What is Process Mapping & the 14 Best Practices to Master in 2024?

Process mapping provides a visualized flow of activities within a business process to enable deeper analysis. With 81% of organizations planning process improvement initiatives this year according to Gartner, techniques like mapping and mining serve an increasingly vital role for optimization.

In this detailed 3500 word guide, we’ll cover everything you need to create high-impact process maps, including:

Contents:

• What is Process Mapping & Why It Matters
• Types of Process Maps & Use Cases
• The Core Elements of a Process Map
• 14 Best Practices for Process Mapping Success
• Common Process Mapping Pitfalls to Avoid
• Using Process Maps for Analysis & Improvement
• Process Mapping vs. Process Mining
• Emerging Process Mining Innovations
• Continuously Evolve Your Process Maps

Let’s dive in!

What is Process Mapping & Why It Matters

Process mapping involves creating graphical documentation of the end-to-end workflow within a business process using standardized notation symbols.

These visualized models enable all stakeholders to align on understanding how work is intended to get done before analyzing improvement opportunities.

Benefits of process mapping include:

Alignment – Enables various roles to be "on the same page" regarding process flows and responsibilities.

Training – Intuitively communicates tasks and hand-offs in visual format for onboarding.

Analysis – Facilitates identification of optimization areas, bottlenecks and failure points.

According to recent research from Forrester, organizations utilizing techniques like process mapping for analysis realize:

• 31% faster time-to-market for new offerings
• 47% shorter new hire ramp up to full productivity
• 29% increased customer retention

With enhanced visibility into processes, companies can move from assumptions to data-driven decisions – enabling excellence.

Types of Process Maps & Use Cases

Different types of process map formats serve varying analytical needs.

Here is an overview of common models and applicable scenarios:

For example, basic flowcharts enable grasping the big picture view of order-to-cash while swimlane diagrams help assess the linkages across sales, operations and finance.

The specific business objectives determine which process map variation(s) will yield the deepest insights for optimization.

Now that we‘ve covered various types of maps, let‘s look at core elements to include.

The Core Elements of a Process Map

While flexibility exists based on context, strong process map share these six common components:

1. Steps

Activities and tasks sequenced from start to finish of the workflow.

2. Flow

Arrows indicating connections between steps.

3. Swimlanes

Columns representing roles, systems or departments involved.

4. Metrics

Data capturing cycle times, volumes, costs attributed to workflow.

5. Variants

Branches highlighting alternative scenarios within the process flow.

6. Materials

Physical or digital items flowing through the process.

Ensuring these core elements are reflected in the map establishes a foundation enabling rich analysis.

14 Best Practices for Process Mapping Success

Just as clearly defined activities contribute to operational success, establishing robust practices lays the groundwork for process mapping prosperity.

Here are field-tested guidelines serving as your blueprint:

1. Define the Target Objectives

Start by identifying the purpose for mapping – opportunities, bottlenecks or issues to address. This outcome focus drives data collection relevance.

2. Secure Executive Sponsorship

Gain leadership support to reinforce importance, coordinate resources and enable enterprise-wide adoption.

3. Outline High-Level Steps

Sketch the bird‘s eye view first to grasp end-to-end flow before drilling into functions.

4. Conduct Cross-Department Stakeholder Analysis

Determine all roles to consult – map as inclusively as possible for holistic understanding.

5. Gather Data from Multiple Sources

Blend perspectives from interviews, documents, direct observations, analytics and mining. Infuse quantitative and qualitative data.

6. Standardize Consistent Notation

Utilize the same terminology, iconography, libraries and modeling language across maps enterprise-wide for clarity. Consider adopting BPMN as a standard.

7. Map As-Is and Could-Be Flows

Understand current state but also envision future state with stepped transformations to build roadmap.

8. Add Metrics and Decision Branch Variants

Quantify with cycle times, volumes and cost. Call out alternative scenarios within the workflow.

9. Validate for Consensus with Stakeholders

Revise based on feedback and demonstrated understanding to confirm shared alignment.

10. Craft Visually Simple yet Insightfully Detailed Maps

Balance complexity – avoid oversimplifying or overcomplicating as both undermine communication and analysis.

11. Make Maps Accessible with Export Options

Format maps for ease of navigation e.g. color blindness, text size, hyperlinked steps. Offer modular views, alternate formats to enable embedding into various mediums.

