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Feature
Capturing Reality in a Process
Map
The value of a
process map is determined by how well it helps the reader understand the
process. Process maps serve three general purposes:
-
to help
someone do their job better (this could be an employee, supervisor, manager,
auditor…),
-
to help people
improve a process,
-
to satisfy a
requirement (audit, Regulatory, Certification…)
Most process
maps would not help a person unfamiliar with a job to do that job. Most
process maps provide limited value to improvement teams. Most process maps
prepared solely for satisfying a requirement would provide little value as a
training or improvement tool.
So why are we
mapping?
Read the
complete paper...
Musing
Why Capture the "Reality"
of a Bad Process?
When a process isn't working, it's
easy to suggest that we should just throw it out and start over. But does
that really make sense? When a process isn't working, it doesn't mean that
all of the documents that flow through the process are broken and doesn't mean
that the people doing the work haven't figured out ways around some problems.
A fair amount of discussion has been given to the "clean slate" approach to
improvement. While the idea of completely overhauling a process may be
appropriate in some cases, the thought of ignoring what we have done and the
accumulated wisdom in the heads of the people who do the work is not. When
you understand the problems, you will be less likely to repeat them. There is probably a wealth
of useful information in that broken process and in the heads of the people that
work through it -- so tap into it.
If you have comments or
thoughts you would like to share with our readers, send them to:
Here's a
thought...
On the Road to Mastery
Business Process
Mastery Workshops
Two more public workshops are scheduled this year,
in Santa Clara, CA and in Dayton, OH... If you are serious about
developing your process improvement skills quickly, join us at one of these
hands-on workshops where you will draw process maps, participate in a
role-playing analysis session and be involved in discussion and exercises that
address all the phases of an improvement project.
US Workshop schedule
...Overview
Software
Graham Process Mapping Software is the only process mapping software available
that is document-focused. If you would like to try out the best process
mapping software available, you can
download a fully-functional 30-day evaluation copy here:
Graham Process Mapping 7.0
If your organization purchased ANY
prior version of our Professional Edition software, you can upgrade for
just $89.00 US.
I wish you the
best with your process work.
Ben B. Graham
ben.graham@worksimp.com
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