Seven Types of Process Maps – Part II

Last week, we discussed three types of Process Maps: High-Level, Low-Level and Cross Functional or “Swim Lanes” Maps.  This week we will take a closer look at Document Maps, and Activity or Value Stream Maps.

Document Map

A Document Map is an expanded SIPOC format.  Each row is an individual SIPOC flow representing the:

• Supplier ->
• Input (yellow) ->
• Process Step (light green) ->
• Output (blue) ->
• Customer

Effectiveness criteria and performance objectives are listed at the bottom.  Your effectiveness criteria represent your Key Performance Indicators (KPI), metrics, or measures for your process.  If you are planning on continuous improvement (to conform to ISO 9001) then you should identify your metrics and your performance objectives.

We have also introduced PDCA or Plan, Do, Check, Act structure to the process steps:

• “Plan” is performed as part of the prior “Act” step where credit criteria are determined.
• “Do” occurs when the sales person gets the order and starts entering it in the system, credit checks are performed and terms calculated.
• “Check” occurs when the credit issued is reviewed along with the credit criteria.
• And finally, “Act” occurs when new credit criteria are issued.

Bizmanualz Credit Approval Document Map

Document maps provide a lot of data detail but can be short on activity details.  Text based procedures are much better at depicting individual tasks and methods.  But we can also use an Activity Map.

Activity Map or Value Stream Map

Activity maps or Value Stream Maps are used in lean implementations to depict process tasks as single-piece flow and with as much detail as you can capture.  The whole purpose of an Activity Map is to capture enough information so that you can identify the tasks that are clearly adding value and those that are of questionable value.  Activity maps are helpful for architecting and organizing the text before writing a new procedure.

Each of the five activities in the Credit Approval process (figure 2.) are listed along the top row in light blue.  Next, an optional tally field totals the number of tasks below each activity (i.e. 4+1).  The first number represents the task total and the second number is the lean value-added (green tasks) total.  Then the person or department responsible for the activity is listed with a departmental color code.  And finally, the detailed tasks are shown, one per box.  Value-added tasks are color coded green, clearly wasteful tasks are coded red, and all the white boxes represent possible waste, or steps that can be eliminated through lean process improvement events.

Figure 2: Value Stream Map - Activity Map

Activity maps provide sufficient details for process improvement and can also be augmented with task timing data, which can be used to quantify time and cost savings.  All you need is a spreadsheet and you can start making activity maps.  Unfortunately, activity maps are just OK at training or communicating how a process works. Work flow diagrams are much better for training workers and communicating processes. We will discuss workflow diagrams and rendered process maps next week.

Continued in Part III (Work Flow Diagrams and Rendered Process Maps).

 Email     Print   

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

This article can be reproduced freely ONLY with the following attribution:

Originally published in 2009 by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title Seven Types of Process Maps – Part II. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted with attribution only. www.bizmanualz.com