Ceos Process

ceos-process

Document, simplify, and audit core company processes — the 6th EOS component. Every company has a handful of core processes that must be documented as checklists, simplified to their essential steps, and followed by all.

When to Use

• "Document our sales process" or "create a new process"
• "Show our processes" or "what processes do we have?"
• "Audit process FBA scores" or "how well are we following our processes?"
• "Simplify the hiring process" or "reduce this process to essentials"
• "Update the onboarding process" or "add a step to the deployment process"
• Any conversation about documenting how work gets done

Context

Finding the CEOS Repository

Search upward from the current directory for the .ceos marker file. This file marks the root of the CEOS repository.

If .ceos is not found, stop and tell the user: "Not in a CEOS repository. Clone your CEOS repo and run setup.sh first."

Sync before use: Once you find the CEOS root, run git -C <ceos_root> pull --ff-only --quiet 2>/dev/null to get the latest data from teammates. If it fails (conflict or offline), continue silently with local data.

Key Files

Process File Format

Each process is a markdown file with YAML frontmatter:

id: process-001
title: "Customer Onboarding"
owner: "brad"
fba_score: 85
last_audited: "2026-02-14"
status: active          # draft | active | deprecated
created: "2026-01-15"

Status values:

• draft — being documented, not yet in use
• active — documented and in use, subject to FBA audits
• deprecated — no longer followed (kept for historical reference)

File naming: process-NNN-slug.md where NNN is a zero-padded ID and slug is the title slugified (lowercase, hyphens, no special chars).

FBA (Followed-By-All) score: A percentage from 0-100 representing how consistently the team follows the documented process. Target: 80%+.

Process

Mode: Document

Use when creating a new process or updating an existing one.

Step 1: Determine New or Update

Check the user's request:

• If they name a specific existing process → load it for editing
• If they want a new process → continue with creation

For updates, read the existing process file, display the current content, and discuss what needs to change.

Step 2: Review Context

Before creating a new process, read and briefly reference:

• The Core Focus and Proven Process from data/vision.md — processes should align with how the company operates
• Any existing processes in data/processes/ — avoid duplicates and ensure coverage

Display a quick summary: "You currently have N documented processes: [titles]."

Step 3: Collect Process Details

For a new process, collect:

1. Title — short, specific name (e.g., "Customer Onboarding", "Sales Process", "Deployment Pipeline")
2. Owner — one person who is accountable for this process (never shared)
3. Purpose — why does this process exist? What outcome does it ensure?
4. Steps — the numbered checklist of actions

For the steps, guide the user:

• Each step should start with an action verb ("Send", "Review", "Schedule", "Create")
• Aim for 5-20 steps. If more than 20, suggest the process might need to be split
• Steps should be specific enough that someone new could follow them
• Nested steps (1.1, 1.2) are allowed for complex steps, but maximum 2 levels deep

Step 4: Validate

• 3-7 core processes. Count existing active processes. If adding this one would exceed 7, warn: "EOS recommends 3-7 core processes. You'll have N. Is this a core process or a supporting one?" Don't block — just flag.
• One owner. If the user tries to assign multiple owners, explain: "Each process has one owner — the person accountable for it being documented, simplified, and followed. Who should own this?"
• Step count. If more than 30 steps, warn: "This process has 30+ steps. Consider splitting into sub-processes or simplifying."
• Duplicate check. If a process with a similar title already exists, ask: "A process called '[title]' already exists. Update that one, or create a new one?"
• Seat alignment. Cross-reference the process owner against data/accountability.md. The owner should hold the seat whose responsibilities align with the process's domain. Flag mismatches: "This process falls under [Seat] responsibilities. Should [Seat Owner] own it?"

Step 5: Generate the ID

Read existing process files in data/processes/. Find the highest process-NNN ID and increment. If no files exist, start at process-001.

Step 6: Write the File

Use templates/process.md as the template. Substitute:

• Frontmatter fields (id, title, owner, fba_score=0, last_audited=today, status=draft, created=today)
• Body sections (purpose, steps, owner name)

Write to data/processes/process-NNN-slug.md.

Show the user the complete file before writing. Ask: "Create this process?"

Step 7: Repeat or Finish

Ask: "Create another process, or are we done for now?"

When finished, display a summary table of all documented processes:

Mode: Audit

Use for reviewing FBA scores across all documented processes.

Step 1: Read All Processes

Read all process files from data/processes/. Parse the frontmatter for status, FBA score, and last audited date.

If no process files exist, display: "No processes documented yet. Use 'document a process' to create your first core process."

Step 2: Display FBA Table

Show a status table of all processes:

Step 3: Highlight Issues

Flag processes that need attention:

• FBA below 80%: "⚠️ Sales Process (70%) is below the 80% target"
• Not audited in 90+ days: "⚠️ Sales Process was last audited 75 days ago"
• Still in draft: "📝 [Process] is still in draft — ready to activate?"

Step 4: Update FBA Scores

Offer to update scores: "Want to update any FBA scores?"

For each score update:

1. Ask for the new FBA score (validate 0-100)
2. Show the change: "Sales Process: 70% → 82%"
3. Ask for approval before writing

Step 5: Record the Audit

For each updated process:

1. Update fba_score in frontmatter
2. Update last_audited to today's date
3. Add an entry to the Audit History section: - YYYY-MM-DD: FBA audit — score updated to NN%

Step 6: FBA Scoring Guidance

If the user asks how to determine FBA scores, suggest:

• Observation: Walk through the process yourself — did each step happen as documented?
• Team survey: Ask each person involved: "On a scale of 0-100, how consistently do you follow this process?"
• Spot checks: Review recent work products — do they reflect the documented steps?
• Average: Take the average across observations/surveys for the final score