What Is Process Mapping?

Just as companies have organization charts, they can have process maps that give a picture of how work flows through the company. A process map creates a vocabulary to help people discuss process improvement. A process map is a graphic representation of a process, showing the sequence of tasks using a modified version of standard flowcharting symbols. The map of a work process is a picture of how people do their work. Work process maps are similar to road maps in that there are many alternative routes that will accomplish the objective.

In any given circumstance, one route may be better than others. By creating a process map, the various alternatives are displayed and effective planning is facilitated.

The steps involved are as follows (Galloway, 1994):

1. Select a process to be mapped.
2. Define the process.
3. Map the primary process.
4. Map alternative paths.
5. Map inspection points.
6. Use the map to improve the process.

Processes correspond to natural business activities. However, in modern Organizations these natural processes are fragmented among many different Departments. A process map provides an integrated picture of the natural process. Because of the focus on organizational hierarchies, processes tend to be unmanaged. People are responsible for departments and budgets, but no one is responsible for the processes.

Because organizations are arranged as departments rather than processes, it is often difficult for people to see the processes that make up the business. To get a better handle on the processes that make up a business, Hammer and Champy (1993) suggest that they be given names that express their beginning and ending states. These names should imply all the work that gets done between their start and finish. Manufacturing, which sounds like a department name, is better called the procurement-to-shipment process.

Some other recurring processes and their state-change names:

1. Product development: concept to prototype
2.Sales: prospect to order
3.Order fulfillment: order to payment
4.Service: inquiry to resolution

Examples of processes

Many business leaders think of their organizations as extremely complex. From a process perspective, this is seldom the case, at least at the high levels.

For example, One of the Semiconductor company was able to break its $4 billion semiconductor business into six core processes:

1. Strategy development.
2. Product development.
3. Customer design and support.
4. Manufacturing capability development.
5. Customer communication.
6. Order fulfillment.

A large financial software company described its four core processes in plain English as:

1. Provide good products at good prices.
2. Acquire customers and maintain good relations with them.
3. Make it easy to buy from us.
4. Provide excellent service and support after the sale.

Both of these companies have thousands of employees and generate billions of dollars in sales. Yet what they do for customers is really very simple. Once the basic (core) processes have been identified, the relationship between them should be determined and drawn on a process map.