Process Maps Set the Stage for Change

In our series on process maps which wraps up next week, the maps we have looked at are descriptive. They help us capture and display information about the current state.  Each map depicts the entire process, though from different angles.  For example, swim lane maps stress roles, responsibilities, and hand-off points, whereas document maps list documents and records generated throughout a process.

Activity maps display information about the relative worth or value of activities.  They show process steps in columns – activities within each step, or column, are shown.  Activities are color-coded according to the value that customers might derive from them (i.e., are they value-added or non-value-added activities?).  Some activities add value and some do not — those that don’t should be minimized or eliminated.

Assigning a value to activities is, by nature, subjective: we may rationalize our value judgment by attributing it to the customer.  That is shifting the responsibility for the judgment onto the customer, which may ensure that some activities that should be cut are not.

Recapping the Seven Process Map Formats

Let’s recap the maps discussed over the past several weeks.  The following table lists the information each map reveals and the best use for each.  Click on the links for articles and blog posts explaining or applying the highlighted concept:

Moving From Process Observation to Process Improvement

The descriptive process maps help capture the current state.  Activity maps help us collect detailed information about what is occurring.  We use them to reduce the number of steps – we make the process lean.

Convincing others to accept our judgments often requires changing minds, showing people a new way to work.  We move beyond simply describing a process to tell a story, illustrating our point of view.  There are maps that help us do just that; one is the “rendered map”.  In a rendered map, we show enough information to persuade our audience to accept our judgment.

Now, we hear the objection, “Show all the information and let the viewer decide.”  Our objective is to “inform to persuade”.  Everyone has their biases, their own set of filters.  We commonly think of this in relation to news media; however, your relationship to a business process colors your judgment, too.

As an analyst, quality professional, change manager, and executive, your role is to collect and sift through information, form a qualified, professional opinion, and present a compelling case for improvement.

Not having collected and mapped everything you did, your audience doesn’t have the perspective you do.  They know more than you about their specific area, department, or function but you captured key aspects of that in interviews you did.  When the facts are analyzed and the mapping is done, it’s time for you to make your case: convince people to take action in step, in time, and with significant potential impact.

In the next article, we conclude our Process Map series with rendered maps — setting the stage for change.

    Email     Print    Subscribe     

Posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 under Business Process Improvement, Knowledge Management, Strategic Process Improvement

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Originally published by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title Process Maps Set the Stage for Change.

This and more articles like this can be found at www.bizmanualz.com. This article may be reprinted freely as long as this resource box is left intact.