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# How to Handle Work That Waits on an External Party
- URL: https://blog.jestor.com/handle-work-that-waits-on-outside-party/
- Published: 2026-09-17T22:41:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T22:41:18.000Z
- Author: Bruno Bannach

Structuring **work that waits on an external party** matters because the timing data is meaningless without it. A process that spends half its life waiting on customers looks slow when it is not.

## Why the distinction matters

Improvement efforts aim at whichever step looks slowest.

- Internal delay and external waiting averaged together
- Targets missed for reasons outside your control
- No evidence when a customer says you were slow
- Effort spent optimizing a step that was never the problem

## How to separate them

| Mechanism             | What it shows                                 |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **A waiting phase**   | Time spent on their side, measured separately |
| **Reply indicator**   | Who responded last                            |
| **Automated chasing** | Reminders while waiting                       |
| **Separate targets**  | Internal time measured against your SLA       |

## How to set it up in Jestor

1. Add an explicit waiting phase to the board in **Jestor**.
2. Enable log metrics so time in that phase is recorded separately.
3. Use the reply indicator on conversations to see who responded last.
4. Set date-based automations chasing while the record sits in the waiting phase.
5. Measure your **SLA** against the internal phases only.

## Why choose Jestor for accurate cycle times?

Because dwell time is recorded per phase in **Jestor**, separating internal work from external waiting requires only that the waiting be a phase of its own.

That separation is also the evidence: when a customer says a case took three weeks, the record shows how much of that was waiting for their document.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Should waiting be its own phase?

Yes, so the time is measured separately. See [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com).

### Can chasing be automated?

Yes, while the record sits in that phase.

### Should SLA include external waiting?

Usually not — measure the internal phases.

## Video Tutorial: Step by Step

Check out other practical tutorials on the Jestor YouTube channel.

## Get to know Jestor

With **Jestor**, you can automate workflows, connect teams, and build internal systems your way — all without code and powered by **AI**. Discover Jestor at [jestor.com](https://jestor.com/?ref=blog.jestor.com) and see how to take your company's operations to a new level of efficiency and control.