Find the assumption in a process you touch

Start with one step, not the whole system

Most of what is written about intercultural practice invites you to examine everything at once, which is a reliable way to change nothing. This module ends with something smaller and more useful: one step, in one process you actually touch, examined closely enough to find the assumption underneath it.

An assumption, for this purpose, is a requirement that nobody can point to. It behaves like a rule — staff follow it, people are held to it, outcomes turn on it — but it is not written in statute, policy, or even a procedure note. It arrived with someone who has since moved on, or it was a sensible fix to a problem that no longer exists, or it is a system's default that nobody chose. Assumptions are not failures of character. They are what happens when a process runs for years and no one has had reason to ask where a step came from.

The check has five lines, and the order matters. Name the step precisely. Name the assumption it makes about the person on the other side. Say who the step fits and who has to work hardest. Say how you will verify it, and with whom — including how those people are paid for their time. Then name the smallest change, who owns it, and when you will look again. Five lines is not a small thing when they are true: it converts a vague sense that something is off into work a specific person can do.

Written requirement, or inherited habit?

A federal or state rule sets the eligibility criteria for the program.

Published policy sets the number of days a person has to appeal a decision.

The unit closes an inquiry after two unanswered voicemail messages.

Meeting materials go out the morning of the meeting because that is when the deck is finished.

A signature is collected in person because the form has always been signed in person.

A records retention period is set by law for this program's files.

An assumption check for one state process

Five lines that turn a vague sense that a step is not working into work a named person can do. Copy them into your own notes; nothing is submitted anywhere.

Process and the exact step Program inquiry line — closing an inquiry after two unanswered voicemail messages in five business days.

The assumption the step makes That a voicemail reaches the person, that they can listen to it and understand it, that they can return a call during staffed hours, and that five business days is long enough for someone working shifts, sharing a phone, or waiting on an interpreter.

Who the step fits, and who works hardest Fits people with a private phone, voicemail they check, daytime flexibility and comfortable English. Hardest for shift workers, people who share a household phone, people who need an interpreter to call back, and anyone who has learned that a missed government call means trouble.

How we will check it, and with whom Ask the staff who make the calls what they see. Then ask three participants and one community organization in the region what would have made the return call possible, with their time compensated at the division's standard rate for advisors.

Smallest change, owner and next look Extend to three attempts across two weeks, add a short written follow-up with a direct name and number, and note the preferred contact method on the first call. Owner: the unit supervisor. Look again at the agreed review point and record what changed.

Copy these five lines for one step you touch this month, fill them in from what you actually know, and send the last line to whoever owns the step.

Browse and download only. Staff notes are not typed or saved on this page.

Ways to check an assumption without asking people to work for free

Ask the staff who run the step every day what they see. They usually know, and they are rarely asked.
Bring the draft to an existing advisory group rather than convening a new one, and put it on the agenda early enough that it can still change.
Pay participants, family members and community organizations for review time at the division's standard rate, and say so in the invitation.
Tell people afterward what changed because of what they said. Nothing ends a partnership faster than silence after the meeting.
Ask an organization that serves the community in question what the step costs the people they work with, and treat the answer as evidence.
When the topic involves a community this program does not author content for on its own, route it through the responsible DHS office rather than filling the gap yourself.

Which assumption-check entry is complete enough to act on?

The renewal process is not culturally responsive and should be reviewed for equity.

Renewal notices go out by mail only, with a ten-day window; that assumes a reliable address, print reading and a flexible week. Hardest for people who move, who need a document read to them, or who work shifts. We will ask two participants and one community organization, compensated, what would help. Smallest change: add a phone or text reminder and extend the window. Owner: the notices lead. Next look: the agreed review point.

Staff should be more aware of cultural differences when following up on renewals.

Try a situation

A supervisor in a program oversight unit notices that staff routinely close an inquiry when a caller does not respond to two voicemail messages within five business days. Nothing in policy sets two messages or five days. The practice arrived with a former team lead and has been followed ever since.

Where does the assumption check start?

With the callers: survey people whose inquiries were closed and ask why they did not call back.

With the step itself: confirm whether the two-message, five-day practice appears in any policy, and if it does not, write down the assumptions it carries about phones, voicemail, work hours, language and who checks messages — then decide the smallest change the unit can make on its own.

With leadership: request a new division policy that sets a longer response timeline for everyone.

Carry this forward

An assumption is a requirement nobody can point to. The first question is always the same: where is this written?
Checking an assumption means asking people who meet the process from outside it — participants, family members, community organizations — and paying them for that expertise as advisors and co-designers, not gathering them as an audience.
The smallest honest change with a named owner is worth more than a large plan with none.
Cultural humility is repeated rather than achieved. Check, change, and check again at a point you set in advance.

A sorting exercise separating written requirements from inherited habits, a completed assumption check for one real step, and a knowledge check on what makes an entry usable.

Fill in the assumption check for one step you own, make the smallest change that is within your authority, and tell the people the step affects that it changed.

What you’ll be able to do

Start with one step, not the whole system

An assumption check for one state process

Ways to check an assumption without asking people to work for free

Try a situation

Carry this forward

Your next step

Find the assumption in a process you touch

What you’ll be able to do

Start with one step, not the whole system

An assumption check for one state process

Ways to check an assumption without asking people to work for free

Try a situation

Carry this forward

Your next step