A relay runner can be fast and still lose time passing the baton.
Work can happen the same way. You finish your part, send it along, and assume the next person knows what happens next. Then the questions arrive. Which version? Who approves it? When is it needed?
Clear handoffs help work continue without making someone reconstruct the instructions.
Before passing something along, include three things: what is ready, what happens next, and who is responsible.
Finishing your part includes making the next person’s part easier to begin.
The Simplifier’s Take: Make the next step clear when responsibility changes hands.
Your part is easier to build on when the next person knows what to do with it.
– Orlando Espinosa | The Simplifier of Information®