Find the end points

Two characteristics must be agreed to by the mapping team:

1. Clearly defined beginning and end points.  This can help prevent "scope creep" during the mapping process.
2. The level of detail.  This will require some guesswork in determining the appropriate level of detail.  Too little and the team will likely miss critical opportunities.  Too much and team members will get bogged down and effectively lose sight of "the forest through the trees."  This discussion should consider the intended result of the mapping process.

I have found the mapping process to be most effective by starting with a simple macro-flowchart which would should enough information to convey a good general understanding of the process.  As the team discusses potential areas of opportunities, we would then add detail only where necessary.

Iterating through this process as projects close and new ones begin will continually add and improve the process map, making it a living document that can support both strategic thinking and tactical planning and bridge both areas in a powerful way.

What is a process?

A dictionary may define a process as a series of actions, changes or functions bringing about a result.  Take a moment to reflect on your day.  You will begin to see the processes you regularly interact with.  Once you can see a process from beginning to end, you will likely start to recognize steps that can improve.

See the process

Over the years, I have found getting processes and procedures out of the head and putting them on paper make process improvement highly effective by creating the ability to see the entire process from begining to end at one time.  It takes tremendous effort but yields tremendous results.

I once visited a food manufacturing plant to implement a new accouting process.  We (meaning the accounting staff) spent the entire first day mapping each step of every staffer in a workstream during a closing period.  The next morning we reviewed the map looking for missing steps, then took a step back.

The team quickly identified redundancy when they saw two individuals did identical work.  They streamlined nearly 50% of the process with a simple solution: reassign tasks.



Current Process



New Process



What "seeing the process" can do:

• Show complexity, gaps, and/or redundancies
• Compare actual (current state) versus ideal (future state) processes to identify where to focus efforts
• Allow team members to agree on a single process
• Provide training

This series will provide some practical tips and insights to mapping a process.

What's happening today?

I recently was hired to improve processes.  For the last 2 weeks I have studied the processes as they exist today.  Two characteristics stand out strongly:

1. Good documentation of processes exist, but does not get followed.
2. The various departments that tend to point fingers at each other actually all try to accomplish the same goals.

My initial approach will generate value stream maps from the existing documentation to create broad visibility of the processes.  This will allow us to see where adherence falls short.  I will also generate cross-functional flow charts of the processes so each of the groups can easily see where hand-offs can more effectively occur and, more importantly, illustrate to them they really are aligned in their objectives.

By taking a step back to look at the processes as a whole, small changes can methodically be made that will generate large benefits.  I will post some examples as they occur.