process flow chart in business plan

All About Business Process Mapping, Flow Charts and Diagrams

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Learn all about business process mapping and discover how you can effectively use it within your organization.

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What is business process mapping?

Business Process Mapping details the steps that a business takes to complete a process, such as hiring an employee or ordering and shipping a product. They show the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where” and “how” for these steps, and help to analyze the “why.” These maps are also called Business Process Diagrams and Business Flow Charts. Like other types of diagrams, these maps use defined symbols such as circles, rectangles, diamonds and arrows to depict the business activities.

Business Process Mapping can be used to document a current process and to model a new one. Its purpose is to gain a detailed understanding of the process, people, inputs, controls and outputs, and then potentially to simplify it all, make it more efficient and/or improve the process results. It requires time and discipline to conduct this mapping, but the payoff can be significant over time. Mapping has become common in the business world to standardize procedures, become more efficient, meet audit requirements and gain competitive advantage.

Business Process Mapping has its roots in the 1920s and ‘30s. In 1921, industrial engineer and efficiency expert Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Sr. introduced the “flow process chart” to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  In the early 1930s, industrial engineer Allan H. Morgensen used Gilbreth’s tools to teach business people at his work simplification conferences how to make their work more efficient.  In the 1940s, two Morgensen students, Art Spinanger and Ben S. Graham, spread the methods more widely. Spinanger introduced the work simplification methods to Procter and Gamble. Graham, a director at Standard Register Industrial, adapted flow process charts to information processing. In 1947, ASME adopted a symbol system for flow process charts, derived from Gilbreth’s original work.

Current-day purpose and benefits

Business Process Mapping can be used to prepare for business audits or a sale, to reduce expenses, to plan for automation, to understand impacts of pending changes, to realign related processes, and to measure and realign the efforts of people involved in the processes. Often, a business may think it understands its processes, but then discovers twists and turns during a mapping initiative. When modeling a new business process, the mapping is sometimes called Business Process Modeling, or BPM. (That same acronym means Business Process Management, a related area.) For a more detailed look at Business Process Modeling, see this article.

Here are more specific examples of the uses of Business Process Mapping:

Compliance with International Organization for Standardization, called ISO 9001.

Internal audits., compliance with the 2002 sarbanes-oxley act, or sox., standardizing a process., training employees., improving a process., communication., business process mapping symbols.

Here’s one more important entrant in the acronym arena: BPMN. That’s Business Process Modeling Notation, the set of symbols and notations in common use today for modeling. It was developed by the Business Process Management Initiative. It depicts these main components of Business Process Diagrams:

Task or Activity:

Participant:.

Another important mapping concept is called swimlanes , which show who is responsible for specific work. Just like swimlanes in a pool, tasks are shown for a particular participant in a lane, or row, on the map.

Need more detail? See this article on BPMN .

How to do business process mapping

This requires a commitment of time and energy, but the payoff in understanding and analysis can be large. There are four major steps to a mapping initiative:

Identify the process.

Gather information., interview participants and stakeholders., draw the maps and analyze..

To conduct a significant mapping project, you will need to have a support structure in place first. As with any project, you would follow these steps:

Create a project charter or purpose statement

Have an executive sponsor, select the team, plan and conduct the mapping,.

In Business Process Management, the idea is to create a life cycle of continuous improvement. The steps are model, implement, execute, monitor and optimize.

Business Process Mapping is better for some types of processes than others. For example, it usually doesn’t lend itself to diagramming decision-making processes. High level, open-ended decision making often has too many intangibles and wild cards to effectively map. Business Process Mapping is better for the other two types of processes: transformational and transactional, both of which have more clearly defined activities. Transformational refers to processes such as manufacturing or systems development, which take inputs and change their forms, either physical or virtual. Transactional refers to an exchange such as a sales process or any other transaction.

As with any type of diagram, there are situations when another diagram method might be more fitting. For example, a Data Flow Diagram (DFD ), popularized by computing pioneers Ed Yourdon and Larry Constantine in the 1970s, is best at illustrating how information flows through a system or process. Value Stream Mapping (VMS) details the steps required to deliver a product or service. Items are mapped as adding value or not adding value from the customer’s standpoint, with the purpose of rooting out items that don’t add value. And Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used in software engineering to visualize the design of a system.

