Where to Start Mapping

It can be pretty daunting when you face the challenge of where to begin mapping. Do we need to map every single process? Or just this one, because of this project? Where do I focus?

Click to open Learning Objectives

LO1-1 Understanding how to capture and collect parts of a business process.

LO1-2 Know how to apply a logical category to your process components

LO1-3 Recognise the value in creating the highest level diagram possible.

LO1-4 Practice breaking down a narrative flow into an activity related flow

Where to Start Mapping

It’s definitely a combination of focus (what gives us the quickest wins, right now), scope (what do we include), and complexity (do we need to break it up in pieces).

In our experience from years of working beside our clients, the first rule of thumb is, Whatever the situation, try to always create the highest level diagram possible, describing what your business tries to accomplish.

For example, we’re a shoe factory. Or an insurance company. Or a software company. In either case, what are the 4 to 6 major activities on that top level? E.g., ‘Define and adjust strategy’, ‘Market services’, ‘Sell services’, ‘Develop solution’, ‘Support customer’.

The reason for trying to create such a high level diagram, helps to embed any type of ‘lower level’ processes in the context of that main level. E.g., ‘create opportunity is definitely a subprocess of ‘Sell services’. Or ‘create ticket’ being a subprocess of ‘Support customer’.

Therefore, your project should not be “Map all our Salesforce processes” or “Map all our ISO 9001 processes”. Rather try to depict your core business outcomes. As in “We sell stuff to our customers.” The fact that we use Salesforce to automate that and need to be ISO 9001 compliant, is a particular enabler or focus on “Selling stuff”.

In the future, when you get into a different situation requiring business analysis and processes, you probably still “sell stuff to customers”, but your focus might be different; e.g., we need to become more lean, engage new media etc. 

Matching Activities to Business Roles

Mixing up functions and activities or processes happens way quicker than you’d think!

We’re so used to looking at functions and roles:
“Marketing should inform Development & Production about the newest proposition. Then Sales can sell a viable product and clients can rely on Customer Support for help”.
The way to translate this particular sentence into a visual process flow is to:
  • Look at the verbs (inform, sell, rely)
  • Look at the nouns (newest proposition, viable product, help)
  • Look at the roles and/or functions (Marketing, Development & Production, Sales, clients, Customer Support)
So, when reading a text, simply start marking all the verbs, and try to understand what the verbs need to accomplish:
“Marketing should inform Development & Production about the newest proposition. Then Sales can sell a viable product and clients can rely on Customer Support for help.”
The important process-related thing here, is to inform about the newest proposition, sell a viable product, and rely on help.
In principle, it does not matter about the functions or roles at this stage. So first map the process: what happens to what, when and why. Then decide on the roles.
Remember that the RASCI matrix can give you simple, recognisable, insight about the responsibilities of these role groups too.
That concludes the foundations of UPN modules, Well done!

What’s next

Next, you will take a short, theory and practical quiz. Select it from the menu below.

This quiz will help you to recognise the skills and knowledge you have gained, and identify any areas you still need to explore and learn.

Remember, you can revisit these pages, or ask us for help if you get stuck. Once you pass the quiz, click “Complete Course” to finish this course.

Back to