Glossary

The terms you’ll come across in the method and its deliverables, explained in one or two sentences.

The method

Term	What it is
As-is	How a process or system works today: your starting point. If you start from scratch, the as-is is the need or the idea.
To-be	How it should work: the redesigned process or the software you need. Is2Be is the path from as-is to to-be.
Phase	Each stage of the method. Is2Be Process has 7 (from identification to monitoring) and Is2Be Software another 7 (from ideation to monitoring).
Step	Each concrete task within a phase, which produces a deliverable. There are 64 in total; in coding assistants each step is a command.
Phase gate	The point at the end of each phase where the kit stops and a person reviews and approves before moving on.
Route	The sequence of steps that applies to your starting point. Not every project uses every step: see Where do I start?.
Mode	The type of initiative that sets the route: redesigning a process, creating it from scratch, automating it, modernizing a legacy system, a new module…
Evidence-First	The method behind Is2Be Process: no claim about the process without its source.
Spec-First	The method behind Is2Be Software: specify and validate before coding.
Assumption	Something that hasn’t been checked. The method marks it as such and turns it into a question for people; it’s never presented as a fact.
Discrepancy	A contradiction between two sources, for example between what the procedure says and what’s actually done. It’s recorded, not hidden.
Traceability	Being able to follow every change back to the problem it solves and the decision behind it, from a sentence in an interview to a software test.
Deliverable	The output of a step: a document, a diagram, an analysis, code or tests.

Processes

Term	What it is
BPM	Business Process Management: the discipline of managing and improving business processes end to end.
BPMN	Business Process Model and Notation: the standard for drawing process diagrams that both business and technical people understand.
DMN	Decision Model and Notation: the standard for writing decision rules in tables, separate from the process diagram.
SIPOC	A one-page view of the process: Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers.
Process charter	The kick-off document: which process is improved, why, with what scope, goals, indicators and risks.
Process owner	The person (a role) accountable for the process end to end.
RACI	A table that says, for each activity, who does it (Responsible), who answers for it (Accountable), who is consulted (Consulted) and who is kept informed (Informed).
Lean	A way of improving focused on customer value and eliminating waste: waiting, rework, unnecessary handoffs…
Six Sigma · DMAIC	A data-driven improvement method: define, measure, analyze, improve and control. Its DMADV variant is for designing something new.
ECRS	The order for improving an activity: eliminate, combine, rearrange and simplify. Only then, automate.
Root cause	The underlying reason for a problem, not its symptom. Fix it and the problem doesn’t come back.
Process mining · event log	Analyzing the records systems leave behind (the event log) to see how a process really runs.
PDR	Process Decision Record: the record of an important decision about the process, with the alternatives considered and why one was chosen.
Gap analysis	The comparison between the current process and the new one (or what a regulation requires): what changes and what must be done to get there.
Business case	The case for the change: investment, benefits and return (NPV, IRR, payback).
SOP	Standard Operating Procedure: the step-by-step day-to-day procedure for whoever runs the process.
APQC PCF	A reference catalog of processes, common to many companies, used to organize and compare processes.
COSO	The reference framework for risk and internal control.
ADKAR	A model for managing change in people: awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement.

Software

Term	What it is
PRD	Product Requirements Document: what needs to be built and why, with its business rules. It’s the software’s starting point.
User story	A need told from the user’s point of view (“as a…, I want…, so that…”), with its acceptance criteria.
Acceptance criteria	The concrete conditions a feature must meet to be accepted.
ADR	Architecture Decision Record: the record of an architecture decision, with the options considered and their consequences.
Stack	A project’s set of technologies: language, framework, database, platform. The method assumes none of them.
Legacy	An old system still in use. When it’s modernized, its business rules are preserved unless the business decides otherwise.
Microservice · micro-frontend	An independent piece of the system, on the server or in the interface, with its own contract, tests and deployment.
Code review	Reviewing every code change before merging it, against the quality and security criteria.
Unit, integration and end-to-end tests	Automated tests of an isolated piece, of several pieces together and of a complete journey as a user would take it.
CI/CD	Continuous integration and delivery: every change is built and tested automatically and deployed with a defined procedure, including rollback.
Runbook	The guide for what to do when an incident happens: how to detect it, how to fix it and whom to notify.

Measurement

Term	What it is
KPI	Key Performance Indicator: an indicator that measures whether the process works, with its formula, source and target.
Baseline	The starting value of an indicator, before the change. Without it, the improvement can’t be proven.
Lead time · cycle time	The total time from when a request arrives until it’s completed, and the time actually spent working on it.