process-optimization
anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins
Analyze and improve business processes by identifying bottlenecks, waste, and optimization opportunities.
What is process-optimization?
Identifies inefficiencies in workflows and recommends concrete improvements. Use when processes feel slow, have too many steps, or need streamlining to reduce waste and accelerate cycle times.
- Map current process state with steps, decision points, handoffs, and timing
- Identify waste categories: waiting, rework, handoffs, over-processing, and manual work
- Design optimized future state by eliminating steps, automating tasks, and parallelizing work
- Produce before/after process comparison with specific recommendations
- Estimate impact including time saved, error reduction, and cost savings
- Create implementation plan for process changes
How to install process-optimization
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill process-optimizationHow to use process-optimization
- 1.Describe the current process in detail, including all steps and handoffs
- 2.Specify pain points such as slow turnaround, frequent errors, or manual bottlenecks
- 3.Let the skill map the current state and identify waste categories
- 4.Review the before/after comparison and improvement recommendations
- 5.Prioritize recommendations by impact and implementation effort
- 6.Execute the implementation plan and measure results
Use cases
- Streamline approval workflows that have too many handoffs or waiting periods
- Reduce cycle time for customer onboarding or order fulfillment processes
- Identify automation opportunities in manual, repetitive tasks
- Eliminate rework loops and quality checkpoints that add no value
- Parallelize independent process steps to accelerate overall throughput
- Operations managers and process improvement specialists
- Business analysts evaluating workflow efficiency
- Team leads looking to reduce bottlenecks in their workflows
- Anyone responsible for streamlining business operations
process-optimization FAQ
Document every step, who performs it, how long it takes, decision points, approvals, and waiting times. Include any manual work or rework loops.
The skill categorizes manual steps and repetitive tasks that could be automated, then recommends specific automation candidates based on frequency and time savings potential.
Yes. The framework explicitly maps handoffs as waste sources and recommends reducing them through consolidation, parallelization, or automation.
Estimates include time saved per cycle, error rate reduction, cost savings, and employee satisfaction improvements based on the recommended changes.
The skill produces an implementation plan with prioritized changes. Start with high-impact, low-effort improvements and measure results before moving to complex changes.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins.
name: process-optimization description: Analyze and improve business processes. Trigger with "this process is slow", "how can we improve", "streamline this workflow", "too many steps", "bottleneck", or when the user describes an inefficient process they want to fix.
Process Optimization
Analyze existing processes and recommend improvements.
Analysis Framework
1. Map Current State
- Document every step, decision point, and handoff
- Identify who does what and how long each step takes
- Note manual steps, approvals, and waiting times
2. Identify Waste
- Waiting: Time spent in queues or waiting for approvals
- Rework: Steps that fail and need to be redone
- Handoffs: Each handoff is a potential point of failure or delay
- Over-processing: Steps that add no value
- Manual work: Tasks that could be automated
3. Design Future State
- Eliminate unnecessary steps
- Automate where possible
- Reduce handoffs
- Parallelize independent steps
- Add checkpoints (not gates)
4. Measure Impact
- Time saved per cycle
- Error rate reduction
- Cost savings
- Employee satisfaction improvement
Output
Produce a before/after process comparison with specific improvement recommendations, estimated impact, and an implementation plan.
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