What Process Mapping Is

Every organisation does its work through processes. An order is received and delivered. A new employee is hired and starts work. A pump is repaired and returned to service. Each of these is a series of steps done by people, with tools and information.

Process mapping means drawing those steps as a simple picture. The picture shows what happens, in what order, who does it, and where things go wrong. It turns work that is hidden in people's heads into something everyone can see and discuss.

Why a picture helps

• People can see the whole process, not only their own part.
• Gaps, delays and repeated steps become visible.
• New staff learn the work faster.
• Teams can agree on one way of working.

Example: a small workshop

A small engineering workshop had frequent late deliveries. Everyone blamed a different department. The manager asked the team to draw the order process on a whiteboard. In thirty minutes they saw that every order waited two days for a price check that only one person could do. Nobody had seen this before, because each person saw only their own step.

Example: an office

An office team mapped how expense claims were paid. The map showed that each claim was checked three times by three different people, looking at the same receipts. Two of the checks were removed, and payments became faster with no loss of control.