Processes are the means by which we get stuff done, and are therefore an integral part of our personal and professional lives.
Mostly we just allow them to evolve, usually in a pretty unthinking manner without much critical analysis. However, this is a mistake, as it leads to duplication, mistakes, omissions, personal idiosyncratic behaviour, and waste.
When valuing a business, one of the tell-tale signs of good management is the presence of a simple set of process maps which guide the way things are done, from the most mundane to the really important. This ensures, or at least makes the effort to ensure, that the same jobs get done in the same way every time, irrespective of who is actually doing the job.
The cost savings that result from this simple idea are enormous.
Creating a ‘process map’ or running sheet for the simplest to the most complicated process is pretty much the same.
The point however, is not to create a set of rules that can never be broken, it is just the opposite. A process to be optimised and improved needs to be subjected to critical analysis on an ongoing basis, the written process just gives a stable starting point.
My experience with process mapping has involved 5 steps, that usually happen in an overlapping manner
Learn by observation and questions: Observe what happens currently, how things actually get done, consider the range of cause and effect chains in place, ensuring you do not confuse cause and effect with simple correlation. Go out and ask questions, seek insight into the hidden ‘wrinkles’ that exist in every process.
Experiment: An effective experiment requires discipline, primarily to test one thing at a time so you can accurately measure the impact of any change. The scientific method works: develop a hypothesis, test if it is true or false by collecting data, adjust the hypothesis and test again, until you find a hypothesis that holds true. As Sherlock Holmes’s mentor said: ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’
Codify: a process that remains in one persons head is no more than an opinion. To be effective the thought must be codified in such a manner that it can be accessed by anyone, and given the status of the ‘right way’ of doing something. I like visual process maps, they are easier to understand, and absorb quickly.
Distribute: once codified, the process needs to be distributed, and made easily available. There are now many digital tools around that enable distribution and simple reference. In the ‘old days’ processes would be in a manual somewhere that nobody looked at, even if they knew it existed. Nowadays there is no excuse, the process can be available to everyone with digital access.
Optimisation and creativity. The paradox of all this is that with a stable process, you can now be creative, seeing alternative ways of delivering an outcome. For improvement to occur you first need a stable system so the impact of changes are visible in measureable outcomes. This is the opposite to the chaos that people often consider to be a part of the ‘creative process’
Header acknowledgement: Hugh McLeod at Gapingvoid.com
