Process Mapping - Words of Wisdom

Process Mapping Words of Wisdom
by Susan Williams
Orion Development Group

In sports, players sometimes speak of the "unwritten rules of the game" that can only be learned by playing. The same is true for process improvement. There are many books that tell you how to construct maps or analyze data; few communicate the wisdom one acquires from doing the work and facing real-world business challenges. Here are some lessons we've learned along the way…

A Process is perfectly designed to produce exactly what it's producing. If you're unhappy with the results, you must change the process.

Where to begin:
-a scope that is "do-able, in your lifetime"
-something that is compelling
-something that is NOT career-shortening

Document processes before people who are ready to retire leave

Quality Improvement = how you do business with the fewest unnatural acts. This involves identifying barriers (causes of problems), streamlining, and making sure everything works well. Increased effectiveness = a reduction in number of steps.

Identify what you like about a process you're using now. You need to preserve to help increase the comfort level with change.

Empower those closest to the action to improve things.

People are generally happy when the process is simpler; they are unhappy when a process makes it harder to do their job.

Don't jump in to the process map first and/or "fix" things right away. You need to look at all the pieces; don't plan your investigation, let your investigation tell you where to go next; factors include:
-asking "why" (helps you focus)
-remembering that what gets measured gets managed
-identifying who is impacted and how

Keep collecting data and let the data tell you what to do. Don't just think in terms of throwing money and staff to it.

It doesn't matter where you focus your efforts although there's generally more of a return on investment with functional activities. The goal is clarity and getting things done with the least amount of unnatural acts.

Process complexity occurs over time, where steps are added for one reason or another. Always ask: are they value added or not, and why.

With the passage of time and if problems continue at the 4' fire level, it's probably because the 4" fire isn't being addressed (generally a supplier input gap).

Good questions to ask, especially with your team:
1. What prevents us from…
2. What causes us to…