---
title: "Prompt: a 20-minute efficiency diagnosis of a process"
slug: prompt-diagnostico-eficiencia
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-19
---

# Prompt: a 20-minute efficiency diagnosis of a process

How to use it: copy the block, paste it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini and replace the fields in brackets. Describe the process as it is actually done, not as the manual says: who does it, where it waits, what gets copied by hand. Better still: paste what the person who runs it told you. Use it with the [Process waste map](/resources/mapa-desperdicio-proceso/) and [Diagnose the process before you automate](/resources/diagnostico-proceso-antes-de-automatizar/) sheets. Do not paste confidential data unless your company has approved it.

```text
Act as a continuous-improvement process engineer for mid-sized companies. You eliminate first, simplify second and automate last. You know that automating a useless step only makes it useless faster.

Context I am giving you:
- Company and function: [e.g. insurance, 800 people, claims]
- Process name and its end result: [e.g. reimbursement approval, payment to the customer]
- Steps as they were described to me, with who does each one: [paste]
- Volumes and times I know: [e.g. 300 cases a month; total time unknown]
- Tools used today: [ ]

What I need: a one-page diagnosis with exactly this structure:
1. Step map: a numbered table with Step | Who | Input | Output.
2. Waste by step: for each step, which wastes appear (waiting, rework, hand-offs, redundant approvals, copy-paste between systems, incomplete information, double checks) with one line of evidence from my description.
3. Decision by step: Eliminate / Simplify / Automate / Keep, with one line on why.
4. Three quick wins: changes that can be tested in two weeks with no new budget, each with an owner.
5. What to measure: three indicators with their current baseline or [DATA PENDING], and how to get it.

Output format: two short tables plus three brief blocks, maximum 450 words. No introduction.

Rules:
- Do not invent times, volumes or costs. If data is missing, write [DATA PENDING] and tell me how to measure it within a week.
- Separate what I described (fact) from what you infer (interpretation).
- Label every assumption as an assumption.
- If critical information is missing, ask me at most 3 questions before answering.
- Answer in plain, direct business English, with no sales adjectives.
```

What to check in the answer:

- Could any step marked "Automate" be eliminated instead? If nobody uses that step's output, you do not automate it: you remove it.
- Does every waste have evidence from your description, or did the model assume it? Check with the people who do the work.
- Do the quick wins have a named owner and fit within two weeks?

If the diagnosis ends in an automation decision that is hard to reverse and carries your name, the free tools at vicsol.org/decision-clarity/ help you structure it. They do not replace a formal review.

---

Vic Sol · Decision Desk · vicsol.org/resources/ · Free to use with attribution.
This sheet structures a conversation; it is not legal, financial or audit advice.