Modern software design and delivery

Understanding the Information Section in Process Canvas

If States are the stations and Activities are the tracks in your process journey, then Information is the ticket that carries the details you need along the way.

Information fields define what data is captured, referenced, and passed between steps in a process. Done right, they ensure clarity, consistency, and accuracy across your system.

Why Information Matters

Well-designed information fields are the foundation of a reliable process. They:

• Keep data consistent across different modules
• Prevent errors and duplication
• Enable filtering, reporting, and automation
• Preserve the integrity of historical records

Best Practices for Defining Information

1. Consistent Naming Conventions

Use the same field names across all modules.

✅ Example: If you use Contact No. in the Customer module, use the same name in Job Order or Contract modules.

❌ Avoid: Mixing variations like Telephone No., Telephone Number, Contact Number.

2. Capitalization

Use capital letters for the first letter of each word in field names.

• Recommended: Customer Name, Approval Date, Unit Price
• Flexible: Adjust to customer preferences, especially with abbreviations (e.g., GST, SST).

3. Avoid Abbreviations (Unless Common)

Only use abbreviations that are widely recognized and unambiguous.

✅ Acceptable: GST, SST
❌ Avoid: CN, U/P (unless requested, in which case use as a label, not the field name).

4. Avoid Symbols in Field Names

Special characters can cause issues in reporting or automation.

❌ Don’t use: U/P
✅ Use: Unit Price (you can display “U/P” as the label if the customer insists).

5. Avoid Reserved or Generic System Field Names

Never use system defaults like date as custom fields — this may cause conflicts.

Rule of Consistency for Historical Data

Once a document is created, the data it contains is frozen in time. This is called non-destructive updates.

• Example: If an invoice is issued to A Company and later the company changes its name to B Company, the original invoice will still show A Company.

This protects:

• Accuracy – invoices remain true to the original transaction
• Compliance – no risk of altering past records
• Audits – historical data is preserved exactly as it was

Controlled Updates (Optional)

In some cases, customers may prefer updates to propagate. This can be configured with rules, such as:

• Only records in the Open state can update automatically if source data changes.

Final Thought

Information fields are more than just labels on a form — they are the building blocks of clarity and consistency in your process canvas.

By applying consistent naming, choosing the right data type, and respecting the rules of historical data, you ensure your system remains both user-friendly today and auditable years from now.

Think of information as the ticket that carries your process forward — clear, consistent, and reliable.

Understanding the Activity Section in Process Canvas

If States represent the stations in your process journey, then Activities are the tracks that connect those stations. An activity moves an item forward, representing the action taken by a user to progress from one state to another.

What Is an Activity?

An activity is any action performed by a user (or a system) that changes the state of an item in your process.

For example:

• Submit Form – a user initiates the process.
• Approve Request – a manager reviews and approves.
• Verify Payment – an admin checks a financial transaction.
• Close Case – the process reaches its conclusion.

Each activity:

1. Connects one state to another
2. Is performed by a specific role or group
3. Requires or generates information

How to Name an Activity

Since an activity represents an action, always use verbs in the naming. This makes it clear that something is being done.

Examples:

• Submit Report
• Approve Claim
• Verify Payment
• Reject Application

👉 Tip: Think of activities as commands — they should be easy for the user to recognize as the action they are supposed to take.

Breaking Down an Activity

When defining an activity, consider these elements:

• Who performs it?
  The role or group responsible (e.g., Admin, Manager, Customer).
• Why is it done?
  The objective or business purpose (e.g., To confirm a payment is valid).
• When does it happen?
  The trigger or condition (e.g., After receiving payment proof).
• What information is needed?
  Inputs required to perform the action (e.g., Invoice number, bank receipt).
• What information is created?
  Outputs or updates generated (e.g., Payment verification status).

Example: Verify Payment

• Who: Admin
• Why: Confirm payment before closing the case
• When: After receiving payment proof
• Information Needed: Invoice number, bank receipt
• Information Created: Payment verification status
• Relation to Objective: Ensures the financial transaction is valid

Tips for Configuring Activities

When adding activities to your process canvas:

• ✅ Name with verbs to make the action clear.
• ✅ Ask: What’s the objective of this activity?
• ✅ Define who is responsible for performing it.
• ✅ Clarify when it should take place in the process.
• ✅ Identify what information is needed and what information is produced.

Why Activities Matter

Activities bring your process to life. Without them, states remain disconnected checkpoints. By carefully designing activities, you ensure:

• Clarity – users know exactly what action to take.
• Accountability – the right role is assigned to the right task.
• Traceability – inputs and outputs are well-documented.
• Flow – items move smoothly between states without confusion.

