3.3Process mapping
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Process = inputs to outputs for a customer, with an owner, resources and indicators.
- One-page map: management on top, operations in the middle, support at the bottom, real arrows.
- Interfaces: handover points concentrate most problems.
Threaded mini-case — Hakim draws who gives what to whom
Hakim brings production, purchasing and delivery together: each optimises its own corner, but delays are born between them — an incomplete order passed on, a skipped check. On one page he places quotation, production, inspection and delivery in the middle, management on top, HR and maintenance at the bottom. A newcomer locates his workstation in five minutes.
Continued from cases 3.1-3.2 — Hakim makes the customer flow visible.
1. Inputs, activities, outputs
A process turns inputs into outputs for an internal or external customer, with an owner, resources and indicators. Mapping means naming the processes and their interactions: who gives what to whom.
Distinguish operations (creates value: quotation, production, delivery), support (provides resources: HR, purchasing, maintenance) and management (gives direction: strategy, quality, improvement).
2. One page that gives direction
The map fits on one page: management on top, customer flow in the middle, support at the bottom. Arrows show real flows, not wishes — otherwise the map decorates instead of guiding.
Each critical process gets a one-page sheet: purpose, owner, inputs and outputs, steps, indicators, risks. The owner presents it at the review; otherwise it dies in the binder.
🔎 Concrete example — An SME map on one page
Hakim posts the flow, not the silos.
TOP: Management (objectives) | Improvement (audits).
MIDDLE: Quotation, order, production, inspection, delivery.
BOTTOM: HR, purchasing, maintenance, IT.
→ each arrow named, e.g. validated order.Result: everyone locates their workstation in the flow.
Reflex: post the map at reception.
Section vocabulary
- Process approach
- Seeing the organisation as linked processes creating customer value, not silos.
Simple example: Hakim follows an order from quotation to delivery.
What it is not: optimising each department in isolation.
Reflex: follow the flow end to end.
- Process
- Linked activities turning inputs into outputs using resources.
Simple example: Handling an order: order received, product delivered and invoiced.
What it is not: an isolated task with no customer and no output.
Reflex: name inputs, outputs and customer.
- Mapping
- Representing processes and their interactions (who feeds whom).
Simple example: Hakim's page: top, middle, bottom and arrows.
What it is not: a 200-name org chart.
Reflex: one page understood in five minutes.
- Process types
- Operations (value), support (resources), management (direction).
Simple example: Producing in the middle, HR at the bottom, direction on top.
What it is not: calling everything a process without classifying.
Reflex: classify before describing.
- Interface
- Handover point between processes, where most problems are born.
Simple example: Production to delivery: incomplete slip, delay.
What it is not: a problem purely internal to one workstation.
Reflex: monitor each named handover.
In practice — Mapping processes
- List the processes and classify them: operations, support, management.
- Specify owner, inputs, outputs, indicators and risks.
- Draw the interactions and name each arrow.
- Test: does a newcomer understand in five minutes?
Ready-to-say script — presenting the map to the team (1 min)
“Here is our map: in the middle, the customer flow from quotation to delivery; on top, how we steer; at the bottom, who supports us. Each arrow is a named handover. Tell me which handover is jamming for you this week.”
Say it with the map posted, marker in hand, in front of the team.
Copy-paste template — one-page process sheet
PROCESS: _______________ | OWNER: _______________
PURPOSE / CUSTOMER: _______________
INPUTS: _______________ → OUTPUTS: _______________
KEY STEPS: _______________
INDICATOR: _______________ | RISK: _______________Very small business / tight budget
Three sticky notes are enough: one customer flow, one support, one steering — drawn with the team in one hour.
SME in Algeria
Hakim gets the map validated by each owner and posts it in both languages if the workshop is mixed.
Services
Focus on the file journey: request, processing, answer, complaint — with lead times at each handover.
Multi-site
One map per site plus one group map: same flows, local owners named.
✓ Best practices
- Keep the map to one readable page.
- Name each arrow and its handover.
- Have each sheet presented by its owner.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Drawing a 40-box tangle.
- Writing novel-length sheets never read.
- Hanging a decorative map never used.
Key takeaways
- Process: inputs to outputs, owner, resources, indicators.
- Three families: operations, support, management.
- One-page map, real arrows, five-minute test.
- Interfaces concentrate problems: monitor them.
48h challenge — apply it tomorrow
Draw your one-page map (top, middle, bottom) and name 3 interfaces where problems are born.
- I can name the 3 process families.
- I know what an interface is and its risk.
- I have drawn my one-page map.
Frequently asked questions
Why think in processes rather than departments?
Because the process follows the value flow to the customer across departments, and reveals interfaces — handover points where most problems are born (lost information, blurred responsibilities). Silos each optimise their own corner; the process aligns everyone on the end result.
How do you describe a process without overkill?
Stay with the major flows (about ten), classify, then describe what is useful: purpose, inputs and outputs, owner, key activities, resources, indicators, risks. A one-page sheet, reviewed yearly, beats a novel never re-read.
A newcomer is lost. What is the best tool?