SOP-114 · Riding a Bicycle
Owner: Process Excellence · Version 6 · In review since March
Purpose. Document the bicycle riding process so any trained associate can perform it consistently.
Step 1. Sit on the seat.
Step 2. Push the pedals.
Step 3. Do not fall.
Known issue. The pilot group cannot complete Step 3. We asked our subject matter expert what to add. She said, “You just balance.” We asked her to elaborate. She said, “You just… balance.”
Revision v4. Step 3 now reads: if leaning left, steer left; if leaning right, steer right; do not think about either instruction. The revision tested poorly.
Observation study. We watched the expert ride for two hours. She made roughly four hundred small corrections a minute. None of them appear in the SOP. She was aware of none of them, and asked us politely to stop watching.
Recommendation. Close the documentation project. Keep the bicycle.
Training will proceed as it always has: hand the new hire a bicycle, hold the seat, and let go without mentioning it.