Final Thought

If states are the “where” in your process, then activities are the “how.” Together, they create a clear, actionable workflow.

When designing activities, think like this: What action moves my process forward, who does it, and what does it achieve? If you can answer that, you’ve built a solid activity.

Understanding the State Section in Process Canvas

When designing a process, one of the first and most important concepts to grasp is the State. A state represents where an item currently is in the journey — much like a station on a train route. It helps everyone involved know the current status, the responsible party, and what should happen next.

What Is a State?

A state typically marks a milestone in your process. Examples include:

• Submitted – a form has been sent in.
• Approved – a manager has given the green light.
• Completed – all tasks are finished.

States can also indicate who is responsible at that point in time:

• With Procurement – the purchasing team is reviewing.
• Waiting for Customer Response – action is expected from the customer.

In other words, a state tells you:

1. Where the process currently stands
2. Who is responsible
3. What’s supposed to happen next

How to Name a State

Clear, consistent naming is crucial. A state can usually be expressed in two styles:

1. Pending action – the next step is waiting to happen.
   • Examples: Pending Payment, Pending Manager Approval, Waiting for Customer Feedback
2. Action completed – something has already been done.
   • Examples: Invoiced, Service Done, QC Completed

👉 Tip: Be consistent. Decide whether your team prefers “Pending…” vs. “… Done” and apply it across the system.

Tips for Configuring States

When setting up states in your process, consider these guidelines:

• Use adjectives or short phrases that are easy to understand (Pending, Completed, Verified).
• Ensure that the name reflects either an achievement (QC Done) or a next action required (Pending QC).
• Use states to mark key milestones — they should represent meaningful points in the process, not every small step.
• If helpful, make the state indicate the responsible group or role, such as Pending Manager Review.

The Train Journey Analogy

Think of your process like a train journey:

• States are train stations – they represent the stops along the journey.
• Activities are the tracks – they connect the stations and move the item forward.
• Fields are tickets – they carry the information needed at each step.

For example, a document might move through these stations:

• Pending → Submitted → Approved → Completed

Each state is clear, each transition is simple, and the entire journey makes sense to both business users and technical staff.

Why States Matter

Defining states well brings:

• Clarity – everyone knows the current stage of the process.
• Accountability – responsibilities are clearly indicated.
• Consistency – the same language and structure applies across the system.
• Efficiency – fewer errors and less back-and-forth communication.

Final Thought

A well-designed set of states forms the backbone of your process canvas. By naming states clearly, keeping them consistent, and treating them as meaningful milestones, you create a system that is intuitive, maintainable, and user-friendly.

Think of it this way: if your process is the journey, states are the stations where everyone knows exactly where they are and what comes next.

Why Modern Software Needs a Continuous Design Approach

The way we design and build software has changed more in the past decade than in the fifty years before it. Business cycles move faster, customer expectations are higher, and technology itself evolves daily. In this new reality, the traditional way of creating software—big upfront plans, long development cycles, and rigid delivery—just doesn’t keep up.

Yesterday’s Model: Slow and Rigid

In the past, software was built like constructing a skyscraper. First came heavy planning, then blueprints, and only after months or even years did something usable appear. For businesses, this meant living with two painful realities:

• Delayed feedback: By the time a product was ready, customer needs had already shifted.
• High cost of change: Any adjustment mid-project required tearing down and rebuilding major parts of the system.

The result? Software that was outdated on arrival, frustrating both for users and the businesses that paid for it.

Today’s Reality: Fast, Dynamic, and Unpredictable

Modern businesses no longer have the luxury of static systems. A marketing team wants to run new campaigns weekly. Regulations shift overnight. Customer journeys change with each new platform or competitor. Software has to keep up, adapting not yearly or monthly, but continuously.

This environment calls for continuous design and development—a process that treats software as a living system rather than a finished product. Instead of designing once and locking it in, teams design, test, and refine in short cycles, always keeping real users in the loop.

Why the Process Canvas Fits Today

The Process Canvas embodies this modern approach. Instead of overwhelming stakeholders with technical details, it captures business logic in a simple, visual way. Here’s why it matters now more than ever:

1. Clarity Across Teams
   Business managers, analysts, and developers can all work from the same “canvas,” ensuring alignment without translation errors.
2. Built for Change
   Because processes are broken into states, activities, and information, small updates can be made quickly without disrupting the whole system.
3. Continuous Delivery
   Ideas move from conversation to design to working software in a much shorter cycle. That means faster experiments, quicker learning, and less wasted investment.
4. Accessibility Beyond IT
   Non-technical team members can see and even influence how systems work, instead of waiting on long technical backlogs.

