Process mapping what is

Process mapping is a useful exercise when defining exactly what happens in a process and understanding the current state of how your organization works. Mapping the linear sequence of activities that make up a business process helps to identify bottlenecks or unnecessary steps in the process. Having a visual representation of this makes it easier to explain both the current state and new changes to users.

For example, you could map the process for onboarding new employees to check that all appropriate people are informed and all necessary equipment is ready for their start date. Seeing all the steps laid out gives the opportunity to streamline the process and make it as efficient as possible. Understand processes — visually communicating a business process helps to explain the process to other users. Ensure compliance — mapping processes visually shows you are meeting all necessary requirements and helps to further streamline and standardize processes to strictly adhere to regulations.

Uncover and eliminate waste — Identify unnecessary steps in your processes so you can make the process as efficient and possible. Aid problem-solving — an effective visual diagram helps decision-making and identifying solutions.

Process mapping is an important component of BPM as during the discovery element, process maps are a useful visualization to demonstrate how tasks lead from one to another to reach the end product. Each element in a process map is represented by a specific flowchart symbol. Process maps provide valuable insights into how a businesses or an organization can improve processes. When important information is presented visually, it increases understanding and collaboration for any project.

Mapping out a process is an excellent way to improve efficiency in any organization. With drag-and-drop design and online collaboration, Lucidchart makes it easy to process map anytime, from anywhere. Product suite Product suite See and build the future with a powerful visual collaboration suite. Product suite overview The intelligent diagramming solution to help teams turn complexity into clarity.

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You can use flowcharts, diagrams, mind-maps, or whatever your creativity suggests, but there are some widely used and recognized methodologies out there. Below are the 3 most common diagram examples used for business process mapping:. A VSM diagram is one of the seven Lean principles, a methodology that continually seeks to improve business processes by mapping the value of a business process.

It is a visual representation of all interactions you have with your customer and the value delivered by each interaction. For example, if the value is everything your customer is willing to pay for, think about the steps you need to face in order to deliver this value. A value stream map combines all those steps together, provides a big-picture visualization of all added value or wasteful practices, and allows you to analyze and identify ways to improve the value delivery process.

The final result is something like this:. To create and understand a SIPOC diagram, apply these prompts across every phase to better understand the purpose of its flow:. In some cases, the diagrams can even be complementary of one another: use a VSM diagram to understand the big picture and value delivered to your customers, a BPMN diagram if you want functional flowcharts and a better understanding of where the information comes and goes, and a SIPOC diagram for a detailed understanding of inputs and outputs.

What they all have in common is the ability to provide a clearer understanding of activities, flow, people, and resources involved in the process — from start to finish. Use these seven steps to start mapping out your business processes :. For this step, the goal is to gather all the information you can. Identify what people do, why they do it, how long it takes for them to do it, and what resources they need to do it.

In addition to the team responsible for executing and managing a process, there are two other relevant participants: suppliers and customers. Suppliers are responsible for triggering the start of your process and customers are the ones who receive the outcome. More specific benefits of creating a process map include:. There are many different types of process maps. Which one you use depends largely on the type of process that you want to map and what your business objectives are.

Here are some commonly used types of process maps. A basic flowchart is useful for creating a simple map that illustrates the inputs and outputs of a process.

Some ideal use cases for basic flowcharts include planning new projects, analyzing and managing workflows, and improving collaboration among team members. Flowcharts can be created manually using the process map symbols that we mentioned above, or in a matter of minutes using business process management software. A high-level process map, or top-down map, shows how a process works in a limited number of steps.

They provide a quick snapshot of what a process does but do not go into detail about how a process is performed. High-level process maps are ideal for discussing processes with leadership or third parties that do not require specifics.

Detail is useful for understanding the intricacies of a process. Unlike a high-level process map, detailed maps also include subprocesses; making this more useful for identifying inefficiencies and for documenting decision points within a process. SIPOC is an acronym that helps stakeholders to identify the key elements of a process. The acronym stands for supplier — inputs — process — outputs — customer. SIPOC resembles a table or chart more than it does a map.

Listing out the key elements, however, is an important precursor to creating a more detailed process map. SIPOC diagrams also help to define the scope of complex business processes and are useful for stakeholders when discussing a process. Swimlane maps are useful for management purposes. They are ideal for training new employees and increasing accountability.

Swimlane maps also help stakeholders to understand workflows and how they relate to and interact with other business processes. Value stream maps show the steps required to deliver a product or service to customers. They utilize a system of symbols to illustrate information flows and tasks. Value stream maps are particularly useful for identifying waste within and between processes.

They also serve an important role in identifying opportunities and planning future projects. Process maps use over 30 different symbols to depict specific elements. These process symbols are also commonly referred to as flowchart symbols or flowchart shapes. UML was created by software engineers to provide a standardized way to analyze and design software programs.

UML has, however, become one of the most popular systems used for business process modeling.