normal flow
What It Means
Normal flow is when a business process runs exactly as designed from start to finish without any problems, exceptions, or deviations. It's the 'happy path' where everything goes right - users follow the intended steps, systems respond properly, and the process completes successfully with the expected outcome.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
CAIOs need to understand normal flow because AI systems must be trained primarily on these successful process patterns to work effectively. When AI encounters exceptions or edge cases that deviate from normal flow, it often fails or produces incorrect results, creating business risk and customer dissatisfaction.
Real-World Example
In an online loan application process, normal flow means a customer submits complete documentation, passes credit checks, meets all eligibility criteria, and receives automatic approval within minutes. Any missing documents, credit issues, or system errors would create exception flows that require different handling.
Common Confusion
People often assume normal flow covers most real-world scenarios, but in practice, exceptions and edge cases frequently occur and can represent 20-40% of actual process instances. Normal flow is the ideal case, not the typical case.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, normal flow represents the ideal patient care pathway where clinical protocols are followed without compl...
Finance: In finance, normal flow represents the standard execution of financial processes like payment processing, loan approvals...
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Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"The intended flow of a process originating from a start event, continuing through all defined activities, and concluding successfully to its defined end event."Source: IEEE_Guide_IPA
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