7 tips for a good process map

Accordingly, it does not include all the characteristics of the company. Instead, it focuses on the relevant aspects. Which aspects are relevant depends primarily on three factors:

1. The goal: What is the process map used for?‍

A good process map meets two goals in particular:

- It has didactic value by illustrating the business model and strategic relationships in the company.

- It serves as Navigation interface in the management system, which allows users to quickly and easily move from individual processes to the level of work instructions, forms and knowledge pages.

2. The addressee: Who is the process map aimed at?

A management system should have a Work aid for all employees be — not just for QM officers, auditors and management. The process map should therefore enable all users to easily access the management system.

3. The time factor: Does the process map represent the past, present or future?

Neither the past nor the future is relevant to the day-to-day work of employees: Current assistance is required here. That is why the process map should current status depict.

Practice: Building the process map correctly

How can all these aspects and goals be successfully combined in a process map?

1. Distinguish between management, core, and support processes

A clean division into different types of processes is important. Because this is how you communicate both the overall goal of the respective process and the corresponding “customer.” In addition to external end customers, there are also internal customers. An example: The HR department only indirectly hires employees who make the end customer happy. First of all, she is looking for new colleagues on behalf of the respective department — this department is the direct internal customer.

• Management processes Describe the strategic direction and management of the company. Employees are the internal customers of these processes.
• core processes — also known as value chain or end-to-end processes — represent the processes for meeting customer requirements. They therefore serve external end customers.
• Support processes are essential for core processes, but do not actively contribute to the value chain. The core processes are your internal customers.
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2. Design a coherent core process chain.

The core processes have often grown like a patchwork over many years — there is no complete and coherent process chain. This is important in order to to visualize parallels and chronologies of processes. This is the only way to see interfaces between departments that promote cross-departmental thinking. So define a coherent core process chain: Start when the customer request is received and end when the desired service or product is delivered. ‍
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3. Map out your business model.

When looking at the process map and in particular the core process chain, it should immediately become clear that How your company earns its money and how it is fundamentally structured. Are you an individual manufacturer and develop every product according to customer requirements? Then you need to get customers first before you start development and production. Or are you a series manufacturer and produce in stock? Then you produce a product first and then sell it. If you provide various services, it is recommended that you use several parallel core process chains to depict. For retail companies, procurement is part of the core process chain; in a manufacturing company, it is a support process — adapt your process map accordingly. ‍
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4. Describe processes based on the actions behind them — not by department.

It may seem obvious to name processes after the various departments of a company. However, this promotes the “silo thinking” of the individual departments, which actually needs to be resolved: Each organizational unit only optimizes its own sub-processes, but not the overall process across departments, in the worst case scenario, this has negative consequences for the entire company. The individual steps of the core process chain in particular should therefore named with subject and verb become: for example, “win customers” instead of “sales.” In this way, both the overall process goal and the entire circle of addressees become clear. After all, convincing customers often requires a combination of marketing, sales, production and development.
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5. Reduce the process map to a manageable number of elements.

Modell Aachen GmbH has carried out a study on the usability of process maps. The result: A manageable number of elements is crucial for usability. The limit is a maximum of six elements per category, i.e. Six elements each of the management processes, core processes and support processes. Although it is generally possible to map all special cases, service chains and interactions in the process map, it is not advisable in terms of usability.

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6. Get feedback from your colleagues

Many QM manuals serve exclusively as a basis for certifications; in most cases, only management, quality management and auditors use the process map. However, one goal of the management system is to create a working aid for all employees. Therefore, ask all colleagues for their feedback in order to get a Process map tailored to the addressee to create: Does everyone find their way around the process map? ‍
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7. Select the right model as the basis for your process map.

The Aachen quality management model, which provides a clear and simple structure with a high recognition value, has proven to be the basis for the process map. Many other models are less suitable due to their characteristics:

• that EFQM model gives excellent suggestions for the modern design of a company and thus also of a management system. However, as it is an evaluation model, it is not suitable as a structuring aid for the process map.
• that SCOR model is a reference model from supply chain management and is generally suitable as a basis for the process map. However, his goal is to map material flows — not work processes with a corresponding customer orientation.
• that St. Gallen management model presents the relationships within a company in conjunction with external factors. It is therefore not suitable as a basis for designing the process map.
• standards are purely criteria catalogues, not design models or structuring recommendations for management systems.

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That is why a good process map is important

With these 7 tips, you can visualize your company's recipe for success and create one at the same time clear signpost for your management system — this is crucial for the acceptance of the system! In addition, both factors have a positive influence on the processes in your company. This is because all employees can quickly and easily find the necessary knowledge in their day-to-day work, and at the same time, cross-departmental relationships are clearly visible to everyone. This is how you create the Grundstein for joint optimization of your processes from A to Z, instead of each department only looking at their own process steps.