Processes - a word that makes many people turn their backs, sigh, and think that everything is impossible and that no one will ever agree. Projects within business analysis and improvement work have been given an exclusive right to the innocent tool of process mapping. The concept has become synonymous with the highly complex task of mapping an entire organisation's processes, how they interact with each other, input and output - to analyse them, improve them, and constantly keep them updated with the organisation's changing working methods.
I'm not saying that business analysis is terrible; sometimes, it's what it takes to improve and develop an organisation from a holistic perspective. But in large entities, there are always smaller units in which I claim that the flowchart has a significant role. I want the process and flowchart to be freed from being connected to the whole entity. Therefore, this article focuses on the flowchart in all its simplicity - a visual tool that can work wonders in guiding the organisation in daily work.
Most of us find ourselves in the kitchen, cooking from time to time. Does this mean that we need to document recipes for all the dishes we cook? Obviously not. Some meals we just string together because they are very easy to cook. Or maybe they are complicated, but we prepare them so often that we know them like running water. It might be that the result is not that important; the goal is to get food in your stomach and not that it becomes a good dish that you want to cook again.
But then there are the complex dishes that contain a lot of elements. Or meals we only cook once a year that we need to be reminded of how they’re prepared each time. Or occasions where we want to remember how we did it last time to adjust and make it even better this time. Or the times when we want to serve the perfect dish to someone, and absolutely nothing can go wrong. Then you need a recipe that you can follow.
In the same way, it is not essential to map out all the processes in the organisation. Or to be forced to describe an extensive and comprehensive process just because it has a part of it that needs to be clarified. It's okay to write down the recipe for bechamel sauce without also describing how to make a lasagne.
Three success factors for InfoCaption: Trust the process, blame the process, and encourage sketches.
The purpose of InfoCaption's process is not to have the entire organisation described in flowcharts but to continuously use processes as a tool for running and developing the business. We have only mapped a fraction of our work processes - those that can really help us in our daily work. By pointing out a few detailed maps, it becomes easier to succeed with that which is so tricky: To update and maintain them according to current working methods.
The important thing for us is not that everything is in place, but that our employees can trust what is there. You should know that our sharp processes apply and that they describe how we work. If an employee finds something wrong or wants to improve something, they should be sure that they’re seeing the current version, not a draft or an old version.
When we can blame the process, it serves as a tool to improve cooperation and team spirit. Instead of your employees blaming each other when something went wrong or ended up forgotten - let them blame the process! The process should describe reality, and if something has gone wrong, you can gather around it, discuss it together and make sure it is improved for the next time around.
Finally, we have experienced how important it is to allow and encourage sketches without demanding a result. Sometimes there is a need to draw process maps connected to specific projects or meetings. In that situation, the result itself is not important. You’re not creating a process that is to be saved, but it is during the process itself, drawing the flowchart that fulfils its purpose. It is essential to separate these temporary processes from the detailed ones!
Before you start mapping - think about the purpose and goal
In this lecture, (held in Swedish) you can hear about how there are at least 17 different reasons why organisations choose to draw a process. If you fail to specify why you do it, you risk feeling that "We cheat a little. We do not follow the guidelines for how processes are to be created. " or "We have not succeeded so well. No one is following the process models."
These quotes also applied to us at InfoCaption a while ago - but now we know better. You do not have to describe in detail how to make spaghetti carbonara or grandma's boeuf bourguignon, which is admittedly quite complex, but you can make in your sleep because you have done so countless times before, and it never goes wrong. It's okay to focus on the New Year's dinner and update the red wine sauce to improve the taste and consistency for a better result every time.
