WHAT'S A PROCESS MAP?
A process map is a step-by-step description of all the actions a person takes to convert inputs to outputs. In other words, it's all the steps a person takes to complete a process to produce an end product.
You start with material, parts, information, equipment, or people and put it through a process to get a product, part, service, or information.
We have processes that turn raw material into finished parts, processes that turn finished parts into a machine, processes that turn information into something someone else can use, and so on.
A lot of our processes live in our heads, in the abstract. With process mapping, we take the process out of the abstract and document it on paper. It's a visual of how a process operates step-by-step.
Process maps help us to see where our processes aren't perfect. To some degree our processes contain waste, something that isn't adding value for our customers.