Guide to Process Mapping: Examples, Symbols, Types

As business environments grow more complex, a deep understanding of how your processes operate becomes essential to staying competitive. According to market research firm IDC, companies lose 20 to 30 percent in revenue every year due to inefficiencies. Even small inefficiencies in your workflows can snowball into costly setbacks or missed opportunities, so your organization needs clear insights into how its workflows run.

Process mapping helps bring that clarity. It shines a light on workflow details so organizations can make smarter, more informed decisions. In this article, we’ll dive into how process mapping can improve how your business runs.

What is process mapping?

Process mapping is a method used to visualize and define how a process should work, focusing on its intended function. It relies on qualitative inputs like employee interviews, workshops, and observations to capture the flow of a process. This approach ensures that everyone has a clear understanding of how the process should operate and helps identify any bottlenecks, gaps, or problems.

By outlining workflows, roles, and sequences, process mapping offers a comprehensive view of the steps involved in completing tasks or processes from start to finish. When organizations map their processes, they gain the actionable information needed to streamline tasks for productivity.

What is business process mapping?

Business process mapping is the practice of seeing and analyzing the steps, tasks, and workflows within an organization's processes. By documenting these elements, this map shows the flow of activities, roles, and sequences involved in your processes.

The goal of business process mapping is simple: to create a shared understanding of how things work. Whether the end goal is to identify inefficiency, ensure consistency, or another objective, businesses can gain valuable insights about their existing workflows and start taking action to improve them.

Why is process mapping important?

For businesses looking to optimize their operations, process mapping is essential. Instead of relying on guesswork, process mapping enables businesses to:

• visualize each step clearly, and
• standardize processes to enhance communication and streamline internal training efforts.

What are the benefits of process mapping? 

We can't fix what we don't know is broken, which is what makes process mapping so powerful: It gives us the clarity we need to identify and address inefficiencies. Let’s explore some of the many benefits of process mapping.

End-to-end visibility

Process mapping gives organizations a start-to-finish look at their workflows, making it easier to grasp how everything works behind the scenes. Businesses can recognize new opportunities and choose to reshape how things run to take advantage of them.

Clearer communication

Process mapping ensures that all team members, regardless of their role, have a shared perspective on how a process should work. This reduces misunderstandings and aligns expectations for more focused, effective discussions about process improvements.

Process standardization

By documenting the steps of a process, process mapping establishes a standard approach that everyone can follow. Tasks can then be completed the same way each time, improving quality and reducing errors.

Better risk management

Process mapping helps identify potential bottlenecks or areas where things can go wrong, allowing teams to address risks before they become issues. By visualizing the flow, it’s easier to spot vulnerabilities and take proactive measures to prevent problems.

Effective training

Clear, well-defined workflows let new employees quickly grasp how everything works. Process mapping serves as a helpful training tool that provides a visual guide, making it easier for staff to learn and follow the steps involved in their tasks.

Types of process maps and process mapping techniques

Process maps vary widely because different businesses and processes benefit from different types of visualizations. Here are some of the most popular types of process maps in use today:

Flowcharts

One of the most widely used types of process maps, flowcharts offer a breakdown of each step in a process using familiar symbols—like rectangles for tasks and diamonds for decision points. These charts make it easy to follow the flow of a process from start to finish. In a customer service workflow, for example, a flowchart might start with an inquiry, branch out to different actions like assigning a support agent or escalating an issue, and show where actions need to be taken.

Swimlane diagrams

With swimlane diagrams, processes are divided into "lanes," with each lane standing for a different department, team, or role. This setup reveals who is responsible for each step, where handoffs happen, and how teams collaborate. For example, in an order fulfillment process, one lane might illuminate how the sales team enters orders, while another lane tracks how the warehouse prepares the shipment.

Value stream mapping

Value stream mapping zeroes in on the steps involved in delivering a product or service, so businesses can distinguish between value-adding activities and those that simply waste time and resources. This approach is focused on productivity and greater customer value. For example, in a manufacturing process, value stream mapping might reveal that excessive handoffs between departments are slowing down production. By streamlining these exchange points, the business can deliver products faster while reducing the amount of work.

SIPOC diagrams

For a high-level overview, SIPOC diagrams—standing for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and customers—show how a process works from start to finish. For events like a product launch, a SIPOC diagram would detail everything from where your materials come from to the final delivery to the customer. It’s a great tool for gaining that holistic picture before tackling the specifics of optimization.

Data flow diagrams (DFDs)

When data movement is at the core of a process, like in automated systems or digital workflows, data flow diagrams (DFDs) can be useful to illustrate the inputs, outputs, and steps along the way. For example, in an online order processing system, a DFD would track how customer information, payment data, and order details flow from the moment an order is placed to its fulfillment so businesses see how data moves across different systems.

