okhp3-process-gap-analysis

OverKill Hill P³ · overkillhill.com · github.com/OKHP3

Purpose

Systematically identify gaps, deviations, and exception paths in a captured as-is process. The analysis distinguishes:

1. Structural gaps — missing steps, undefined roles, absent inputs or outputs
2. Execution gaps — steps performed inconsistently or only by specific individuals
3. Exception gaps — failure paths with no documented handling
4. Compliance gaps — steps missing required controls or policy references

When to use this skill

• You have an as-is-process.yaml and want to identify improvement opportunities
• User asks where the current process fails, slows down, or creates risk
• Preparing the input for future-state-and-change-strategy
• User needs a root cause analysis of a known process failure

When NOT to use this skill

• No as-is capture exists — run as-is-process-capture first
• User wants to design the future state immediately — note the gap analysis is needed first, then run future-state-and-change-strategy
• Do not propose solutions here — record gaps only; solutions belong in the future-state skill

Gap Analysis Framework

scripts/analyze-gaps.mjs analyses the as-is process for the following gap types:

Type 1 — Structural gaps

| Pattern | Gap description | |---|---| | Step with no actor_role_id | Unowned activity | | No start event or end event | Missing process boundary | | Input with no source | Untraced input | | Output with no consumer | Undelivered output | | business_rules empty | Undocumented constraints |

Type 2 — Execution gaps

| Pattern | Gap description | |---|---| | capture_quality: low on step | Poorly understood activity | | Step with notes containing "usually" or "sometimes" | Inconsistent execution | | Single person as sole performer across >50% of steps | Key-person dependency |

Type 3 — Exception gaps

| Pattern | Gap description | |---|---| | Decision point with no exception path | Unhandled failure branch | | Exception in PIR with no handling | Undefined recovery procedure | | Exception path with owner_role_id empty | Unowned error handling |

Type 4 — Compliance gaps

| Pattern | Gap description | |---|---| | controls empty on process | No governance controls | | Approval step with no approver role | Missing segregation of duties | | High-risk exception with no escalation path | Escalation path undefined |

Severity Classification

| Severity | Description | |---|---| | critical | Process cannot complete without this being resolved | | major | Significant risk of nonconformity or failure | | minor | Inconsistency or improvement opportunity | | observation | Informational — no immediate action required |

Exception Catalog

For each exception found, record:

• exception_id — stable identifier
• description — what goes wrong
• trigger_condition — what causes this exception
• affected_steps[] — which act-NNN IDs are affected
• current_handling — what the process does today (if anything)
• severity — critical | major | minor | observation
• recommended_action — brief description (not a full solution)

Handoff Instruction

Pass gap-analysis.yaml and exception-catalog.yaml to future-state-and-change-strategy to prioritise gaps and design the target state.

Also use exception-catalog.yaml to enrich exception_paths[] in process-narrative-authoring.

References

Load on demand:

• references/gap-analysis-framework.md — gap type taxonomy, severity classification, and root cause analysis templates

Scripts

• scripts/analyze-gaps.mjs — detects structural, execution, exception, and compliance gaps from as-is-process.yaml

Assets

• assets/fixtures/gap-analysis-example.yaml — canonical gap analysis for purchase-approval as-is process

About

Built by Jamie Hill · OverKill Hill P³ Published at github.com/OKHP3 Part of the OKHP3/skillz Agent Skill library. MIT License -- free to use, fork, and adapt. A nod to the source is appreciated.