Key tips for business process mapping

• A skilled practitioner, such as someone trained in Six Sigma, can make a mapping project go much, much smoother. If you don’t have one in house, consider a consultant to work with your internal team.
• Identify metrics of importance. This will enable your mapping to speak effectively with data.
• Interview one or two people at time. If you interview in groups, some people might not speak up or might not want to contradict another person.
• As you interview, keep asking how, where and why. Such as: How do you spend most of your time, and why? Where in the process do you repeat work, and why? Do you ever skip steps? Why? Where are your pain points, and why?
• Be on the lookout for assumptions that may not be true. Keep asking questions until you reach the definitive answer.
• Validate your maps after you initially draw them by reviewing them with participants and your other data sources.

Drawing your map

For a simple process, you might start with Post-It Notes, a white board or a hand-drawn map. However, you might find yourself limited rather quickly as the complexity increases. With chart software, you can draw professional-looking maps that allow for more detail. You also will be able to do subsequent breakdowns with multi-level Business Process Maps, typically ranging from Level 0 (overall view) to Levels 1 through 4 for breakout detail of subprocesses, tasks and flows. Sometimes, a sequence table can be the best way to supplement a map by showing a series of steps. Map software will provide you with the shapes you’ll need to map out the process.

How to do mapping with Lucidchart

Helpful resources.

• Visio BPMN Stencil and Templates
• BPMN Event Types
• BPMN Diagram Symbols & Notation
• BPMN Activity Types
• BPMN Gateway Types
• BPMN & BPMN 2.0 Tutorial
• What is Business Process Modeling Notation

Lucidchart makes it quick and easy to build business process maps that can help improve efficiency within your organization. 

• Process Improvement

What is a Process Flowchart and How to use it [5+ Examples]

A process flowchart is a graphical representation of a business process through a flowchart. It’s used as a means of getting a top-down understanding of how a process works, what steps it consists of, what events change outcomes, and so on.

How to Use This Guide

If you want to learn just about everything about process flowcharts, just read through the whole thing – we’ve got you covered. If you’re looking for specific sections, though, just jump over to whatever’s relevant!

• What’s a process flowchart & what is it used for
• How to draw a process flowchart
• 3 process flowchart examples (in different industries)

What’s a Process Flowchart

A business process is a series of repeatable tasks your business needs to carry out in order to achieve some sort of business goal.

What is Tallyfy?

Tallyfy helps you document and automate tasks between co-workers and clients

Flowcharts , on the other hand, are a means of visualizing the process.

Process flowchart example: content marketing

Process flowcharts are an essential part of business process mapping . They help visualize your processes, making them significantly easier to fully comprehend.

Other than that, process flowcharts are usually used for…

• Understanding how a process works
• Improving the Process – Once you know how the process works, you can figure out potential improvements. You could, for example, remove or automate certain steps. You can even completely re-engineer the process and fundamentally change how it works.
• Standardizing a Process – Unless you’ve documented your processes, your employees will figure out different ways to carry it out. With a process flowchart, you can ensure that everyone’s on the same page about how the process should be done.
• Writing a Standard Operating Procedure – A process flowchart is just that – a flowchart. SOPs on the other hand, are a full documentation on how that process functions, how to carry it out, what tools or tech to use, and so on.

To really get the most out of your processes, you’d want to go for all of the options we just mentioned.

How to Draw a Process Flowchart in 3 Steps

At a glance, this sounds pretty simple – just about everyone can draw a flowchart.

Really making it accurate, though, isn’t all that simple. It’s one thing to look at the process from a management point of view; it’s another to actually understand what it consists of: the steps, methodologies, tools, and so on.

So, to draw a process flowchart, you should start with…

Step #1: Decide Whether You Need a Process Flowchart

Before you can even start learning about the process, you should make sure that a process flowchart is the right tool for the job.

If your aim is process analysis from a more top-level perspective, you might want to use other tools. While process flowcharts are perfect for detailing the step-by-steps of a process, they’re not as useful for gaining a deeper understanding.

SIPOC diagram , for example, analyses the entire process of product creation and delivery. It’s divided into 5 parts – suppliers, inputs, processes, outputs, customers.

Step #2: Gather the Right Information

Unless you’re the one working on the process on a daily basis, you probably need to catch up on the details.

