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+---
+author: Jason Thistlethwaite
+lastRevised: 2020-05-23
+---
+# Shadow Processes
+
+A shadow process is when something that has formal standards or processes is instead accomplished some other way that's not officially recognized. Shadow processes often become a de-facto way of doing things, usually without the knowledge or authority of the people who are supposed to be doing them.
+
+The term “shadow process” comes from a phenemona called [shadow IT](https://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-university/what-is-shadow-it/ "https://www.skyhighnetworks.com/cloud-security-university/what-is-shadow-it/"), where information technology changes or decisions are made and implemented without the input of the designated IT people within an organization. IT is not the only place shadow processes can exist.
+
+This article is intended to document what shadow processes are, and the benefits and problems they can create.
+
+## Example of a shadow process
+
+Imagine the work day officially starts at 9am, and everyone is supposed to be at work and at their stations by 9:05am. That's the official company policy.
+
+However, most of the people in one department often arrive pretty early at 8:45am, so their manager begins to expect them to be early. Within that department a shadow process now exists, where the start time expected by the manager is different from the official starting time of the company. The manager also regularly allows people to leave earlier than the official end of the work day.
+
+This is intended to be a neutral example, because shadow processes are neither inherently good or bad.
+
+## Why do shadow processes happen?
+
+Often, a shadow process manifests when a group of people have a need the official policies or procedures don't solve very well, so they begin handling the situation differently, often in semi-secret. Many people probably know about the shadow process, but it's likely not written down anywhere.
+
+In the example above, where the start and stop time for a department has developed into a shadow process, it seems to make more sense for the people in that department. They're apparently early birds and would rather leave earlier than come in later, and the official process doesn't do anything to help with that.
+
+However, it may shift problems elsewhere:
+
+- Customers expecting the workers to still be there before 5pm might be confused or upset.
+    
+- It might cause inter-departmental issues.
+    
+- There may be reasons for the official start and stop time that the management within the department doesn't know about.
+    
+- New employees unfamiliar with the shadow process could be seriously confused about it.