≥ 30% faster and no new headaches. |
H — Hardwire | Document the new mini-process (60-sec Loom + one paragraph). | A junior can follow it tomorrow. |
Repeat PATCH on the next ⭐ step next week. Remember, we’re looking for tiny wins that compound without causing refactor panic.
The 30-day detox challenge
Week | What you do | Quick proof it worked |
|---|---|---|
1 | Map and score. Record five high-traffic workflows, run the Two-Minute Gut Check. | One-page map for each flow, red circles on the worst steps. |
2 | Slice and PATCH the nastiest red circle. | New process will take 30% less time on paper. |
3 | Pilot the patch with one team. Track time saved and “where’s that doc?” pings. | Mini dashboard shows faster cycle time and zero new headaches. |
4 | Lock it in. Document, name an owner, book a three-month check-in. | Updated process lives in your knowledge management system with a future reminder to review. |
Common potholes
Vanity automation. Don’t automate things that don’t matter like your chatbot that posts GIFs (let it be an artist)
Baking in the mess. Automating a flawed step locks the flaw into code. Now you’re stuck with tech debt on top of the original process debt. Make sure you fix the process first before automating.
Single-brain syndrome. If only one teammate knows how the workflow really works, everything grinds to a halt the moment they take PTO (or get hit by a bus). Document your changes.
Final thought
Process debt hides in plain sight until growth turns every wobble into a face-plant. Map it, slice one piece, PATCH, repeat. Fix the high-pain steps, automate only what volume demands, and let future hires (and any AI sidekicks) step into workflows that actually make sense.