ASK COMPASS solutions
For any work where the right next step isn’t obvious.
ASK COMPASS is not built for one industry. It is built for a kind of work: procedures with decisions, exceptions and hand-offs, where getting it right depends on knowing what applies to this case.
The problem
Documentation exists. Clarity often does not.
Most organizations already write their procedures down. The trouble starts when someone has to use one. These are the four places it usually breaks, in every industry.
-
01 Hard to find
Where it breaks: The right document is buried in a shared drive, next to three older copies.
With guided stepsSearch lands on the exact step, in the approved version.
-
02 Too much to read
Where it breaks: The steps that apply are mixed in with the ones that do not.
With guided stepsOnly the questions that decide the path, one at a time.
-
03 Surprises halfway
Where it breaks: Exceptions only appear on page 31, after the work has started.
With guided stepsEach exception sits on the step where it happens.
-
04 Which version?
Where it breaks: Nobody can tell which copy of the procedure was followed.
With guided stepsEveryone follows the published version, with history.
Where it helps
Seven kinds of work, one approach.
Pick a kind of work to see a realistic scenario and the guided workflow behind it. Scenarios are illustrations, not customer case studies.
Business Operations · illustrative scenario
An end-of-shift handover
A shift lead hands over open work. Critical items get a direct briefing; everything else is logged for the next owner.
Example workflow
- Step Review open items for the shift
- Decision Anything critical in progress?No → log the handover
- Step Brief the next owner directly
- Exception Next owner not availableEscalate to the duty manager
- Outcome Handover logged with owner and time
Without guided work
- Handover notes vary by person
- Critical items rely on memory
- No record of who took ownership
With ASK COMPASS
- Every handover follows the same steps
- Critical items get an explicit briefing step
- Ownership is confirmed before closing
Employee Enablement · illustrative scenario
Preparing a new starter’s first week
A hiring manager follows one procedure. It adapts to whether the starter is remote, and hands off to the equipment request when needed.
Example workflow
- Step Confirm start date and role
- Decision Signed contract on file?No → pause and contact HR
- Decision Remote or on site?On site → reserve a desk
- Linked procedure Order and ship equipment
- Outcome First-week plan sent
Without guided work
- A long onboarding document
- Steps that do not apply to this role
- Questions sent to busy colleagues
With ASK COMPASS
- A procedure that adapts to the answers given
- Only the steps that apply are shown
- Exceptions explained at the step they affect
Customer Support · illustrative scenario
A refund request after 30 days
An agent checks the delivery date and the item’s condition. Requests outside the window go to a team lead with the customer’s reason attached.
Example workflow
- Step Find the order
- Decision Delivered within 30 days?No → collect the reason, escalate to a team lead
- Decision Unused and in original packaging?No → explain the policy, offer repair
- Step Issue the refund and send confirmation
- Outcome Case noted and closed
Without guided work
- Policies interpreted case by case
- Escalations without context
- Policy changes reach agents slowly
With ASK COMPASS
- The same decision path for every agent
- Escalations carry the reason and the path taken
- A new version reaches everyone once approved
Process Documentation · illustrative scenario
Updating a procedure after a policy change
A process owner changes one rule. The map updates with the steps, an approver compares the versions, and the new version replaces the old for everyone.
Example workflow
- Step Start a draft of the procedure
- Form Change the approval threshold
- Exception Checks flag a broken branchFixed before submitting
- Approval Approver compares draft and live
- Outcome v2 published; history kept
Without guided work
- Text and diagrams maintained separately
- Several copies, unclear which is current
- Changes made without review
With ASK COMPASS
- One definition drives steps and map
- One published version, with an owner
- Every change reviewed before it goes live
Knowledge Management · illustrative scenario
Finding what to do when a manager is away
An employee searches for “delegate”. Search lands on the exception inside the equipment procedure, with its source and version.
