Processes Mapping

Applications that were created as a result of process mapping

• Marketing automation: Brand24 (monitors the Internet and notifies about new mentions), Mailchimp (independently sends mailings, greets the customer, sends out reports to them, and will even inform them about a new discount that you set in your store)
• Optimization of routine work: Otter.ai (in the work of a researcher and journalist, it will turn a recorded interview into text), Grammarly (in office work, it will check the correctness of spelling in the dictionary and suggest corrections), Nacoidamojepieniadze.pl (in the work of a municipal treasurer, it will help with making an analysis of the municipal budget and preparing presentations for decision-makers and residents)
• Optimization of the organization's processes: Basecamp (facilitates project management and organizes internal project communications), Jira (facilitates software development process management)

When should you use process mapping in product design?

• When you want to discover a need, a gap in the market, an untapped potential
• When you want to understand how a process works to improve or automate it
• When you want to design process management software, the so-called workflow system

Process mapping in business management

• Usually, process mapping is where the standardization of procedures in a company begins
• An organization implements a process monitoring system
• A business looks for areas to improve
• An organization looks for discrepancies occurring in processes

Benefits of process mapping

Overall, process mapping streamlines work processes and creates a visual representation that can be easily communicated with team members and stakeholders.

Process mapping helps you with the following:

• Increasing understanding of work processes
• Identifying bottlenecks and areas for improvement
• Improving communication with team members and stakeholders
• Providing help with decision-making
• Creating clear process documentation
• Reducing costs of development
• Making it easier to evaluate the efficiency of a process
• Visualizing connections and sequences

Types of process maps

Different types of process maps can help you with the mapping process. Choosing a suitable process mapping technique depends on your needs and goals.

Flowchart

Flowcharts are the most common type of process map. They're very versatile and can be used in all sorts of industries.

Flowcharts can visualize the flow of tasks and information by using symbols representing different elements of a process. They can clearly outline the course of particular tasks from the beginning to the end.

Flowcharts can be used to plan processes, analyze workflows, plan new projects, and improve the communication of ideas.

High-level process map

A high-level process map, also called a value chain map or top-down map, gives you a high-level overview of a process.

This type of map doesn't focus on details but on core activities and tasks. It's used to determine business processes and identify crucial steps and details of a given process.

A high-level process map is most helpful in communicating with stakeholders who are less involved in a project because it doesn't contain too many details, just the most crucial ones.

Detailed process map

Detailed process maps are the opposite of high-level process maps. They contain all the details of each step and corresponding subprocesses.

The main goal is to map all inputs and outputs and document decision points. Because of their high level of detail, they're ideal for identifying areas for improvement and for providing an in-depth understanding of a given process.

A detailed process map is best for communicating the intricacies of the process to stakeholders closely related to the project and team members who need to have a deep understanding of it to work effectively.

SIPOC diagram

A SIPOC diagram (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer) is used to determine crucial elements of a process, which may then turn into a process map. This diagram shows the correlations between customer expectations and suppliers' deliveries.

Thanks to the SIPOC diagram, decision-makers can obtain crucial information regarding the processes and make decisions based on it. Furthermore, it allows you to determine the scope of more complex processes.

Swimlane diagram

A swimlane diagram, also called a cross-functional map, divides processes into swimlanes that are assigned to each stakeholder or person responsible for a particular process. Every stakeholder has a dedicated channel that describes the task for which they're accountable.

Siwmlane diagrams clearly outline who is involved in a given process and what their tasks are. This increases accountability and visibility of the entire process.

Moreover, this type of business process mapping facilitates the training of new employees and allows them to understand their roles and responsibilities quickly.

Value Stream map

A value stream map aims to sketch the product delivery process to a customer. It utilizes symbols to visualize the information and resources (materials) necessary for a process. This type of process map usually is complex due to the level of detail it covers.

Value stream maps are useful for eliminating waste, improving the flow of information and materials, and identifying opportunities for future projects.

Symbols used in process maps

There are around 30 process mapping symbols that you can use on your maps. They represent key elements and steps of a process. Usually, there is no need to use all of them; only a handful suffices. Naturally, this also depends on the amount of details your process map is supposed to have.

