Process mapping might sound self-explanatory, but its meaning can get lost within the many terms and methodologies - many of them sounding similar - of business process improvement.
What is process mapping?
If you've ever made a flowchart of a process in your business, you've done a bit of process mapping.
You might also have heard of it as workflow mapping, workflow process mapping, or value stream mapping (VSM) which is a particular kind of process mapping - and something we explore in more detail in this article.
Flowcharts are the typical format a process map takes, sometimes it's even as simple as a straight line. This type of process mapping can be useful for system migrations or implementations, breaking down each process step in chronological order.
To find out what those process steps are, process mapping uses workshops, surveys, interviews, time studies and KPI reporting with the relevant areas of the business. Rather than conducting this internal research and cracking open the sticky notes to plot it all out themselves, businesses will sometimes enlist consultants to do the process mapping for them.