Optimising process repositories

We’ve all been there. During a virtual meeting, someone walks through a crucial process document, but this valuable resource isn’t findable hours later. Work stalls while team members have no choice but to send messages, dig through files and wait for a response.

 

The gap is not in the tools available, but in how knowledge is preserved and made accessible over time. Many workplaces have built elaborate systems for creating information – collaboration platforms, project management tools, communication channels, cloud storage – but failed at making that information accessible when it matters. The result is a paradox — organisations are simultaneously drowning in documentation and starving for accessible knowledge. 

 

Lucid Software’s recent research reveals that the primary barrier to following established processes isn’t resistance or complexity. It’s simply not knowing where the documentation lives. The vast majority (85%) of workers spend up to two hours a day searching for information relevant to their roles. The antidote is creating, circulating, and maintaining a process repository — a centralised source of truth to house critical documents, processes and workflows. 

 

 

What organisations gain from a process repository  

A process repository serves as a deliberate, structured source of truth that brings together processes, workflows, and supporting knowledge in a way that reflects how the organisation actually works. When done well, it creates alignment, reduces dependency on individuals and makes information accessible at the moment it is needed.

 

The benefits compound quickly as teams spend less time searching and more time executing. Collaboration improves because everyone is working from the same, trusted information. Decision making speeds up because ambiguity is reduced. Processes become easier to review and improve because they are visible, connected, and measurable.

 

Perhaps most importantly, knowledge stops living in people’s heads. Our AI Readiness Report found that 46% of UK respondents said that some team workflows still depended on person-specific knowledge. When critical processes are documented and shared, organisations become more resilient. Role changes, handovers, and departures no longer carry the same risk of disruption as the organisation can retain its institutional memory, even as individuals move on.

 

 

Best practices for your process repository

Many leaders believe they already have a process repository, but looking under the hood it’s just documents gathered in one place. An effective repository blends much more than this — it should span processes and workflows as well. Here are six best practices to follow:

 

Organise to fit your business: The way your repository is structured and organised from the outset can make or break adoption. Organisations should align it to a structure that feels familiar to employees, whether by department or value stream (capability), depending on the nature of the business. Clarifying process priorities early helps provide a framework that guides further development and ensures teams focus on what matters most. 

 

Evaluate your processes: Once the overall structure is defined, processes need to be evaluated and broken down into subprocesses where necessary. Starting with broad, well-known processes helps teams build confidence before tackling more detailed procedures. The best processes around developing thematic product roadmaps are multi-layered. Before a team can execute, they need to gather context from the business, product, and market; identify and prioritise the strategic plays and outcomes; and develop team-level, and individual product view roadmaps. Documenting these in a structured way ensures clarity for the team and  cross-functional collaborators, while still providing the detail required for specialised tasks. 

 

Stay consistent: Standard templates, a unified visual language and clear naming conventions make the repository easier to navigate, reducing cognitive load and helping employees spend more energy applying knowledge rather than finding it. Additional visual cues such as defined symbols or conditional formatting further improve clarity, particularly for distributed teams. Establishing these standards creates a shared language that underpins seamless collaboration.

 

Share widely and often: Building a repository is only half the battle; its true value lies in visibility and adoption. Share yours via integrations like Slack, Confluence, or Microsoft Teams to meet your users where they already work, then reinforce its utility with focused training sessions.

 

Effectively manage governance: Governance often sounds bureaucratic, but it’s actually what keeps knowledge repositories alive and accurate over time. Clear ownership between owners and subject matter expertise (SME) contributors prevents the slow decay that happens when everyone assumes someone else is keeping things current. We recommend designating a single repository owner for each organisation, typically someone in middle management, who works with the SMEs.

 

Let feedback flow: Successful knowledge systems build feedback mechanisms into their DNA. The people using documentation daily are best positioned to identify gaps, catch outdated information and suggest improvements. Organisations that create clear channels for this feedback, and actually implement it, build repositories that teams trust and want to use.

 

 

Organisational confidence and AI readiness

Investing the time and resources to create a unified document management repository can be demanding at first, but it’s vital work. Beyond efficiency gains and reduced frustration, something more significant emerges: organisational confidence. 

 

When critical information is accurate and current, you gain a sustained advantage in environments where knowledge moves faster than ever. You also increase your AI readiness, providing trusted inputs to feed automation or augmentation of work. Invest in a repository today for a more nimble, effective workforce tomorrow.

 

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Dan Lawyer is CPO at Lucid Software  

 

Main image courtesy of iStock.com and lisegagne