The Shift That Matters

The biggest change today isn’t just technological—it’s cultural. Businesses expect to respond immediately, customers expect personalization instantly, and teams expect tools they can shape themselves. The Process Canvas is not just a framework for software design—it’s a mindset for continuous evolution.

In a world that doesn’t stop changing, software can’t stand still. And that’s why a modern, continuous approach—simple, collaborative, and adaptable—is exactly what today demands.

The Process Canvas (PC) is a visual tool that helps individuals and organizations map out workflows and business processes. Much like the Business Model Canvas (BMC) transformed the way businesses describe their models, the PC provides a structured way to illustrate, analyze, and improve processes.

Why Use the Process Canvas?

The PC offers several practical benefits:

• ✅ Clarity – Provides a clear overview of processes at a glance.
• ✅ Communication – Makes it easier for teams to share ideas and align understanding.
• ✅ Brainstorming – Supports collaborative workshops and process ideation.
• ✅ Requirements Gathering – Bridges the gap between business needs and system design.

It’s not just a drawing tool—it’s a thinking framework that simplifies complexity.

When to Use the Process Canvas?

The PC can be applied across a wide range of scenarios, including:

• 📌 Workflow planning – mapping out step-by-step activities.
• 📌 Process documentation – capturing how things are done today.
• 📌 System development – accelerating the requirements and design phase.
• 📌 Operational improvement – identifying inefficiencies and redesigning workflows.

Wherever people need to understand and improve how work gets done, the PC has a role.

PC for Business and Technical Users

One of the strengths of the PC is its ability to act as a common language:

• 💼 For business professionals – it builds directly on familiar frameworks like the Business Model Canvas (BMC), helping translate strategy into actionable workflows.
• 💻 For technical professionals – it simplifies the early phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), making requirement gathering and analysis more efficient.

This dual appeal makes the PC an excellent collaboration tool, bridging conversations between business and technology stakeholders.

PC and the System Development Lifecycle
raditionally, the SDLC follows these stages:

Requirements → Design → Implementation → Testing → Deployment → Maintenance

With the PC, the requirements phase can be accelerated. By mapping processes visually first, teams reduce misunderstandings and shorten the time needed to translate ideas into working systems.

In practice, a PC can act as a living blueprint, guiding the journey from concept → design → execution.

More Than a Tool: A Mindset

The real power of the PC lies not just in its format, but in the mindset it encourages:

• 🌱 Accessibility over accuracy – anyone can start sketching, even without technical expertise.
• 🤝 Collaboration over silos – business and technical teams work together on the same canvas.
• 🚀 Growth over stagnation – processes evolve as the business evolves.

By adopting the PC, organizations don’t just document processes—they create a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

👉 The Process Canvas (PC) is more than a diagramming tool. It’s a bridge between strategy and execution, between business and technology, and between today’s operations and tomorrow’s innovations.

Every great software idea begins with a question: How can we design systems that are both simple to understand and sustainable to maintain?

Traditional tools like the Business Model Canvas (BMC) or Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) have helped businesses map out strategies and processes, but when it comes to modeling systems, these methods often feel too complex, costly, or disconnected from real software design. What was missing was a framework that could bridge business understanding with technical execution—something that could empower both technical and non-technical people to collaborate.

This is where the concept of a canvas for software design emerged. Inspired by the clarity of the BMC and the rigor of the Finite State Machine (FSM) model, the idea evolved into a visual and structured way to represent workflows. Instead of being buried in technical jargon, processes could be expressed in terms of states (where you are), activities (what moves you forward), and information (what details you need).

Over time, this canvas grew into a schema—a human-readable format that makes business logic transparent, consistent, and executable. It became more than a sketching tool; it became a bridge between conversation and code, between intention and implementation.

By lowering the barrier to software creation and making systems easier to design, build, and maintain, this approach unlocks a new way of working. It enables business owners, managers, and analysts to move from ideas to functioning software without being overwhelmed by complexity.

This blog introduces that journey: how a simple canvas concept, grounded in FSM theory, evolved into a practical schema for modern software design and delivery. It is a story of rethinking not just how we build software, but how we bring clarity and accessibility to the people who need it most.

Welcome to Process Canvas.

1. Introduction
   • Why?
   • Origin
2. Canvas
   • State
   • Activity
   • Information
   • Flow
   • Listing
   • Document
   • Authorization
   • Automation
   • Notification
3. Pattern
   • List
   • Workflow
   • Approval
   • Business Documents
   • Transaction
4. Design
5. Strategy
6. Process
   • Discovery
   • Design
   • Development
   • Testing
   • Release
   • Maintenance