Reference: 3 of 12

The Six Shapes

A workflow’s shape is how its steps fit together. Logic Lab templates use six: step by step, several angles, split and merge, draft check and revise, best of several, and a mix of these.

Step bystepOne afteranotherSeveralanglesRead fromtwo sidesSplit andmergeCut, do eachpart, mergeDraft, checkand reviseFix it, witha limitBest ofseveralMany tries,pick oneA mixTwo or moretogether
Step by step
One step after another, each building on the one before. Most jobs start here.

In a Real Template

Each template file names its shape. Here is one template of each, as its file titles it.

Step by step
Turn meeting notes into decisions and actions
Several angles
Review a draft before you send it
Split and merge
Write a summary of a long document
Draft, check and revise
Hand off a task to someone else
Best of several
Draft three versions and pick the best
A mix
Compare options and get a recommendation

What to notice: Start with step by step. Pick another shape only when the job asks for it: a file too long for one step, two ways for a draft to fail, many good answers, or a fault a check can name.

From the template Turn meeting notes into decisions and actions.

Easy to Mix Up

  • A templateOne workflow, ready to use. A shape is the pattern that several templates share.
  • A stepOne job inside a workflow. The shape says how the steps are arranged, not what any one of them does.
  • A loopDraft, check and revise is one shape, and the loop is the part of it that runs again. Other shapes can use a loop too.

Go Deeper

Choosing a workflow shapeFour questions to ask in order, and a table of all six.Lesson 7: Split, angles and best of severalThree of the shapes, shown one at a time.The Logic Lab methodThe six shapes in the method’s own words.