Example workflow
- Step Search “delegate”
- Source Step match inside “Request new equipment”
- Exception Exception: route approval to the delegate
- Outcome Continue the procedure from that step
Without guided work
- Search returns whole documents
- Approval status is unclear
- Knowledge separate from the work
With ASK COMPASS
- Search lands on the exact step
- Owner and version shown with the guidance
- Knowledge attached to the step that needs it
Compliance & Governance · illustrative scenario
A controlled change to an approval rule
An editor proposes a change. An approver rejects the first draft with a comment, accepts the revision, and the log records each step.
Example workflow
- Step Editor submits a change
- Approval Approver reviews the comparisonReject → comment returned to the editor
- Step Editor revises and resubmits
- Approval Approver publishes v3
- Outcome Audit log shows every step
Without guided work
- Changes made directly to documents
- Approval by email
- Unclear which version was in force
With ASK COMPASS
- Changes go through drafts and review
- Approve or reject with a recorded comment
- One published version at a time
Enterprise Automation · illustrative scenario
Provisioning access for a new starter
An intended design: the HR system triggers the procedure, a manager approves, and the IT system is updated, with every action logged.
Example workflow
- Automation Trigger: starter added in HR systemPlanned
- Decision Sensitive systems requested?No → standard access
- Approval Data owner approves
- Automation Create accounts in connected systemsPlanned; retried and logged
- Outcome Starter notified
Without guided work
- Automations separate from procedures
- Failures handled ad hoc
- No single view of the process
With ASK COMPASS
- System actions are steps in the procedure
- Failures route to a person with guidance
- One map of people and system steps
Find your starting point
Answer one question. Get a direction.
This is how ASK COMPASS works: it asks one question at a time, and your answer decides the next step. Try it on yourself.
What makes the work hardest today?
Select one option
- The same task is done differently by different people.
- New people take a long time to get going.
- Customers get different answers from different agents.
- Our documents no longer match how the work is done.
- People cannot find the right answer when they need it.
- We cannot show which version of a procedure was followed.
- The same details are typed into several systems.
Start with Business Operations
You said: The same task is done differently by different people.
Direction: One SOP everyone follows, with clean hand-offs.
Example: an end-of-shift handover.
Start with Employee Enablement
You said: New people take a long time to get going.
Direction: Guidance in the flow of work from day one.
Example: preparing a new starter’s first week.
Start with Customer Support
You said: Customers get different answers from different agents.
Direction: The right troubleshooting path, step by step.
Example: a refund request after 30 days.
Start with Process Documentation
You said: Our documents no longer match how the work is done.
Direction: Procedures with owners, versions and reviews.
Example: updating a procedure after a policy change.
Start with Knowledge Management
You said: People cannot find the right answer when they need it.
Direction: Knowledge tied to the step it supports.
Example: finding what to do when a manager is away.
Start with Compliance & Governance
You said: We cannot show which version of a procedure was followed.
Direction: Approved procedures with an audit trail.
Example: a controlled change to an approval rule.
Start with Enterprise Automation
You said: The same details are typed into several systems.
Direction: Connected actions with human checks (planned).
Example: provisioning access for a new starter.
One procedure, two sides
Clear guidance for the people doing the work, and control for the people who own it.
For the person doing the work
- Find answers without unnecessary searching.
- Understand what to do next.
- Work through unfamiliar procedures with confidence.
- Spend less time unsure about complex tasks.
For the people who own the process
- Maintain approved procedures in one place.
- Communicate changes to the people they affect.
- Improve consistency in how work is done.
- See where guidance needs improving.
In the demo Guided procedures, decisions, linked procedures, SOP maps, drafts, approvals, version history and usage insights, with sample data stored in your browser.
Planned Customer workspaces with sign-in, shared data, integrations and drafting with SI.
See the status of every feature →
Map one of your processes with us.
Tell us about a procedure your team finds hard to follow. We will show how it would work as guided steps.