Most process docs start with “Step 1: do this thing.” That’s the wrong starting point. The Step Execution Canvas is a one-page tool for designing a work step completely — before anyone runs it.
Every step on the canvas answers five questions — in order. It’s the 5×5 Method from Deliberate Work.
Here’s what a finished step actually looks like: all five fields, filled in, before anyone runs it. Flip between a kid’s lemonade stand and a software company — the questions don’t change.
Same five fields on the printed canvas. Fill in your own step the same way.
A canvas designs one step. An Operation Map is the whole operation, decomposed — Workflow → Stage → Step — following the seven-part lifecycle every business runs: AAAERRR. Here’s a kid’s lemonade stand, mapped end to end.
The worked map walks all seven stages with concrete steps — then zooms into one step as a complete 5×5 contract, so you can see operation → stage → step in one place.
Download the worked Operation MapBefore you define what happens, answer why the step exists at all. Intent is the top bookend of the canvas — it prevents activity for activity’s sake.
If you can’t answer that, the step might be:
Page 2 · Field guide
Print the canvas and run it by hand — or let Henry turn your steps into Operation Maps. Start wherever you’re ready.