Process mapping symbols

Process mapping symbols provide a universal language for analyzing workflows, pointing to different actions, steps, and components within a process. Here are some of the most common process mapping symbols and their meanings:

• Rectangle: Represents a task or process step, indicating where work occurs or an action is taken.
• Diamond: Marks decision points where choices are made, leading to different paths based on outcomes.
• Oval: Signifies the start or end of a process.
• Arrow: Indicates the flow direction, connecting tasks in sequence.

When all team members are familiar with these symbols, it’s easier to communicate complex processes and keep everyone on the same page. These standardized symbols also allow businesses to document and replicate their workflows for consistent action across teams.

How to create a process map

Creating a process map requires a plan to avoid missing steps, making errors, or misrepresenting your workflows. Here’s an outline to help you create an accurate map:

Step 1: Identify the process and gather data

Begin by choosing the process you want to map, then gather information from employees or teams who are part of the workflow. For example, if you’re mapping your document processing workflow, you might investigate how incoming documents like invoices are handled.

Conduct observations and talk to relevant stakeholders, such as the accounts payable team, for their perspective on how things actually run. If you're using automated process intelligence tools, these can automatically pull event logs and track the real-time flow of documents to give you instant insights.

Step 2: Outline the process from start to finish

Once you’ve collected the information you need, start mapping out the points of the process—where it begins, where it ends, and who’s involved along the way. For our document processing example, this could include tracking the journey of an invoice, from the moment it’s received digitally or physically to the final payment confirmation.

Define who is responsible at each stage. Maybe the accounts payable team handles the invoice, while finance approves the payment. Note all actions, like reviewing, approving, and archiving. The goal is to define the entire workflow so nothing slips through the cracks.

Step 3: Break down the process into steps

With your process outline in place, you can now get down to the details. Document each step and any deviations or alternative paths. In document processing, this might mean tracking everything from receiving an invoice via email, logging it into the system, sending it for approval, verifying the details, and finally, issuing the payment. If an invoice is flagged for discrepancies, map out alternative paths, such as rerouting to a manager for extra review.

In a manual scenario, you would list each step in the process one by one. If you use a process intelligence tool, that solution would automatically map each stage based on data.

Step 4: Create the map

Connect all the steps into a map, linking the process from start to finish to make the workflow easy to follow. In manual mapping, you can rely on familiar symbols—rectangles for tasks like "Log invoice" or "Approve payment," and diamonds for decision points like "Is the invoice approved?" With process intelligence tools, tasks are automatically captured and displayed to generate a process map.

Step 5: Analyze the flow

Once your process map is ready, go over it to check for blockages or duplicated work. If you're mapping manually, you’ll need to carefully check the flow to ferret out problems. With a process intelligence tool, analysis is easier: The system can instantly highlight problem areas, such as approval delays, that are dragging out the workflow.

Step 6: Validate and refine

Now, it’s time to get other members of your team involved. Share the draft process map with stakeholders to ensure it accurately reflects the actual workflow. In our document processing example, you might involve the accounts payable team and managers who handle invoice approvals. If a team member flags a missing step or suggests automating a manual task, refine the map accordingly. Once everyone agrees it's accurate, finalize the map as a reliable reference for processing invoices and use it for ongoing iterations.

Business process mapping examples

To decode how business process mapping works in practice, it helps to break down what the steps in a map might look like. Here are the initial steps of a process map for a transportation and logistics company that uses an intelligent document processing (IDP) solution to manage shipping documents:

• Receive shipping documents: Shipping documents are automatically received through integrated systems.
• Log documents into system: Intelligent document processing enables automatic extraction of data from shipping documents for entry into the management platform.
• Automated data verification: The system cross-references document data with enterprise resource planning (ERP) records to ensure accuracy and flag discrepancies.
• Route for approval: Documents are sent to the appropriate departments for approval based on predefined criteria.

A complete process map for shipping documents would include additional steps like handling discrepancies, integrating data, archiving documents, and triggering shipment or payment. However, these initial steps give you a sense of how the process unfolds.

Common pitfalls in process mapping and how to avoid them

Building an accurate process map requires capturing the reality of how processes function—without distortions. Let’s look at some of the most common pitfalls in process mapping and explore the right tools and approaches for overcoming them.

Human error, subjectivity, and bias: Like any task that relies on people, process mapping can be susceptible to human mistakes. The more manual involvement, the higher the risk of missing steps, mislabeling tasks, or arranging steps incorrectly—leading to an inaccurate process map.

