Mapping processes step-by-step

Process maps are visual representations of business processes. Processes are composed of individual steps or activities, and the conditions or decisions that dictate when these steps and activities occur. Use process maps to document your current business processes, or to design future business processes. After creating your process map, you can export and print it for review, or you can export it to WebSphere Business Modeler for further refinement and automation.

About this task

To map your business processes, perform the following high-level steps:

  1. Create a new business process map.
  2. Add activities and decisions to your map.

    When you are first mapping your process, focus on the simplest path first, for example, the case where a customer has all of the required documentation to apply for a loan. After you have mapped the typical case, you can go back and revise your map to include exceptions and more unusual situations.

    When you begin to build your process map, ask yourself questions like "What causes this process to start?" and "When is it complete?". For example, a process might be kicked off by an approval request, or a loan application, and it might end with the customer receiving approval notification.

  3. Add details to your activities, such as inputs, outputs, owners.
    When adding activities, consider who performs the activity (the owner); the type of information that is required to perform the activity (inputs); and the information that is produced by the activity (outputs).
  4. Associate measures with your process that have been defined in a related strategy map.You can also link your process to a related process, business capability, or strategy map or element.
  5. Modify the appearance of your map to make it easier to follow or to identify areas of interest.
    For example, you might identify a problematic in your process by coloring all of the elements in this region red.
  6. After you have completed your map, you can export and print it for sharing with individuals outside of your team.