Even if the process seems simple or straightforward at a glance, there are a lot of small details that add up to it.  You’d want to know, for example…

• What the exact process steps are
• Variables and events . In which situations do you deviate from a process
• Who’s in charge of what process step

So to really understand the inner workings of a process, consult shop floor employees. Set up a meeting and pick their brains. Who knows, maybe they’ll even have ideas on how to improve the process.

Step #3: Create the Process Flowchart

Once you have the information on how a process works, you can actually start drawing the flowchart.

If you want to keep it simple, you can use the basic process symbols…

A better (but more complicated) option, though, would be to use BPMN2.

Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) is a standardized methodology for documenting processes. Following the BPMN model makes it easier for your employees, management, as well as external consultants to understand the process map.

Whichever methodology you choose, you’ll then need to actually draw the flowchart. There are 3 ways to do this…

• Pen & Paper – The simplest option is to just grab a piece of paper, a pen and just draw the flowchart physically.
• Online Graphing Software – Chances are, you’re going to want the process flowchart to be digital. This makes it easier to make edits, share it with employees, and so on. To create an online flowchart, you can use a tool like LucidCharts .
• Business Process Management Software (BPMS) – While BPM software rarely helps create flowcharts, it does something even better. You can use BPMS to create digital processes, which you can either analyze or simply execute through the system. The software automates the process execution. Meaning, when a process step is completed, the next employee in line is automatically assigned the right task.

3 Process Flowchart Examples

You can create process flowcharts for just about any business process, whether it’s onboarding, sales, document approval, or anything in-between.

To give you a better idea of how these look, we’ll cover 3 examples of process flowcharts of different business processes.

Employee Onboarding Process

Just about every company ends up hiring new employees. Onboarding is an essential step in getting them up to speed & educating them on how the company or department functions.

Hence, it’s always a good idea to have a clear, structured process for this.

While the process varies from company to company, here’s a basic example…

• The HR gets the new employee to sign up the documents or legalities
• The documents go through an approval process between the HR and company management
• HR lets the company employees know about the new hire through email
• Tech – software access, personal computer, etc.
• Welcome swag – Gifts, company t-shirt, etc.
• Onboarding materials
• Entrance ID

Or, as it would look in a process flowchart form…

Document Approval Process

Getting all the right approvals for any document can be a major hassle. It involves a lot of emails back and forth, some of which end up getting lost or delayed. Having a procedure makes approvals significantly faster & more efficient.

The following is a basic document approval process, and it can apply to just about any type of document (legal, hr, etc.).

• The document is submitted
• If the document is disapproved, process canceled.
• If approved, the document is stored in a relevant folder
• Automatic email sent to any relevant party

Or, as it would look like in a flowchart…

To make this process even smoother, you can use approvals management software. Instead of having to shoot emails back and forth, you’d just start the process through Tallyfy & the system will make sure everyone’s signs at the right time.

Incident Response Process

Any company should have a contingency plan for potential incidents. While you can’t always predict what’s going to happen, you can have a strategy on how to react in such situations.

The following process flowchart example is for a cyber attack.

• The emergency is reported by a company employee after discovering an identified USB plugged into their computer
• The threat is evaluated by the security team. If false alarm, the process ends
• Emergency email sent to relevant company executives
• The company management and security team hold an emergency meeting
• The solution is proposed and applied
• If the solution didn’t work, the process rolls back to step 4. If it does, the process is completed

And of course, as a flowchart…

Process Flowcharts: An Essential Start to Business Process Management

Creating process flowcharts, while useful for introspection, is only a start.

You need to analyze the process, figure out potential improvements, implement them, and so on. After all, you really don’t get much by simply drawing the flowchart.

To learn how to do all this and more, check out our guide on Business Process Management. And no, it’s not just another buzzword-definition article – we’re going to explain how, exactly, BPM can help you optimizes your processes.

Is this post written for a search engine or for you?

Many B2B cloud software companies invest in blog posts in the hope of ranking high on search engines like Google. What they’re doing is writing articles around keywords, which are terms customers are likely to search for on Google. The posts don’t offer valuable information or make any sense.

But then if you’re reading something that doesn’t make sense, how are you supposed to make informed buying decisions?

We have a lot to say about workflow and we truly believe in continuos improvement. But it’s not really about us. We publish these articles to help you find Tallyfy, and to provide you with information that will help you make informed buying decisions.

