Mapping Your Agency’s Key Processes
Overview of Process Mapping
- What is a process map and why use it?
- How a process map can streamline processes and remove non-value added steps
- Use maps in continuous process and continuous quality improvement programs
- Using a process map as a blueprint for implementing a new or improved process
Step to creating a process map
- Keeping the customer’s perspective foremost in your mind
- Describing the current state of the process
- Determining the boundaries of the process
- Selecting the process start and end points
- Identifying the number of handoffs in the process
- Creating swim lanes (rows) for each process role
- Deciding on an “As Is” or “To Be” strategy for the process map
- Converting key process steps, actions, and decision points into a process map
- Highlighting all the process queues – places where work can pile up
- Locating all the checking/reviewing/inspecting procedures
- Indicating where all the process forks occur
- How to calculate the total amount of process steps, time, and cost
How process mapping is used to add value
- Questions to consider when designing your To Be process
- Determining the amount of non-value added work in your process
- Identifying operational value-added work
- Process steps required by reason of law, contracts, regulations or employee development
- Emphasizing customer-recognized value added steps
- Isolating steps involving rework (poor quality, rejects, returns)
- Examining the need for approvals, redundancy, bureaucracy and other non-productive time or work
Strategies for Reducing Waste
- Reducing the number of process steps
- Eliminating steps for correction of work
- Decreasing the idle work in-progress or finished inventory
- Reducing wait time and search time
- Rearranging steps for efficiency
- Combining steps (reducing total handoffs)
- Standardizing work methods
- Smooth out timing for continuous flow of work to the next step)
Putting your process mapping team together
- The value of using a cross-functional team to create your process map
- Asking the key questions needed to understand the process
- Key roles (individuals, departments) involved in the process
- Options for creating the map: using Post-it Notes, whiteboards, PowerPoint, project software, etc.