Exception Queue Clinic participants arrive with screenshots of 300–500 lines. The mistake is chronological reading. Sort first; narrate second.
Filter one — above dual thresholds
Keep only items that breach both absolute and relative gates if your financial auditing app allows stacked filters. Everything else becomes a sample pool.
Filter two — recurring map
Flag codes that appeared unexplained last month. Recurrence is a master-data smell, not a new story.
Filter three — owner proximity
Prioritize lines where the operational owner sits in your timezone today. Korea-based shared services should not start with overseas entities that wake in six hours.
Filter four — board visibility
Anything already on the draft board pack jumps the queue even if smaller. Silence on a published slide is worse than an open ticket elsewhere.
What remains unexplained after lunch should be listed as a backlog with owners—not left as guilt in the queue count.