Fabian Delven Case study · 2026

AI × design systems

SOP Generator & Process Mapper

A guided system that turns informal, expert-held knowledge into clear, usable procedures — without losing the expert’s judgment.

Discipline
AI workflow & systems design
Output
Process map + operating procedure
Oversight
Human-verified by SMEs

Context

Many organizations depend on processes that are understood by experienced employees but poorly documented.

When that knowledge lives only in people’s heads, onboarding is slow, quality varies by who happens to be on shift, and a single departure can take a critical procedure with it. This project set out to make that tacit knowledge visible, structured, and maintainable.

The problem

Traditional procedures often fail because they are:

  • Written without observing the real workflow
  • Too long or difficult to scan
  • Missing exceptions and decision points
  • Disconnected from the tools employees use
  • Outdated shortly after publication
  • Built around management expectations, not employee needs

User & operational needs

The operator

Needs a procedure they can scan mid-task, that matches what they actually do — including the exceptions.

The expert

Needs a fast way to externalize what they know without spending days writing documentation.

The organization

Needs procedures that stay accurate, survive turnover, and are easy to keep current.

Workflow before the solution

01
Someone is asked to “write it down”
02
Draft written from memory, not observation
03
Filed away, rarely opened
04
Outdated & ignored within weeks

Design principles

The question is the tool

Structure the capture around better questions, not more fields to fill.

Observe, don’t assume

Capture the real workflow, including the exceptions people actually hit.

Scannable by default

Optimize for reading mid-task — short, visual, role-specific.

Expert stays accountable

AI accelerates the draft; a human owns the truth of it.

Proposed system

The system guides the user through structured questions about the work itself:

01
Purpose of the process
02
Who performs each action
03
Required information
04
Decision points
05
Exceptions
06
Escalation paths
07
Completion criteria
08
Risks & verification steps

The output is organized visually as both a process map and a practical operating procedure.

Role of AI
  • Organizes unstructured notes
  • Identifies unclear steps
  • Suggests missing questions
  • Standardizes formatting
  • Drafts process maps
  • Produces role-specific instructions
  • Simplifies complicated language
Human confirmation

Subject-matter experts remain responsible for verifying:

  • Accuracy of each step
  • Policy & compliance requirements
  • Exceptions and edge cases
  • Final approval and sign-off

Every AI-generated draft passes through a subject-matter expert before it becomes an approved procedure — the human confirmation point is a required gate, not an optional review.

Key screens & diagrams

Fig. 1 — Generated process map, showing roles, decision points and escalation paths.
Fig. 2 — Guided question flow that captures the process.
Fig. 3 — Role-specific operating procedure output.

Outcome

Undocumented knowledge becomes a repeatable operational resource.

It demonstrates how AI can accelerate documentation while preserving expert oversight — speed where it helps, human judgment where it matters.

What I learned

The bottleneck was never writing — it was asking the right questions. A good question set does most of the work.

Experts trust AI drafts more when the tool makes the human sign-off explicit rather than hiding it.

Exceptions and escalation paths are where undocumented knowledge really lives — and where generic templates fail.

A process map and a written procedure serve different moments; producing both from one capture is what made it usable.

Next iteration

  • Connect procedures to the tools they describe, so steps link to the real systems.
  • Add change-detection that flags procedures for review when a linked process changes.
  • Version history and diffing, so experts can see what AI changed before approving.
  • Multilingual output — generate the same procedure in each operator’s language.
The best design tool you have is a clear question.

Visual documentation

How the experience works.

A practical visual set for reviewing the workflow, responsibilities, system boundaries, and human-control points. Screen imagery remains upload-ready where final interface captures are not yet available.

Before-and-after workflow

From fragmented effort to one guided, reviewable sequence.

SearchRebuild contextAct manually
OrganizeGuide next stepHuman confirms

User journey / service blueprint

The user journey aligned with visible system support.

User
ArriveUnderstandReview
System
GatherStructureRecord

Understandable system architecture

A high-level view of inputs, support logic, review, and output.

People + source materialOrganizing layerReview gateApproved output

Important decision flow

Consequential actions pause for context and explicit confirmation.

Is the information complete?
No → request contextYes → human reviews
Approve, revise, or stop

Screens with annotations

Reserved for final product screens and concise callouts.

Future screen uploadAdd 3–5 interface captures with numbered annotations describing the user need, system response, and confirmation state.

Where AI helps

AI reduces repetitive synthesis without owning the decision.

Raw inputSortSummarizeSuggestProposal

Where humans confirm

People retain authority at every consequential boundary.

AI proposalCheck accuracyEdit / approveUse or share

What is intentionally not automated

The product supports judgment; it does not replace accountability.

No autonomous sending, publishing, or consequential decisionsNo silent changes to approved informationNo replacement for qualified human expertise