Trackline
Seeing which cases are stuck
The view worth checking once a week, and what to do with what it shows.
Having twenty open cases says nothing: it might be a normal week. What does say something is how many have been waiting more than two weeks on the same person.
The three states that matter
| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The link was never opened | Either it did not arrive, or it is in spam | Check the contact and resend on another channel |
| Opened and not delivered | They did not understand, or do not have it to hand | A personal message usually unblocks it |
| Partially delivered | Some mandatory items are missing | Remind only about what is left |
Worth knowing
Half an hour on Mondays filtering by age avoids nearly every case that ends up dead: what has been stuck a month rarely restarts on its own.
›Can I see only mine?
Yes, by filtering on owner.
›Can the list be exported?
Yes, with its dates, which is what a meeting needs.
›What about ones that will never close?
Better cancelled than left open: a list full of dead cases stops being looked at.
A real case
The situation
A manager reviews on Mondays and finds four cases older than three weeks.
What you do
- Two never opened the notice: fixes the email and resends by WhatsApp
- One opened it and did not understand: sends two lines
- Cancels the fourth because that supplier no longer works with them
What you get
Three close that week and the list becomes worth looking at again.
The situation
All twenty files are reviewed one by one every Monday.
What you do
- Filters by those with no movement for a while
What you get
The review goes from half an hour to two minutes.
The situation
A file has been stalled a month and nobody had seen it.
What you do
- Checks the stalled view once a week
What you get
The blockage is caught in days rather than months.
The situation
A long list comes out and nobody knows where to start.
What you do
- Sorts by how long they have been stalled
What you get
The oldest is tackled first.
The situation
Stalled files are waiting on somebody internal.
What you do
- Separates what waits inside from what waits outside
What you get
Each list has a different action.
The situation
The review closes without acting on anything.
What you do
- Decides per file: chase, change channel or close
What you get
The weekly review produces decisions.
This article answers
- see the status of my processes
- which cases have been open longest
- filter incomplete cases
- who has not delivered yet