A process map is a tool for planning and management that illustrates the progression of work. Process maps, created with process mapping software, display a sequence of actions that lead to a specific outcome. Flowcharts, process flowcharts, process charts, functional process charts, functional flowcharts, process models, workflow diagrams, business flow diagrams, and process flow diagrams are other names for a process map. Any business or organization can use it to show who and what is involved in a process, and it can also highlight areas where a process needs to be improved.
What is the purpose of the process map?
Process mapping helps businesses and organizations become more efficient. Process maps offer an understanding of a process, assist teams in coming up with ideas for process improvement, improve communication, and provide documentation of the process. Process mapping will reveal delays, repetition, and bottlenecks. They aid in establishing the parameters, owners, roles, and metrics for measuring the effectiveness of processes.
What does process mapping in business actually achieve?
With the aid of process mapping, you can quickly get a general understanding of how processes are carried out, how they can be strengthened or restricted, and how many steps are required to move a process from its starting point to its conclusion. Any type of business process can be mapped.
For procedural tasks, some organizations use process maps that resemble workflow diagrams so that employees can follow a process workflow in the right order. Process mapping typically results in the establishment of company execution standards or procedures.
Identifying Processes
Understanding a process better is one of the goals of process mapping. A good illustration of how to use process mapping to comprehend and enhance a process is the flowchart below. Making pasta is the process shown in this diagram. Even though this is a very simplified example of a process map, many areas of business, including operations, finance, supply chain, sales, marketing, and accounting, use similar diagrams to comprehend processes and boost process efficiency.
Benefits of process mapping
Process mapping brings attention to waste, improves workflow, and fosters comprehension. Instead of writing lengthy instructions, process mapping enables you to visually communicate the crucial details of a process.
Process maps and flowcharts are used to:
- Increasing comprehension of a process
- Examine potential improvements to a process.
- Demonstrate to others how a process works.
- Boost communication among those involved in the same process.
- Supply process documentation.
- Create projects.
Process maps assist you in understanding the important characteristics of a process, allowing you to generate useful data for problem solving. Process maps enable you to strategically ask important questions that will aid in the improvement of any process.
When should a process map be created?
When improving efficiency is your immediate goal, it may be time to create a process map to get a big-picture view of your process before diving into more detailed improvements.
While hiring consultants to evaluate your processes may be beneficial, this can also be done in-house with the help of a low-code workflow builder.
In addition to efficiency, here are five instances when a process map is required:
- When more information about a process is required,
- When teams need to come up with process improvement ideas
- When a team wants to improve communication,
- When there is a lack of process documentation,
- When teams must identify bottlenecks that cause delays, confusion, or rework,
What are the types of process mapping?
You can create process documentation in a variety of ways to design a process. You can use flowcharts, diagrams, mind maps, or whatever your imagination comes up with, but there are some widely used and recognized methodologies available.
The three most common diagram examples for business process mapping are as follows:
Value Stream Mapping (VCM) Diagram
A VSM diagram is one of the seven Lean principles, which is a methodology for continuously improving business processes by mapping the value of a business process. It is a visual representation of all the interactions you have with your customers and the value they provide.
For example, if the value is everything your customer is willing to pay for, consider the steps necessary to deliver this value.
A value stream map integrates all of these steps, provides a big-picture visualization of all added value or wasteful practices, and enables you to analyze and identify ways to improve the value delivery process.
A Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) Diagram
BPMN is the most widely used process mapping methodology, and it employs flowchart symbols to create a graphic representation of the process, such as ovals for the start and endpoint, rectangles for tasks/steps, diamonds for decision points, and arrows to indicate the process flow direction.
Supplier, input, process, output, and customer (SIPOC) diagram
A SIPOC diagram is a high-level process map that yields a detailed diagram. It appears difficult at first, but it is one of the most intuitive and practical methods for quickly understanding phases of a process when things begin and end with inputs and outputs.
To create and comprehend a SIPOC diagram, use the following prompts throughout each phase to better understand the flow’s purpose:
- Supplier: who enters the data to begin the process?
- What does this person put in?
- What are you going to do with this information?
- What is the outcome of the process?
- Customer: To whom did you deliver the processed data?
The framework for a SIPOC diagram when implemented is shown below:
How to create a process map
Now that you understand what process mapping is, the benefits of mapping your process, and the three common diagrams used to map a process, you can begin your own. If you’re not sure, TheAnees recommend starting with the SIPOC diagram.
Gather the necessary initial information.
The goal of this step is to collect as much information as possible. This is where you’ll truly understand what’s going on in your process. Determine what people do, why they do it, how long it takes them to complete it, and what resources they require. Whether you are shadowing employees or conducting interviews to gather the necessary information, don’t forget to write it down.
Determine your suppliers and customers.
In addition to the team in charge of executing and managing a process, two other parties are involved: suppliers and customers. Suppliers are in charge of starting your process, and customers are the ones who receive the results. As important as determining where and when a process begins and ends is determining who the key people involved in this process.
Define the process boundaries.
Determine when and where the process begins, as well as its activities/triggers (inputs), and when and where it ends, as well as the final result (outputs). When a process has more than one endpoint, it’s critical to map them all out to determine all possible outcomes. Process boundaries can be illustrated as follows:
- The input to a recruitment process is an application for an open position, and the output is either a selected candidate or an archived CV.
- A new bug discovered would be the input to a bug tracking process, and a bug solved would be the output.
Make a list of and prioritize the actions.
Now that you know where everything begins and ends, it’s time to go over the steps in between. Use an action verb to describe each step or task. You have the option of keeping it high-level or going into detail. Here’s an example of how this might look in a purchase process:
- Complete a purchase request form.
- Examine the request.
- Request quotes from three different suppliers.
- Select the best quote.
- Send the purchase request and the best quote to the manager of the requester for approval.
- If the purchase order is approved, send it to the supplier and pay; if it is rejected, notify the requester.
- Wait for the product to arrive.
- Assess supplier services
Establish business process rules and workflow.
Business rules are conditions that facilitate decision-making. A business rule might be that if a sales opportunity exceeds US$10,000, a senior account executive should be assigned as a reviewer; or if a purchase request is less than US$10,000, no additional reviewer is required. A handoff signifies a shift in responsibility between teams. When someone purchases your product, for example, there is a handoff between the sales and custom success departments.
To complete this step, you must have a thorough understanding of the process, the business strategy, and how things connect and correlate.
Examine and improve your process map.
After you’ve completed your flowchart, examine the data you’ve gathered to see if the process is actually working as it should. As you go over the material, ask yourself questions like:
- Are the appropriate individuals involved in the process?
- Are the people involved in the process adhering to the ideal flow?
- Are there any steps that are missing or redundant that could be added or removed?
Repeat for ongoing improvement.
The key to running efficient and goal-oriented processes is to make gradual process improvements. Following the completion of process mapping, it is critical to monitor process execution to ensure that you are on the path to continuous improvement.
