Process mapping

A good process map makes it easy for employees to get an overview of the business. How should you go about drawing a good process map?

ISO 9001 encourages us to work process-based. The challenge for most businesses is to create clear process maps that all employees can easily identify with. It is also important to be able to easily see what my area of responsibility is and how this area of responsibility is connected to the rest of the business.

First: Why process maps

First, you need to understand the difference between a classic organizational chart and a process chart.

An organizational chart is a vertical and functional description of the business. An organizational chart does not say anything about what we do, who we do it for, or how we do it.

A process map, on the other hand, shows the organization as a system where the customer, the product, and the workflow are interconnected. It makes it possible to see how work is actually done through processes that cut across functional boundaries and departments.

ISO 9001 is very specific here and requires you to identify processes and manage them to meet customer expectations. Managing according to processes is therefore necessary if you want to hold an ISO certification and is always recommended.

Establishing a process map helps the employee see the entire production line instead of just focusing on maximizing their goals within their own department.

Process categories

Processes are most often divided into three categories: Core processes, support processes, and management processes.

Core process

When working with quality, core processes must have a customer focus. When deciding which processes are core, you start with customer needs and end with customer satisfaction. They follow the willingness to pay. These are the processes that ensure earnings directly and represent the development and delivery of your products and services.

Support process

Supporting processes are those processes whose purpose is to help the main processes create satisfied customers. They do not create value directly, but consume resources to support the main processes. Examples include invoicing, IT support and HR.

Management process

The purpose of management processes is to set strategy and chart the course of the business. In some cases, it can be difficult to determine what is support and what are core processes. Here, a good assessment will provide the right answer.

Process mapping in practice

There are several ways to map processes. A methodology we have good experience with in 4human QM365 is to gather a few, but knowledgeable people from all areas of the company. If it is a large-scale operation, you can divide it into several sub-collections but with the same methodology.

1. Silent brainstorming

Everyone sits around the same table. The question everyone gets is: What is going on in our company? What do I do? Everyone writes on yellow notes, key words, silently, without cooperation. Time about 10 min

2. Patches up the wall:

All yellow notes should be posted on the wall or on a board.

3. Silent sorting:

Group notes that are similar and belong together (the affinity method). This is done without discussing or talking. Try to sort the notes in a natural order. Notes that have to do with leadership should be at the top, support should be at the bottom, a large block in the middle is the core. Set aside 10-15 minutes for this.

4. Name each group of notes.

Try to use verbs + nouns. For example, “Remove paint” and “Deliver bids” instead of “Paint removal” and “Deliver bids.” This way you get an active, rather than a passive, process map.
The advantage of this methodology is that you get a lot of information in a very short time. Discussions are often time-consuming and this is largely avoided when using the method described above. You create involvement and ownership. Everyone gets to contribute to the process map - it's not drawn by the QA manager who uses his words and concepts and sets up what he thinks is relevant.
If you work in a business that has a production chart, work chart or flow chart, you must consider working slightly differently for this part to ensure that the flow is correct.

Building a process map

A good process map is an important foundation in building a simple and understandable management system - regardless of the standard you are going to implement, so after a good process mapping you have a good basis for building your own graphical process map. In our management system it is made easy. There are functions to design each box as you want when it comes to size, color and desired icon. You also design the desired text and relationship between the boxes with graphic elements such as arrows and lines.

Although the rich functionality enables advanced process maps, we recommend making these maps as simple as possible. Remember that they should provide valuable information not only to the certifier or quality manager, but perhaps first and foremost to each individual employee.

Then the process map must be easy to understand and easy to use. Our software has powerful features to connect all relevant information to the individual process, such as:

All information on a sub-process is available directly from the process map in QM365 Manage.

  • Process description - documentation visible directly in the map (Click on the image to see a larger version).
  • Documents - governance documents, templates and registrations
  • Activities - additional documentation in text boxes
  • Risks
  • Laws and requirements
  • Goal
  • Links to relevant websites and tools
In addition, the process map can be sorted by positions and roles so that a user can see all the information that is relevant to them. The process map can also handle different businesses and large departments where certain processes can be shared if desired.

IN 4human At QM365, we have extensive experience in helping our customers create simple and good process maps!

Do you need help with process mapping?

Feel free to contact us for a no-obligation chat about how we can support your process mapping work. We can help you with software to draw up and communicate your process map - and we have consultants who can help you map your processes.