What IS a Process Map?

I think Jim's definition a very good one as well... some process maps have absolutely zilch for value. However some can be very useful... Like all good discussion, the answer to when a process map is useful and when it is not is that it Depends.

The only time I use process maps is when I have never seen the process before and I need to understand a very high level flow (Six Sigma Consultant). I am not talking about a Viso produced process flow, I am talking about a "on the back of a napkin" high level flow. Enough to tell me which step happen after which step and a basic idea of what happens in each step.

The second instance where I will use a process flow will be when I have to understand the physics and geometry of how a particular machine/transaction works. (i.e. the clamp gets indexed, the collet closes, the tool engages, and the part is released). Obviously this level of detail is needed well within the DMAIC process, which shows that process flows are not as critical as many believe.

What I find a lot of the time is that the documented process flow (in Visio) does not represent how the process actually runs. That is really sad.

"have you ever been in a meeting and discovered after a couple of hours that someone is talking about something different from what you thought, because they are using a term that you thought "everyone knows what that means" but they use it differently?"

Just a sidebar humourous example:

When I took over as Calibration Manager for a manufacturing company (having come from a Metrology lab background), I was explaining to my bosses in a meeting about the system I had created and got up-and-running....aaaaaaand I used the word "recall". I thought they were going to melt like wax candles. Anyone working in or around calibration KNOWS what it means, but having been new to a manufacturing environment, I didn't KNOW what it meant in the MANUFACTURING world...oops!

Typically, Process Map is a schematic representation of the linkage between process and process elements.

It depends on the organization, to the extent it wants to use the mapping. It can be done at an organization level or at a unit level. List of activities can be mapped to complete a process. List of processes can be mapped to complete the system of working in an organization.

Mapping becomes very effective in the way the improvements are done. For example in our organization we have used the mapping to describe the flow of activities for specific processes. We have identified a Initiator, Reviewer, Responsible person through blocks and colors for the importance of the activity. Similarly the way of mapping can be optimized with respect to the business needs.

A snapshot of such a process mapping is attached for your reference.

Good luck !

curryassassin said:

A some have stated, the process map could be very complicated or it could be very simple. It depends on the intended use of the map and the process or processes you are mapping. Many times the quality system as a whole is mapped, when attempting to show how ISO9000 requirements are addressed. This can produce a very complicated map. Or mapping can illustrate the main activities and tasks of one critical process.

Process mapping can help improve efficiency, effectiveness, identify customer / supplier relationships, identify how to measure whether the process is performing as required, who owns the process etc. Or simply to illustrate what a thousand words in SOPs actually mean.

I like the definition of 'visual or diagrammatical representation' of the process or processes. I am aware of the following types of mapping and flow charting, each with their own benefits and drawbacks:

• Process Flowcharts
• Cross Functional or Swimlane
• Integration Definition for Function Modelling
• Relationship Diagrams or Input / Output Diagrams

Click to expand...

Process maping is time line Process flow charts. Where in doing the Time studies are much easier where we can find out the Valve Added & NVA time.

Since the word "map" is used it is understood to be graphical in nature. No one confuses written directions to a destination with a map to the same location. I honestly can't see why anyone would suggest that a "process map" would amount to a procedure or other text only document.

Hondo812 said:

Since the word "map" is used it is understood to be graphical in nature. No one confuses written directions to a destination with a map to the same location. I honestly can't see why anyone would suggest that a "process map" would amount to a procedure or other text only document.

Click to expand...

I agree that "map" (as a noun) suggests a graphical representation, but it's possible to have written descriptions of process interactions that are not maps, per se, but are more effective than maps.

Hondo812 said:

Since the word "map" is used it is understood to be graphical in nature. No one confuses written directions to a destination with a map to the same location. I honestly can't see why anyone would suggest that a "process map" would amount to a procedure or other text only document.

Click to expand...

Easy! "3.4.5 procedure = specified way to carry out an activity or a process". No mention of a "text only document" in ISO9000.

And have you never drawn a sketch of how to get somewhere by drawing lines for the roads, and added a few notes to explain that the rectangle is a supermarket, or that the junction is 200 yards past the church...?

I like process maps to help define the overall view of the organization. In my opinion, it makes it easy to describe the core systems of an organization using the IPO model (Inputs, Process steps, Outputs).
Once the core systems are identified, you can use the process map to help you determine what procedures you should consider documenting to define your QMS.

Jim Wynne said:

I agree that "map" (as a noun) suggests a graphical representation, but it's possible to have written descriptions of process interactions that are not maps, per se, but are more effective than maps.

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I agree that there is more than one way to effectively document a process. Most of that is dependent on what you expect to get out of it. I have used left/right hand charts/sheets to document which hand an operator is using to assemble/transport/grasp/etc. a product for a specific assembly step. This is information that does not present well on a classical flowchart format but does present very well in a 2 column list. It is not a process map however and I think that was the focus of this thread, to define what a process map is.

Our process map describes the bird's eye view of the company's business. A PDCA cycle should be applied to a process map (SIPOC - Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer ).
Raffy