12. Establish Governance for Standardization at Scale

Institute consistent enterprise-wide libraries, security protocols and centralized platforms to harmonize and safeguard process map information.

13. Automate Updates Using Process Mining

Where possible, leverage mining algorithms to scan systems and auto-populate latest metrics or new variants detected within maps.

14. Continuously Iterate Regularly

Build a feedback loop to incrementally validate accuracy, augment detail and extend scope across process ecosystem.

Adopting these guidelines sets initiatives up for efficiency, alignment and sustainability – now let’s explore missteps to circumvent.

Common Process Mapping Pitfalls to Avoid

Here are five problematic practices that can undermine mapping success:

1. Lack of Executive Commitment

Without leaders reinforcing importance, maps risk being siloed or starved of data, limiting enterprise-wide adoption.

2. Failure to Involve All Relevant Stakeholders

Missed hand-offs, incomplete steps, and misunderstood pain points arise when mapping in isolation without cross-departmental input.

3. Starting with Excessive Details

Lead with high-level value chain perspective before drilling down into functions – otherwise teams lose sight of the big picture.

4. Using Overly Complex Visual Notations

Avoid intricate icons in favor of simple standard and universally recognized BPMN shapes for clarity.

5. Designing Maps without Analysis or Actions in Mind

Target specific improvement opportunities or benchmarks. Otherwise maps become shelfware rather than levers for transformation.

Now that we have established mapping best practices, let’s shift to an increasingly vital complementary analytics capability – process mining.

Process Mapping vs. Process Mining

While process mapping statically represents an intended workflow, process mining reveals how work dynamically happens by leveraging system event log data.

Think of process mining as a live digital mirror – reflecting back real patterns, variants and metrics vs conceptual models.

Let‘s compare approaches:

According to recent research from Mckinsey on process analytics programs:

• 46% faster realization of outcomes
• 72% reduction in data collection costs
• 55 % acceleration in process transformation cycles

This data spotlights why mining and mapping used in concert drives optimal improvement ROI – balancing agility with robustness.

The approaches align for excellence via:

• Mapping to envision future workflows
• Mining to validate with data-driven benchmarks in parallel

According to Lead Enterprise Architect Naomi Lee:

Now let’s explore cutting-edge process mining capabilities elevating analysis.

Emerging Process Mining Innovations

Process mining continues rapidly evolving new functionality based on AI, advanced analytics and expanded data source integration.

Key innovations to watch include:

Automated Root Cause Analysis – algorithms pinpointing drivers of delays, bottlenecks and other issues.

Predictive Forecasting – statistical modeling anticipating future performance based on emerging trends.

Intelligent Task Recommendations – next best action prompts based on workflow patterns.

Real-Time Anomaly Detection – notifications for immediate intervention triggered upon variation thresholds exceeded.

Simulation Modeling – assessing transformation ideas by replaying datasets across digital twin processes.

These capabilities exponentially expand the insights for accelerators, risk mitigation and transformation response planning leveraging process data.

According to Gartner’s latest industry adoption survey, over 50% of organizations implementing process improvements will augment with advanced process analytics this year – doubling penetration rates within two years for these innovative capabilities.

Continuously Evolve Your Process Maps

To sustain relevance, maps warrant ongoing governance through recurrent reviews, revisions and expansions – avoiding outdated documentation.

4 reasons continuous iterations matter:

1. Changes Emerge

Business practices transform frequently – what worked yesterday risks irrelevance tomorrow if not updated.

2. Insights Surface

As continuous improvement programs progress, new learnings manifest. Incorporate revelations into updated guidance.

3. Technologies Shift

Innovations in automation, algorithms and more revolutionize process architectures over time. Re-map to prepare, educate and enable adoption.

4. People Fluctuate

With turnover, responsibilities transition. Refresh assignments, train successors using updated visualized workflows.

Just as navigation charts require routine corrections to avoid leading astray, process maps demand recalibration. Instituting regular refresh cycles sustains maps as an accurate guide to possibilities.

The opportunities for leveraging process data expand exponentially. By igniting a feedback flow between maps envisioning the future with mining charting the present, organizations can confidently shape what’s next.

Now you‘re ready to elevate process excellence, operational agility and customer centricity by mastering process mapping supported by mining fueling data-driven improvement.

We invite you to expand your analytics toolkit by downloading the latest research on mining:

With expanded perspectives and upgraded tools, you now hold the keys to leading positive process change. Step forward boldly to transform systems to new heights.