Wherever a business is on the continuum of process analysis, improvement, or re-engineering, the initial step is to understand how people do what they do. A process map can get you started.
A process map defines how an organization performs work: the steps involved and their sequence; who is responsible for each step; and how work groups interact.
There is no shortage of software tools to help map your processes, and myriad formats to choose from. No matter what format, tool, or technology is chosen to document the “As Is”, though, collaboration is key.
Back in the days before “Google” was a verb, we used paper, pencils, and plastic templates with funny shapes cut out of them to represent our company processes. Yes, pages had to be printed, references found, and flow-charts were taped to large walls where processes were complex. Even so, somehow we managed to map, analyze, improve, and even re-engineer our business processes. While there are many ways to begin a process mapping effort, here is my favorite low-tech, high-touch way to get things rolling:
At some point after a long, grueling, and sometimes hysterical session, you should be able to look at the wall and have some sense of what gets done in the work group, by whom, and in what order. Consider stuff coming in from other departments, and stuff going out to other departments, and you may even get a sense of why the group exists, and continues to get funding each fiscal year. If the group’s value-add isn't evident, stop doing this and read up on updating resumes.
Tactful facilitation should help the group resist the following temptations:
Aside from hours of amusement? For businesses considering a process improvement effort, with or without BPM software tools, the process map is used as a reference. Even if a vision of the final process already exists, the current map provides the “you are here” marker.
The resulting documentation can be used as a training aid or as a job checklist. It can be used to help align personal, departmental, and enterprise goals – or illustrate where those alignments don’t exist. Increasingly, process maps help companies comply with external audit and certification requirements. Perhaps the most important by-product of this collaborative exercise is that it provides the rank and file with a new perspective on their work, and powerfully illustrates inefficiencies and gaps. It prepares the work force for change by presenting an objective look at the potential benefits of moving beyond the status quo. One Gartner study suggests that the simple exercise of getting the gang together to jointly map their processes – with no subsequent process improvement efforts - can result in productivity improvements of 12% or more. Clearly, the act of collaboratively mapping your processes is of value in and of itself, and is a great way to build teams.
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