The most common process mapping symbols include the following:

• Rectangles represent an activity, a single step in the process.
• Ovals signify the beginning and end of the process.
• Arrows are used to show the direction of the flow and connect steps.
• Diamonds indicate that a decision needs to be made
• D-shaped symbols mean that a delay occurred in the process.
• Rectangles with wavy bottom lines represent documents or other types of information that people can read. If you need to mark that multiple documents are available, you can use a symbol that resembles a stack of rectangles with wavy bottom lines.
• Parallelograms depict the input and output data of the process step.
• Rectangles with slanted top lines mark the steps in which data must be entered manually.
• Rectangles with double vertical lines indicate a subprocess connected with a specific process.
• Hexagons illustrate the preparatory steps needed to set up the next step in the process.
• Circles with numbers inside are called connectors. They signify that the process continues on another page when it's too detailed to fit on one page.

As mentioned, this is not the complete list of process map symbols, but these ones will help you get started. Once you become more familiar with process mapping tools and creating process maps, you can start using more advanced symbols to create a process map containing more details.

How to map business processes

• First, you visualize the overall picture of the process that will provide an idea of its components.
• Then, you proceed to map individual processes going deeper and deeper, making them more and more detailed.
• You map the current state, not the desired state.
• You can use Visual Paradigm or Visio from Microsoft and many other programs for process mapping.

Best practices for process mapping

Here, we present some best practices for creating a practical process map.

Set up clear objectives

Think about the purpose of your process map. Do you want to make a certain process more efficient? Do you want to find opportunities to cut costs or improve productivity? Or perhaps you desire to enhance customer satisfaction?

Answering these questions and establishing a goal will help you focus and set up a clear direction for your process mapping.

Define the beginning and the end of the process

Define where your business process begins and ends. This will help you establish the limits of your process map. Furthermore, it will aid you in visualizing the potential scope of process mapping and setting up steps that will connect both ends. Thanks to this, you can be sure to stay on track.

Adapt the process map to the needs of stakeholders

Consider who you're creating the process map for. Some stakeholders will be more involved with a project than others. Therefore, they will need different levels of detail about specific processes. Think about which map type will be the most suitable, and consider whether to pick value stream maps, high-level maps, or others.

For instance, team members will significantly impact various processes. Hence, they will need as much information as possible to get a complete idea of the process.

In the case of stakeholders who are less involved with a project or business processes but still need to be updated, you can create a process map with less detail that only outlines key elements and the most crucial steps.

Use standardized process mapping symbols

The standardized process map symbols enable you to ensure that your process map is easy to read and follows an understandable system.

Thanks to clearly defined shapes and their meanings, everyone who uses the process map will be able to understand it. Of course, if someone on your team is unfamiliar with such symbols, providing them with a legend will solve the issue.

Don't forget to include every stakeholder involved with a project

Identify important stakeholders such as product managers or customers whose insight will be invaluable for process mapping. They can provide helpful information that will aid in creating an effective and detailed process map.

Overlooking any of the stakeholders affected by the process can result in missing important information that may impact the process mapping and its effectiveness.

Ensure that the process map is clear and readable

You should ensure the map is clear, readable, and easy for every interested entity to understand. The symbols mentioned above can help you achieve this effect.

After process mapping, you should consult stakeholders and collect their feedback to check whether the map meets their expectations and doesn't miss any crucial components.

Establish rules for process mapping

When process mapping becomes your business routine, creating a set of rules that standardize and make the process consistent would be beneficial. Such rules will help you create organized process documentation that is readily available.

You should use standardized solutions like BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) or UML (Unified Modeling Language) to achieve that.

Maintain transparent and efficient communication

During process mapping, you should communicate transparently and efficiently about any changes or feedback related to the map. This will allow you to improve it and make the stakeholders feel involved and impactful.

You should remember that process maps are supposed to be a beneficial tool for the entire organization.

Employ business process mapping software and process map templates

Choose the most suitable process mapping tools to enable you to create and share process maps quickly. You should select tools that enable you to quickly outline the process and collaborate with team members in real-time. Moreover, they often include ready-made process mapping templates that can help you get started.

We already mentioned the Visual Paradigm and Microsoft's Visio. You can also use software such as Miro, Lucidchart, or Creately.

Find the tool that meets your business needs and budget.

Continuously improve the process map

Creating process maps is a work-in-progress venture. As your business changes and develops, your processes will follow; thus, they will need to be continuously updated.

Process mapping for software development

Process mapping is also part of the software development process, which is the business analyst's responsibility.

Understanding the problem domain and the overall process is the basis of an analyst's work, often requiring a business analyst to have an industry-specific background.

Both UML and BPMN are modeling languages. As in any language, they have their syntax (elements), rules (standards), and names (a common convention adopted for names).

Thanks to this, a process diagram made by an analyst in Japan, for example, will be understandable to an engineer in Poland.

The next step in discovering customer needs and market niches and designing a digital product is competitive analysis.