ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the challenges that confront the practitioner when designing a process and considers ways of achieving a more effective and systematic approach. It proposes that formulation is a distinct form of story-telling, and that, in consequence, knowledge of the properties of effective stories can assist in devising more credible, relevant, and effective explanations. The chapter presents some approaches which can help in developing and refining the process of enquiry constructed. It provides a means of enabling the practitioner to "tell a good story", regardless of whether that story is empirically or conversationally driven. Human beings process, interpret, and organize discrete events by representing them in narrative form. The chapter argues that a process that is fit for purpose must also depend on an ability to understand the properties of effective stories, including the story grammar to which powerful stories adhere.
