Field note
Interviewing Process Owners Without Freezing the Room
People who post journals every day can describe paths no flowchart captures—if they do not feel accused. Open with the process, not the suspicion. Ask them to walk a routine invoice from receipt to payment. Listen for where the system forces a step and where a supervisor can skip it.
When you reach overrides, ask for examples they have seen, not confessions. “When a rush payment is needed, who can approve without a purchase order?” yields more than “Have you ever bypassed controls?” Follow the answer to the evidence trail: email, stamp, or system log.
Take notes that separate fact from impression. Quote the steps; mark your own hypotheses clearly. Share a short summary of the process narrative with the owner afterward so corrections happen before testing expands.
In Taiwan offices we often work in Mandarin and English mixed with system screenshots. Bring a quiet room, enough time, and patience for screens that load slowly. Respect for the person’s daily work is not courtesy alone—it is how accurate exception testing gets designed.