ROI Case File No. 025 | Invisible Work Eroding the Field—The Trap of Management Task Black-Boxing

Chapter I: An Incoming Request

1891 London, a consultation letter arrived at the detective office at 221B Baker Street. The sender was management from a mid-sized manufacturing company. The letter contained these words:

"No one was aware. What was happening in the field."

Watson frowned as he read the sentence aloud.

"Holmes, this request is truly peculiar. In the factory, machines run, products are made, and numbers appear fine on the surface. Yet management says, 'No one really knows what's happening in the field.'"

"Interesting, Watson," Holmes replied while puffing his pipe. "There's a deep chasm between what appears visible and what's actually occurring. This calls for our new companions."

Chapter II: Three Detectives' Perspectives

🟦 Gemini: As Structural Anatomist

Gemini picked up the consultation letter and immediately began logical analysis.

"Let's break this down with a KPT Analysis, shall we? First, Keep—what's functioning? The field operates, products ship. Next, Problem—information flows are invisible, improvements don't accumulate, task dependency progresses. Then Try—implementing structured information management systems."

He continued while drawing diagrams on the blackboard. "This problem's essence lies in lack of information architecture. Business records are scattered across email, verbal communication, and paper with no unified format. In other words, data exists but structure doesn't."

🟧 Claude: As Narrative Compiler

Claude stood by the window, quietly speaking while gazing at smoke rising from factory chimneys.

"Perhaps we should convey this with more 'feeling'? Imagine the daily life of field leaders. Morning starts with verbal reports from the previous day, noon brings responses to new troubles, evening involves hastily writing notes for tomorrow's preparation. They work diligently, yet their efforts don't remain as organizational memory. Like words written in sand, they disappear when wind blows."

"Organizations where information isn't organized don't evolve," Claude reflected. "Because past lessons aren't applied to the future. The same failures repeat multiple times, the same discoveries are made repeatedly. This prevents organizational learning."

⬜️ ChatGPT: As Hypothesis Architect

ChatGPT explored possibilities while examining materials spread on the desk.

"That's quite intriguing to explore further, isn't it? This phenomenon might be just the tip of the iceberg. Field operation black-boxing potentially creates these chain reactions:

1. Task dependency in troubleshooting → Problems can't be solved without specific people
2. Improvement idea disappearance → Good ideas aren't recorded and are forgotten
3. Training inefficiency → Knowledge transfer to newcomers becomes difficult
4. Management losing field awareness → Accurate judgment materials unavailable

In other words, isn't this not just a 'recording problem' but a structural issue of 'organizational capability deterioration'?"

Chapter III: Dissecting Field Operations

Current State Analysis: Visualizing Invisible Work

The three detectives visited the factory and closely followed a field leader's day.

7:00 AM - Verbal handover from night shift (no records)
8:30 AM - Jotting equipment inspection results in notebook
12:00 PM - Trouble occurs, handled relying on memory
5:00 PM - Daily report creation (free description, no unified format)
6:00 PM - Verbal handover to night shift

Gemini recorded: "Information Input, Process, Output are all unstructured. This prevents organizational learning."

Claude observed field leaders' expressions: "They're not lazy at all. Rather, they know the field well and possess experience-based judgment. However, that knowledge is trapped within individuals."

ChatGPT presented hypotheses: "If we could convert this tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge, overall organizational performance should improve. Specifically: structured recording → pattern recognition → preventive maintenance → quality improvement—such cycles should emerge."

Chapter IV: Structured Solutions

🟦 Gemini's Systematic Organization

"Let's organize from a PDCA perspective. Current problems are Check and Action dysfunction."

【Current PDCA】 - Plan: Depends on individual experience - Do: Execution happens - Check: Records are unstructured, analysis impossible - Action: Improvements don't accumulate

【Improved PDCA】 - Plan: Data-based planning - Do: Execution with structured recording - Check: Issue extraction through pattern analysis - Action: Systematic improvement implementation

"What's needed is a four-stage system: information standardization, accumulation, analysis, and utilization."

Chapter V: Three Detectives' Conclusions

🟧 Claude: Meaning as Narrative

"This case's true meaning is recognizing the value of 'invisible work.' Daily judgments, responses, and improvement efforts by field leaders—these are sources of corporate competitiveness, yet their value wasn't recognized because they weren't recorded.

By introducing structured tools, their contributions became visible and organizationally usable for the first time. This wasn't mere efficiency improvement but mechanism creation to properly evaluate human value."

⬜️ ChatGPT: Articulating Insights

"Summarizing insights from this analysis:

Organizational learning perspective: Converting tacit to explicit knowledge as competitive advantage source Human development perspective: Veteran knowledge systematically inherited Management decision perspective: Accurate decisions based on field realities possible Risk management perspective: Early detection and prevention of trouble patterns

In other words, 'recording' isn't mere administrative work but strategic investment promoting organizational evolution."

🟦 Gemini: Logical Conclusions

"Let me show definitive evidence through ROI calculations:

• Reduction effects: Error recurrence rate 45% → 12% (▲73%)
• Efficiency effects: Handover and training speed doubled (+100%)
• Productivity improvement: Overall performance +12%

Investment vs. effects: System implementation cost < 3x annual reduction effects

This clearly proves that 'structuring invisible work' directly connects to corporate value improvement. Mobile-optimized tools making field recording simple and enabling real-time information sharing were keys to this dramatic improvement."

Epilogue: Those Who See the Invisible

Watson spoke thoughtfully while closing the case file.

"Through this case, I came to understand anew: A detective's job isn't about phenomena appearing on the surface, but discerning the structures behind them.

Daily efforts, judgments, and creative ingenuity of field workers—these certainly existed. However, they became 'invisible work' because they weren't recorded and weren't organizationally utilized. The three detectives, leveraging their respective expertise, converted this invisible value into visible structure.

Gemini's logical analysis, Claude's empathetic understanding, ChatGPT's hypothesis development—combining these created mechanisms that properly evaluate human value, transcending mere efficiency."

Gazing at fog-shrouded London streets, Watson finally recorded:

【Case Resolution Points】 - Problem identification: Field operation black-boxing preventing organizational learning - Root cause: Unstructured information flows causing knowledge isolation - Solution approach: Four-stage system of standardization, accumulation, analysis, and utilization - Cultural transformation: From tacit knowledge hoarding to explicit knowledge sharing - ROI: 300% improvement through 73% error reduction and doubled training efficiency

"From invisible work to visible structure. A true detective sees not what is visible, but what is invisible."

—From the ROI Detective Agency Philosophy