The Basics of Process Mapping, Modeling and Analysis

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1 The Basics of Process Mapping, Modeling and Analysis Process Types - Recap from BPM Primer Paper As part of our BPM Primer we discussed different types of business processes. The hierarchy below is a quick recap as a reference. For more on this, reference our other papers or website. Super Process Examples: Management Processes like budgeting and strategic planning Primary Processes like Design to Production Secondary Processes like Employee Lifecycle Management High Level Process Examples: Employee On-Boarding, Recruiting, Performance Reviews are the high level processes under the super process Employee Lifecycle Management Workflow Level Process Example: Detailed task level activities and sub-processes of Employee On-Boarding Terms and Considerations In this paper, we discuss methods and techniques. Let s start with some common terms for process modeling and analysis. Process mapping is a way to draw out and visually depict the flow of work in a given process (like the steps to process a customer order) Process modeling is a way to look at different ways you might perform a process to find the optimal technique. (What-if we had more resources?; What-if we removed steps?, etc.) Process analysis is the use of different techniques (formal or informal) for evaluating aspects of a process, generally to find inefficiencies or other issues with the process and determine ways to improve it. Modeling is a form of analysis. Using visual aids to examine and analyze a process is a powerful way to facilitate process understanding. For un-tuned processes, simply being able to visualize it in a holistic way can quickly uncover improvement possibilities. There are a large number and variety of process mapping and diagramming techniques. In BPM, the industry standard that has emerged is Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN). BPMN is an excellent way to map out flows and process relationships to help document and communicate how a process is, or should be, performed. 1 P a g e

2 BPMN Diagram Some analysts feel the notation is becoming too complex for business users. While it is true there are many elements (icons, etc.) that are used in BPMN, it is not necessary to understand every element to effectively model a process. It is also a excellent standardized vehicle that bridges the usual communication gap found between business and IT. Business users can easily learn the basic elements and IT or Business analysts can fill in the details as might as needed (depending upon the intended use of the map). A simple and rather common sense approach to process analysis is to start by mapping out the flow of the current (as-is) process in BPMN and then look at each step in a process and ask fairly obvious questions such as: What are the current pains or challenges in the process?; Why are the process steps done?; How long do the steps take?; How much time delay is there between steps?; Are there steps that are redundant or unnecessary?. Through this simple exercise you can drive discussion with process participants to uncover opportunities for improvement and come up with a new future (to-be) process. You ll also be able to take what you learn about your as-is process and what you want to accomplish in it s overhauled to-be version and communicate that much more effectively with the process maps you developed. BPMN has also been criticized for lacking built in, formalized process analysis, and that is just one of many process mapping methods. While both those points may be true, there is a fairly high likelihood that exclusively using any particular method for process analysis is a bad idea. That s because different process types can get improvement value from different techniques for which they are tuned, and that many processes can be best refined by applying, not just one, but multiple techniques. So it s a good idea to include other types of mapping methods in your knowledge toolkit. 2 P a g e

3 Heavy process analysis methods such as Six Sigma or Lean (read more on BPM VS Lean and Six Sigma ) can require significant expertise to employ. There are however, some mapping techniques derived from these methods that provide some of the same benefits without the big upfront investment commitment. Value Stream Mapping and SIPOC diagrams, for example, can be major aids in helping to perform process analysis and do not necessarily require expertise in the broader methodologies. You can also combine techniques like using value stream mapping concepts in a BPMN map. The point is to remain flexible, accomplish the analysis task at hand and not be bound to the ideals of any given technique. If you want broad adoption and participation in process improvement, then everyone can t and won t be a deep expert in modeling methods. Embrace an approach that the broadest group can benefit from. If you are planning to use a BPMS tool to automate your process, a final consideration: Automating a bad process can result in big disappointments. You should always spend some effort making sure that there aren t obvious improvements that can be designed in, but you need to keep in mind that you do not want to spend too much time over-analyzing the current process. That s because automation will inherently force redesign and a good BPMS methodology will include iterations and prototypes to refine the to-be process. Techniques and Examples Below are several basic process mapping techniques you should consider having in your BPM modeling tool box and their purpose. High Level Process Map This depicts the relationship of high level processes and their relationship to each other. Example: The map above depicts the high level processes of the Employee Lifecycle super process modeled in BPMN. Each high level process is expressed as a sub-process in the BPMN (indicated by the plus sign on the activity icon). This indicates the detailed workflow level is defined at a lower level. 3 P a g e

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5 Swim lanes Can be used for high level or low level process mapping to show how processes and activities move between participants/functions. This example is the same map as above only with the departmental lanes added for clarification. Example: Breakdown of On-Board Process From Employee Lifecycle also using BPMN and adding Swim lanes Value Stream Process Map This is a simplified value stream map focusing solely on the timeline aspects. This type of map and more importantly the analysis method shows each activity of a process on a timeline. Example: Value Stream of HR On-Board Process Activities Each activity shows value added time, non-value added time and idle time between tasks. It is helpful for determining the overall time the process will take and where there are opportunities to streamline activities Simulation - Another Modeling and Analysis Technique Process simulation is a way to see how a process will perform based on different scenarios based on What if we change this or that aspect of the process. It can be useful when designing a new process to project required resources or when analyzing existing processes to understand the impact proposed improvements might have on the process. Generally, you start with a flow diagram that represents the steps in the process. Then you add information to the map/simulation tool that includes the number of resources that may be available to 5 P a g e

6 perform various steps, the costs associated with those resources, the amount of time you want the simulator to run for (a week, a day, etc.). Then, these tools will run scenarios to simulate the actually performance of the process and offer up results. Those results might include the cost to run the process for a given period of time, the amount of items you can process with your current resources, the average time it might take for the entire process to complete or the completion time for a given step in the process. These tools also show flow patterns and identify where bottlenecks occur in the process. Process simulation methods and tools can vary significantly in complexity and by what types of simulations they can perform. They can be extremely beneficial when trying to model high volume processes where eking out even minutes can save thousands or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Keep in mind however that for basic business process analysis, the more complex simulation tools may be far more than what is required and need more skill and knowledge than you might realize or be willing to invest. The more complex tools require a good understanding of statistical methods, have a thirst for quality modeling data which may be difficult to acquire, and probably require advanced modeling skills to use effectively. Process Performance Measures Typically Used in Analysis and Simulation: Process Capacity - maximum output rate (10 (unit) per hour (unit of time) Throughput Rate - average rate at which things can flow thru a point (1 per minute) with the maximum being the Process Capacity Throughput Time - the average time that an item takes to flow end to end Processing Time (working time) - the average time that work is actually being performed Idle Time (waiting time) the time when no work is being performed Work in process - the number of items presently being worked on through the steps of the process Set-up time (the time needed to prepare something to be processes) Labor Utilization - the faction (%) of labor that actually is utilized as direct labor 6 P a g e