Process Mapping and Baseline
Map the process as it really runs, measure it, then decide what to automate. The step almost everyone skips, and the reason almost everyone can't prove ROI later.
Map the process as it really runs, measure it, then decide what to automate. The step almost everyone skips, and the reason almost everyone can't prove ROI later.
Most automation projects skip the map and the measurements. That is why so few can prove they paid off.
If nobody measured cycle time and hours before the change, nobody can show the automation saved anything. The budget dies quietly.
The real process lives in one person's memory, with workarounds no system shows. When that person is out, the process stops.
Without a map, teams automate the step they can see while the real delay sits in a handoff two steps earlier.
Not a wall poster. A current-state map with numbers attached, and a ranked list of what to fix first.
Every step, system and handoff, grouped by role, as the process actually runs today. Workarounds included, because that is where the time goes.
Suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers on one page, so everyone agrees on scope before the detail starts.
Cycle time, touch count, volume, exception rate, rework and hours per week. Recorded with you, so nobody can move the goalposts later.
Where the process stalls, loops back or waits, and how often. The handoffs between people and systems are usually the answer.
Ranked by hours recovered against effort. Includes what we would not automate and why, which is usually one or two items on any list.
What the process looks like after the fix, and exactly how the result will be measured against the baseline.
We start with one process, measure it properly, and only then talk about tools.
About an hour, one process end to end: the steps, the systems, the handoffs, where it stalls and how often. You keep the map whether or not you hire us.
We walk the process with the people who run it. Numbers come from your systems where they exist, and from a short hand-count where they don't.
An agreed baseline, ranked opportunities, and the measures we will use after any change. Then you decide what, if anything, to automate.
They are often used interchangeably, but each answers a different question. We use whichever the process needs.
| Tool | What it shows | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Process map (flowchart) | The sequence of steps and decisions | Understanding how work moves from start to finish |
| Swimlane diagram | The same steps, grouped by role or system | Spotting handoffs, the most common source of delay |
| SIPOC | Suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers at a high level | Agreeing scope before going into detail |
| Value stream map | Material and information flow with time data across a whole product flow | Lean improvement across an entire value stream |
For automation work, a swimlane map with a measured baseline usually does the most good. Automation tends to fail at handoffs, and the swimlane is the view that shows them.
Process mapping is drawing how work actually gets done: the steps, decisions, people and systems involved, in order. A useful map shows the real process, including workarounds, not the one written in the procedure.
The measurements taken before anything changes: cycle time, touch count, volume, exception rate, rework and hours per week. Without a baseline, nobody can prove an automation saved anything.
The first conversation covers one process in about an hour. A full map and baseline depends mainly on how many teams touch the process and how easy the numbers are to get. We agree the scope in that first conversation.
We use whatever your team can read and keep up to date, often a simple diagramming tool you already have. The value is in the measurements and the conversations, not the software.
No. A mapped, measured process is useful on its own, for audits, onboarding and deciding where to improve. Many processes should be simplified or have steps removed before anything is automated.
The first conversation is free, takes about an hour and covers one process end to end. You keep the map whether or not you hire us.