In addition to errors, personal opinions and biases can skew what should be objective evaluations. When mapping relies on the perspective of just a few individuals, for example, it may reflect those people’s assumptions about how the process should work, rather than how it actually does. While human insights are invaluable—especially for drawing from lived experiences and handling tasks machines can't—adding an unbiased, automated solution can be invaluable.

Lack of real-time data: Not all businesses have automated tools that keep information up-to-date. For those relying on slower, manual updates, process mapping becomes more challenging, as the information used to create the map may not be current or relevant.

Incomplete analysis: A thorough analysis is required to create an accurate process map. This is where tools that get into the details of even highly automated processes come in handy.

Validating the process map with stakeholders also provides a crucial check, and testing it against potential scenarios—especially before implementing changes—is equally important. Process intelligence tools with simulation capabilities can help ensure reforms are well-informed and based on accurate predictions.

Process mapping in different industries

Every industry relies on processes, making process mapping a valuable tool for organizations across the board. However, some sectors, especially those navigating complex regulations and intricate workflows, stand to gain even more from this technique. Here are a few industries where effective process mapping can make a very significant impact:

Financial services: Financial organizations often handle high volumes of transactions while managing intricate workflows. By clarifying workflows with process mapping, financial organizations can make necessary corrections to comply with regulations like Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, thereby avoiding hefty fines or reputational damage.

Manufacturing: Given the complexities of supply chains, production lines, and logistics, the manufacturing industry relies heavily on process mapping to smooth processes. Process mapping allows manufacturers to visualize each step of their workflows—from raw material procurement to the delivery of finished goods—to minimize waste and maximize results. For example, Emerson, a global Fortune 500 company, used process mapping to enhance its quote-to-cash process. This effort allowed the company to find more optimal routes and eliminate chokepoints.

Insurance: Process mapping is used to improve customer claims, underwriting, and policy renewal workflows in the insurance industry. From the moment a customer files a claim to the final settlement, process mapping can help speed up turnaround times and enhance customer service. This technology helps businesses navigate contingencies and risk factors, as well as regulatory requirements like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Integrating process mapping with other business improvement methodologies

Process mapping integrates well with popular methodologies that many businesses already use, such as Six Sigma, Lean, and Agile. Here’s a look at how these methodologies work synergistically with process mapping:

Six Sigma: Empirical and results-oriented for quality enhancement, Six Sigma is a methodology designed to reduce defects by systematically eliminating variations in processes. Data-backed techniques are leveraged to pinpoint areas of variability within workflows.

Lean: With a strong emphasis on maximizing customer value, Lean is a management philosophy dedicated to minimizing waste and streamlining processes. The Lean methodology zeroes in on eliminating non-value-added activities, making process mapping an invaluable tool.

Agile: Prioritizing flexibility, collaboration, and small, incremental improvements, agile is an approach to project management and product development. Agile methodologies encourage teams to adapt, and process mapping plays a vital role in capturing workflows within cross-functional teams.

Process mapping and process mining

Both process mapping and process mining are techniques for improving organizational processes, but they take different paths and work best when used together. 

How process mapping and process mining work together

Process mapping involves creating a roadmap of workflows—laying out steps, roles, and sequences in an easy-to-understand format.

Process mining, on the other hand, is more focused on the data. It pulls event logs from different IT systems to automatically reveal how processes run in the day-to-day, highlighting discrepancies between the intended design and real-world execution. By illustrating the execution of processes in near real-time, process mining uncovers sticking points that might be hiding beneath the surface of your process map. Process maps tend to be more static, while process mining gives you dynamic insights that reflect what's happening right now.

When used together, process mapping and process mining provide a complete picture of your processes—one from a strategic, bird’s-eye view, and the other grounded in data-driven details. This combination allows businesses to fine-tune operations and fix what's broken.

Unlock the future of process mapping with ABBYY Timeline

Process mapping may be an age-old tool, but its future is set for evolution—thanks to technological advancements and an increasing demand for agility in business operations. As organizations continue to embrace automation and artificial intelligence (AI), process mapping tools will incorporate more sophisticated analytics and data monitoring for finer precision.

Leading the way is ABBYY Timeline, a comprehensive process intelligence solution that delivers these advanced capabilities to forward-thinking enterprises today. By integrating purpose-built AI technologies with process mapping and process discovery, task mining, process monitoring, prediction, and simulation, ABBYY Timeline offers a data-driven perspective of organizational workflows. It automatically analyzes event logs and real-time data, providing actionable insights. To discover how ABBYY Timeline can help you stay agile and competitive, get in touch with us, or request a 30-day trial.