Glossary
What a template is
The mould files are opened from. And the key part: changing the mould does not change what is already open.
A template is the written answer to «what do we always ask for in this case». It is defined once — which documents, in what order, from whom and with what deadlines — and from then on each real case opens from it without rethinking anything.
Template
The definition of a process: what is requested, in which phases and under what conditions. It holds no documents and no specific people.
File
A real case opened from a template, with its supplier, its dates and its documents.
What lives where
| Element | In the template | In the file |
|---|---|---|
| What is requested | Yes, defined | Copied when it opens |
| From whom | No: only the role played | Yes: the specific person or company |
| Documents | Never | Whatever has been contributed |
| Dates | Deadlines, in the abstract | The real dates |
Important
The point to be clear on before touching anything: **changing the template does not change files already under way**. What is in progress followed the mould in place the day it opened, and keeps it until it closes. This is not an oversight: if it changed, a half-completed file could suddenly demand a document nobody ever asked that company for, and its history would stop explaining what happened. Changes apply to whatever opens from now on.
What follows from that
Watch out
On retiring a template already in use: **files opened from it do not vanish or lose their content**. What was requested, who contributed it and when lives in the file itself, not in the mould. What you do lose is the ability to open new cases the same way — so have the replacement ready before retiring it, not after.
When to make a new one and when to tweak
- 1
Tweak: a deadline changes, a wording, one more document
The normal case, and it breaks nothing.
- 2
New: the process is genuinely another
If the phases and the people asked change, it is not the same one.
- 3
And if in doubt, look at the reports
Two different things under one name mix the numbers forever.
Worth knowing
A well-thought-out template is the part of all this that saves the most, and also the most improvised. The time spent on it once comes back with every file opened afterwards.
›Can I copy a template and adjust it?
Yes, and that is standard when a client wants something different.
›How many should we keep?
As many as someone can explain. Twenty near-identical ones maintain themselves badly.
›Do templates appear in reports?
What is counted are the files; the template is how they group.
A real case
The situation
A company fixes a deadline in its supplier onboarding template with twelve onboardings running.
What you do
- Changes the template and adds the urgent item by hand in the two files that need it
What you get
Running onboardings keep the rules they were given and new ones come out right.
The situation
A template is corrected and people expect what is already open to change.
What you do
- Adjusts by hand the in-flight files that need it
What you get
What was communicated to each supplier stays true.
The situation
Each person creates their own template for the same thing.
What you do
- Keeps one and shares it
What you get
Improvements benefit everyone rather than one person.
The situation
A template accumulates documents nobody requests any more.
What you do
- Reviews it periodically
What you get
You stop asking for what nobody looks at.
The situation
A variant is needed for one type of supplier.
What you do
- Creates a second template with a clear name
What you get
The original is not twisted to cover cases it does not.
The situation
Nobody knows which template to use for a new case.
What you do
- Names templates after the case they solve
What you get
The choice is obvious without asking.
This article answers
- what is a process template
- difference between template and file
- does changing the template affect open files
- deleting a template already used