Business process mapping
Business process mapping refers to activities involved in defining what a business entity does, who is
responsible, to what standard a business process should be completed, and how the success of a business
process can be determined.
The main purpose behind business process mapping is to assist organizations in becoming more effective.
A clear and detailed business process map or diagram allows outside firms to come in and look at whether
or not improvements can be made to the current process.
Business process mapping takes a specific objective and helps to measure and compare that objective
alongside the entire organization's objectives to make sure that all processes are aligned with the company's
values and capabilities.
International Organization for Standardization or ISO 9001 : 2015 encourages a process approach to
quality management. It is important to understand how each process relates to other processes within the
organization and how those interactions impact Quality Management.[1]
History
Early history
The first structured method for documenting process flow, the flow process chart, was introduced by Frank
Gilbreth to members of ASME in 1921 as the presentation “Process Charts—First Steps in Finding the One
Best Way”. Gilbreth's tools were quickly integrated into industrial engineering curricula. In the early 1930s
industrial engineer Allan H. Mogensen began training business people by using these tools of industrial
engineering at his Work Simplification Conferences in Lake Placid, New York. A 1944 graduate of
Mogensen's class, Art Spinanger, took the tools back to Procter and Gamble where he developed their work
simplification program called the Deliberate Methods Change Program. Another 1944 graduate, Ben S.
Graham, Director of Formcraft Engineering at Standard Register Industrial, adapted the flow process chart
to information processing with his development of the multi-flow process chart to display multiple
documents and their relationships. In 1947, ASME adopted a symbol set derived from Gilbreth's original
work as the ASME Standard for Process Charts.
Business process mapping, also known as process charting, has become much more prevalent and
understood in the business world in recent years. Process maps can be used in every section of life or
business.
The Major Steps of Process Improvement using Process Mapping
1. Process identification - identify objectives, scope, players and work areas.
2. Information gathering - gather process facts (what, who, where, when) from the people who
do the work.
3. Process Mapping - convert facts into a process map.
4. Analysis - work through the map, challenging each step (what-why?, who-why?, where-
why?, when-why?, how-why?)
5. Develop/Install New Methods - eliminate unnecessary work, combine steps, rearrange
steps, add new steps where necessary
6. Manage process - maintain process map in library, review routinely, and monitor process for
changes
Process mapping is capable of supporting several important business goals:
Business process improvement
Training
Process / workflow clarification
Regulatory compliance
Internal audit
Role clarity (RACI)
Recent developments
Process mapping has overlapped with software development incorporating tools that can attach metadata to
activities, drivers and triggers to provide some automation of software process coding.
Quality improvement practitioners have noted that various graphical descriptions of processes can be
useful. These include: detailed flow-charts, work flow diagrams and value stream maps. Each map is
helpful depending on the process questions and theories being considered. In these situations process map
implies the use of process flow and the current understanding of the causal structure.
Six Sigma practitioners use the term Business Process Architecture to describe the mapping of business
processes as series of cross-functional flowcharts. Under this school of thought, each flowchart is of a
certain level (between 0 and 4) based on the amount of detail the flowchart contains. A level 0 flowchart
represents the least amount of detail, and usually contains one or two steps. A level 4 flowchart represents
the most detail, and can include hundreds of steps. At this level every task, however minor, is represented.
Primary example
Flowchart is a primary type of business process mapping. It consists
of some symbols such as arrows, circles, diamonds, boxes, ovals, or
rectangles. The type of Flowchart just described is sometimes
referred to as a "detailed" flowchart because it includes in detail, the
inputs, activities, decision points, and outputs of any process.
The example is Proposed Patient Appointment Procedure. It starts
with "preparation of appointment book" followed by a decision
whether the appointment is shore or fleet. If the appointment is fleet,
inform patient they can call 1500 to make own appointments for
next few days, if the appointment is shore, confirm 24 hours prior to
appointment. Next confirm that the patient confirmed. If a patient
did not call, the appointment is canceled, otherwise the patient is Proposed Patient Appointment
given a confirmation number. Finally confirm that the patient Procedure
showed for the appointment. If not, a standby patient is placed in
the appointment slot, the appointment book is marked "Failure" and a failure report is submitted from front
desk to fleet liaison. If a patient showed for appointment, put "Patient showed" in appointment book.
Example
An easy example to follow is making breakfast:
We must first understand that making breakfast is a process. The ingredients are the inputs and the final
breakfast ready to be served is the output. This graph shows the breakdown of each process vertically and
horizontally. For instance, cooking ingredients is broken down into all of the different tasks that need to be
done: cook bacon, cook eggs, toast bread, and fry potatoes. These tasks are then broken down further
below. In order to cook eggs, one must first heat the pan, pour the mixture, stir mixture, add pepper, and
remove eggs. This is a prime example of how process mapping can be used in any situation/process in
order to understand all of the different parts so that we can complete the process with a better understanding
for more efficiency. Although this is just a simple example, many aspects of business, including supply
chain, operations, marketing, finance, and accounting, use similar process mapping activities to improve
efficiency.
See also
Business Model Canvas
Business process discovery
Business process modeling
DRAKON
Ethnography
IDEF
N2 chart
Organizational studies
Process-centered design
Structured Analysis and Design Technique
Systems engineering
Value stream mapping
Workflow
References
1. Dias, S., & Saraiva, P. M. (2004). Use Basic Quality Tools To Manage Your Processes.
Quality Progress, 37(8), 47-53. Retrieved from
http://sharpthinkers.info/articles/Basic_Tools.pdf
Further reading
Taylor, F.W., (1911), The Principles of Scientific Management, Harper and Bros., New York,
NY.
Gilbreth, Frank and Lillian, (1924), The Quest of the One Best Way, Purdue University, Frank
and Lillian Gilbreth Papers.
Deming, W.E., (1982), Out of the Crisis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Juran, J.M., (1988), Juran on Planning for Quality, Free Press, New York, NY
Sanders, Ross and Coleman, (1999), The Process Map, Quality Engineering, 11(4), pp. 555
- 561.
Biazzo, S., (2000) Approaches to business process analysis: a review, Business Process
Management Journal, Vol. 6 Issue: 2, pp. 99-112
Sousa, G.W.L., R.L., (2002), Applying an enterprise engineering approach to engineering
work: a focus on business process modelling, Engineering Management Journal, Vol. 14
No.3, pp. 15–24.
Graham, Ben B., (2004), Detail Process Charting: Speaking the Language of Process,
Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.
Gareth R.T. and White, S. C., (2016) Knowledge acquisition through process mapping:
Factors affecting the performance of work-based activity, International Journal of Productivity
and Performance Management, Vol. 65 Issue: 3, pp. 302-323
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