1.0 The Problem With Static Processes
There are a number of drawing tools on the market, such as Visio, that can be used to produce all kinds of diagrammatic content including business process maps. This content is easy to embed in Microsoft Word, allowing the presentation of both process and procedure in one document. This approach satisfies the immediate objective of producing a diagrammatic and text description of a business process.
The failing of this approach however, is that the ongoing management of this type of process and procedure content is difficult, and content structured in this way is neither easy to navigate or search. Most processes are, or should be, constantly changing. Without the ability to easily make changes to process content, it rapidly falls out of date, undermining the initial investment made in capturing process content in the first place.
Specific disadvantages of using the embedded diagram in Word approach include:
Disadvantage |
Relevance |
Usability of outputs: Are they simple to comprehend for end users? |
Mapping tools are flexible design tools for technical authors. If designed badly, ‘process maps' can be overly detailed and confusing for process participants needing simple process guidance.
If users do not find it easy to use (comprehend / search / navigate) this information, then the investment in processes will be a complete loss.
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Who owns business processes?
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Not process owners. They can't even change their own processes. |
Process maps are detached from process detail. |
Even if a process map is a clear and simple representation of a process, the ‘map' is still detached from the process detail. The user must scroll down to locate the corresponding process detail associated with each ‘box' on the diagram. This allows for poor usability feedback.
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Users must scroll through processes as there is no drill down. |
Since procedure detail is in an underlying Word document, a ‘drill down' approach to locate information can not be used. Users must scroll through detailed process text in Word documents to locate relevant information. As well as poor usability, this tends to inhibit owners capturing the full detail for processes.
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Limited navigation to other process information. |
Links to other process documents are static hyperlinks. When a document is moved or its filename changed, all links to that document fail. (It is not possible to tell how many other documents have hyperlinks to any given document). Over time, failed process links make navigation frustrating.
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This is primarily a design tool designed for ‘snapshots' of processes – what about change management tools? |
A static diagram approach loses the benefit of having this information in a relational database:
• Update all instances of X in all processes.
• Which processes use Y system?
• Which processes is Role Z involved in?
• Which processes am I the Process Owner of?
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Double version management for each change. |
For each process change, the Visio diagram and then the underlying Word document both need to be updated. These versions can therefore fall out of alignment. Then which is the right version?
This duplicated approach is time consuming, meaning that process updates are less likely to be done.
A third version can also be introduced when the embedded Visio diagram is changed in the Word document. (This does not save to the underlying Visio document.)
Duplicated version management is most frustrating when changing draft versions. This can extend to triple entry if adding to an intranet or central repository. Some edits require the change to be aligned in three places.
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Visio license costs generally prohibit enterprise wide access |
Individual Visio licenses are expensive. Even though process mapping uses only the most basic functionality of Visio, the full license cost applies. Visio is a powerful technical drawing tool with a wide range of applications, most of which are not relevant to process mapping:
• technical diagramming and drawing tools, software diagramming, software reverse engineering, hardware rack diagram templates, computer network shapes, website mapping, office plans, building plans and so on.
The outcome is that often access to Visio in an organisation is restricted, limiting the people that can actually update processes - a barrier to keeping process up to date.
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Visio is not a process management toolset |
• Process ownership is not defined or easily reassigned
• Process stakeholders are not notified when changes are made
• Processes are not organised in a repository
• Process viewing rights to particular processes can not be restricted
(Refer to the Feature Comparison below for features typically included in a process management toolset.)
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2.0 Managed Processes
ProMapp provides a controlled approach to ongoing management of process and procedure documentation, over and above process diagramming capabilities.
It enables an organisation to build a repository of process and procedure that's intuitive to use and easy to keep up to date. Ownership for process is clearly assigned and process owners can keep content up to date themselves – no specialist skills are required. The result is that organisations build an asset, rather than ad hoc documentation in various formats, stored in various locations, which erode in value over time.
ProMapp's inherent value is not so much its ability to manage process documentation but its ability to manage change. It's much harder to change successfully if processes aren't:
• Visible
• Changeable
• Within a context (links to from related processes)
• Owned
• Understandable
Feature Comparison:
Feature
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Embedded in Word
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ProMapp |
Process definition |
Process diagrams and procedure content can be easily created |
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Templates can be designed for consistency |
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Intuitive to use, comprehend, navigate and search |
Content is layered with drill down from high level process diagrams to sub processes, through to procedures, through to key stroke documentation |
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Links can be created and used to navigate between processes |
Static |
Dynamic |
End to end views of the process are available |
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Attachments, eg forms, templates used during execution of the process can be added to process content |
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Process content is searchable |
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Ongoing management and update of content |
Process ownership is defined / easily reassigned |
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Process owners can update their own content (specialist support not always required) |
Variable |
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Process diagrams automatically update when activity steps are changed or the roles performing them change |
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All content is managed in a central repository |
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Improvement suggestions can be captured from process participants |
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GAP analysis capture and reporting |
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Control over process content changes and viewing rights |
Process viewing access can be restricted by user logon |
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Strong control over process edits and who can change them |
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Role based view |
Ability to see what process activities are performed by a particular role |
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Change logging per process |
Automated logging of changes |
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Automated communication of process changes to relevant stakeholders |
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