How to Develop a Project Process Flow Diagram

Successful project management is becoming more important and prevalent in the

business community. Completing a project successfully requires an understanding of
basic project management fundamentals. The Project Management Institute has outlined
the five main processes within project management Initiating! Planning! "#ecuting!
Monitoring and Controlling! and Closing.
$eveloping the Project Process %low $iagram
o & Study the project plan and determine what is being accomplished and
who is needed to accomplish the tas's. (ist the goals and people involved.
o ) *rite the five processes ++ Initiating! Planning! "#ecuting! Monitoring
and Controlling! and Closing ++ in a column leaving plenty of space
between each one.
o , Initiate. (oo' at the lists of tas's and the people from Step & and
determine who needs to be involved and what needs to be accomplished in
the initiation process. If this process has already been completed! outline
who was a part of the process and what was accomplished. %or e#ample!
the payroll specialist presented an idea to save paper during the payroll
process.
o - Plan. .e sure to include yourself and the process flow within the
planning stage. Incorporate the development of the project plan and
anyone who is a part of the planning stage.
o / "#ecute each major step according to the project plan. Monitor each step
as it is completed for any issues prior to proceeding to the ne#t step. The
"#ecution and Monitoring and Controlling processes are the most
complicated and intertwined. This section of the process flow diagram
relies heavily on the specific project at hand.
o 0 Close the process after all the steps have been e#ecuted and monitored.
Include any closing memos and closing procedures that need to be
followed.
o 1 2eview your process flow to ma'e sure that nothing is left out after you
have completed the brainstorming tas's. If a project committee was
formed then have a member review the diagram for completeness.
o 3 %ormali4e the process diagram by either rewriting it clearly or using a
word processor to recreate the diagram.
How to Manage Flow in a Project
projects can involve large numbers of sequential activities! multiple departments and
numerous employees. Managing flow in a project is crucial to ma#imi4ing efficiency!
lowering project completion times and 'eeping costs under control. The more you plan
and manage flow in a project! the more li'ely the project is to be successful in meeting or
e#ceeding its objectives.
Instructions
o & Ma'e a list of each activity to be performed in the project. $o not worry
about which order the activities are performed in yet5 simply list every
single thing that needs to be done during the project.
o ) $etermine the shortest and longest possible time requirements for each
activity. 6se your previous e#perience or advice from others with
e#perience performing each activity to judge how quic'ly the project can
be completed! and what the worst+case+scenario time frame may be.
o , $etermine the inputs needed for each activity. (ist all materials and
tools required to perform each job! as well as the number and type of
employees required to perform the necessary tas's. 7ighlight inputs that
rely on the completion of earlier activities in the project. $etermine if
there are any necessary information inputs for each activity! such as
custom+order specifications! as well.
o - $raw a process flow chart. $raw bo#es for each activity! from left to
right! in the order they must be completed. If your project involves more
than a single sequence of activities! draw concurrent sequences above or
below each other. $raw arrows to show the process flow! and list the
shortest and longest possible completion times for each project. (ist the
people responsible for each tas'! the required inputs and where the inputs
are e#pected to come from. This helps avoid unnecessary material and
labor shortfalls that can slow down the project.
o / $etermine the critical path. 8dd up the shortest and longest completion
times of each sequence! and use the sequence with the longest time frame
as the goal for the project. The longest sequence! which cannot be delayed
at all if the project is to be completed on time! is the critical path. "nsuring
that activities in the critical path are completed on time is a 'ey to
managing flow in a project.
o 0 Identify and eliminate non+value+adding activities. 8 non+value+adding
activity is a process that does not directly move the project one step closer
to completion. Moving components from one facility to another and
communicating bac' and forth for decision approvals are both e#amples of
activities that do not add any value.
o 1 %ind ways to reduce non+value+adding activities wherever possible5
relocate manufacturing processes to reduce transport time! for e#ample! or
implement faster communication technologies to reduce the time it ta'es
to ma'e collaborative decisions over large distances.