When you think about business process mapping, the general impression is that it’s only applicable to large organisations. On the contrary, small business enterprises can benefit greatly from business process mapping concepts. The trick is to keep it simple and focus on the difficult details later on. This article aims to help you get through the hard part, how to get started.
Planning a process mapping session for your organisation
It is a lot easier for small businesses with a smaller number of stakeholders to gather for a process mapping session. A workshop format is highly beneficial because it allows for practical group exercises where each member can discuss their own ideas. If it’s your first time conducting a process mapping exercise, you must start by using a pen and paper approach before eventually using software or digital tools. Some helpful tools are sticky notes in different colours, plenty of space for flip charts and whiteboards, and marker pens for each participant.
Understanding the purpose of process mapping
Before identifying which specific process to map, it’s important to start with the goal of process mapping. Write down the primary goal of the session so that every participant has the same goal in mind. This way, you can eliminate the risk of wasting time on pointless exercises producing process maps that will not be useful in the end.
Choosing a specific process to map
Choose a business process that is straightforward and easy to explore. One example is the employee onboarding process. It is simple, yet company specific. Once you have chosen the specific process to map, you must proceed with naming the business process.
Naming the business process
A good name for the business process makes the next step a lot easier. A good process name should describe the process goal. You must also think of a name that does not include vague words. Work on this activity as a group. You can change the name of the process later on if a new understanding of the process gives light to a better name.
From here, you can proceed with detailing the process map as a group. As your organisation becomes more comfortable with conducting process mapping sessions, you may begin to consider the use of process mapping software. You can find free software online but there is a greater advantage if you look for software that can offer additional features.
To help you narrow down your choices, leading companies providing digital innovation services are nominated in the DL100 list. You can find companies such as weareleanandagile.com nominated in the Digital SME category. They are an example of a provider specialising in process mapping software.
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