POC-reviewed visual · version 1

Concept dictionary

Exception

In process work, an exception is a case that does not follow the normal workflow.

Review state: Reviewed in POC
Freshness: Current
Version: 4

Also called

Remember it this wayAn exception is where the normal path stops fitting the case.

In plain language

An exception is a situation the usual steps do not handle. The team needs a different path, an extra decision, or additional information to keep the work moving.

Why it matters

If a case is called an exception often enough, the documented process is not the real process. That matters most when you automate: a tool built to the happy path will hand back a large share of the work, or push it through wrongly. Counting how often each exception fires tells you what any new system will actually have to handle.

Example

A customer submits a service request without an address, so the team must call the customer before scheduling.

Common misconception

An exception is not automatically an error. Some are legitimate cases that need a defined alternate path; the problem is leaving that path invisible or unsupported.