The process mapping exercise is carried out to walk through the overall process and detail each step and asks the questions, where does the flow of information, documents, manufacturing step etc. go from start to finish.   It also identifies the task required at each step and any decisions that need to be made.

The most common types of process mapping diagrams are Flowcharts and Deployment Charts (also known as Swimlanes).

• Flowchart (or Outline Process Map) is a diagram showing each step in a process from a birds eye view
• Deployment Charts show the overview as with the Flowchart, but also show where and by whom the activity is performed

The best way to approach process mapping is with a view to keeping it as simple as possible, (although this is often easier said than done!).  The end result is a chart that anyone can see and understand what is done, where and by whom.

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Torian IT Solutions Ltd offer Process Mapping services to businesses in the West Yorkshire region (Leeds, Wakefield, Kirklees, Bradford, Castleford, Pontefract)

If companies do not measure a process, how can it improve it?

Staff in organisations can waste a great deal of their time by repeating tasks and operations, wasting time by duplicating their efforts or redoing another staff member’s work.  They may be following poor instructions, doing activities slowly due to uncertainties in the way a job should be carried out and carrying out repetitive tasks that can be automated, delegated or simplified.

Process mapping enables companies to clearly define the current processes in some form of easily read flow chart or instruction list.  Once defined it is easier to identify the non value add activities,  capacity issues etc. and this brings us back to the question ‘Why should a business map its process?’

When the information around the process is reviewed and the waste elements identified, cost improvements can be identified, prioritised, costs calculated and then planned for implementation.

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Torian IT Solutions Ltd offer Process Mapping services to businesses in the West Yorkshire region (Leeds, Wakefield, Kirklees, Bradford, Castleford, Pontefract)