Documenting Processes
There are a few tools that help with Documenting Processes:
Process Map: This document focuses on individual steps for one specific process and aims to make it more efficient.
Value Stream Process Map: This document looks at the entirety of the process, identifying waste and optimizing the flow of value to the customer. This is a process map with specific times for each step, pain points attached to those steps, and data on each process step.
SIPOC: Often referred to as a type of process map it maps out the high-level process steps and considers the Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers, providing a complete visualization of the process and the variables needed for the process to work.
When creating a process map, work with a group so you can get multiple viewpoints.
Document the detailed steps:
Talk to the people who do the work
Write these on self-stick notes or a flipchart
Make sure to include the steps that occur when things go wrong
Arrange the steps in sequence
Be consistent in the direction of flow—time should always flow from top to bottom, or from left to right
Use appropriate process map symbols
Check for missing steps or decision points
Describing a process can lead to three different versions:
What we think it is (PERCEPTION)
What it is (DOCUMENTATION)
What it should be (DESIRED)
Process Map Guidelines
Document the detailed steps
Talk to the people who do the work
Write these on self-stick notes or a flipchart
Make sure to include the steps that occur when things go wrong
Arrange the steps in sequence
Be consistent in the direction of flow— time should always flow from top to bottom, or from left to right
Use appropriate process map symbols
Check for missing steps or decision points
FOLLOW THE THING!
Standard Process Mapping Shapes
SIPOC
Supplier: Person/Organization that provides input to a Process
Input: Resource that is added to a Process by a Supplier
Process: Series of steeps where an Input converts to an Output
Output: Resource that is the result of a Process
Customer: Person/Organization that receives products or services.
SIPOC is a high-level view of a process