Ready to automate your workflows? Check out Tallyfy .

How exactly do we conduct research?

We research topics down to the bone. We nitpick, we argue about what to keep and what to throw out. It’s a lot of work. We consult academic sources for scholarly citations to support our points. We gather data to summarize particular points. At Tallyfy – 3 independent experts validate and edit every article from the draft stage. That includes verifying facts and their sources.

Why did we write this article?

Tallyfy believes in helpful and authoritative content that helps people. Our customers requested us to write about this topic so we attempted to put together the highest quality article available anywhere – that’s our goal. Work like this takes a lot of effort. If you liked this article please share the link with your coworkers via email, or on LinkedIn.

About the author - Amit Kothari

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Business Plan Flowchart Complete Guide

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EdrawMax specializes in diagramming and visualizing. Learn from this article to know about what is the business plan flowchart and business plan flowchart example. Just try it free now!

Do you want an organized route for your business workflow? Keeping track of your business progress can become difficult if you cannot enlist your goals. Plus, you need something that reminds you about the resources and guides you to their usage. A business plan flow chart is the solution for you. It is a graphical representation of the workflow of a business process. This simple chart shows how each step in the process gets to the finish line and how it relates to others.

1. What Is A Business Plan

A business plan is a formal statement of business goals and objectives. It's a written document that describes the company's mission, strategies, and financial information. Moreover, It is also a road map for the future.

Furthermore, this comprehensive document that outlines the business's goals, objectives, and strategies is a passage for your future success as an entrepreneur. Business plan flow charts are essential for any business owner who wants to take their business to the next level.

Elements Of A Business Plan:

The business plan is not just the name of a hard piece of paper. On the contrary, it is a mixture of diverse statistical and theoretical elements, some of which are as follows:

The first element of a business plan is its purpose. When starting a new business, you'll want to define your goals and how you intend to achieve them.

The second element is the product or service that your business provides. You'll want to describe what it is you're offering, and why it's better than those alternatives. Furthermore, it is better to target customers and answer what problems or issues it solves for them.

• Financial Statistics:

The third element of the business plan flow chart is how much capital (money) you need to get started. You'll need enough funds to cover initial expenses, such as advertising costs and lease payments on office space or equipment.

• Task Timeline:

The fourth element is a timeline for when accomplishments must meet the end. Plus, it includes milestones that indicate finished objectives and money spent on them.

• Financial Analysis:

The fifth element is a financial analysis. It breaks down the costs of running the business by category. As a result, it helps you to determine whether or not there's enough money available for everything involved in running it at once.

2. 4 Different Business Plan Types

A business plan flow chart helps you understand what your company will look like and how much money it will need to get off the ground. However, not all of them are created equal. It may vary based on the company framework, data provided, and business objectives. In this article, you'll get a comprehensive overview of 4 different business plan flow chart templates that can help you understand the overall notion of a business plan.

2.1 Business Plan Process

The business plan process flow chart type is a simple diagram. However, it is an essential one indeed. The visualization includes a top-down process enlisting for business growth. It all starts from the goal, which maps the further procedures accordingly. The end focus product is the budget. The business plan flow chart highlights specific strategic and tactical objectives throughout the journey. Each is essential for business performance and judgment for better decision-making. The overall physical presentation may not be luxurious. However, it serves a much bigger purpose, making it far more critical. Considering all the above facts, we can say that this type is a comprehensive process guide for employees and investors to look into.

2.2 Market Analysis Business Plan

The Market Analysis Business Plan is a business plan that focuses on the industrial analysis of your company. It's essential to include information about the following:

• The market, including its size and growth rate
• Your competition (including their strengths and weaknesses)
• Your target audience (what do they want?)

Unlike the above example, this business plan flow chart type gives a much more detailed overview to the business owner and investor. It focuses on the target market, and the share business has in it. This type is essentially beneficial for most companies. Whether you have a small or huge business, it will analyze your market exposure accordingly.

2.3 Business Plan Timeline

The business plan timeline visually represents the order in which tasks should be completed. It helps you visualize your progress and decide what's most important for your project. It can be of yearly timeline progress or future task procedural approach. In general, every business plan flow chart based on a timeline has four different quadrants.

The first quadrant defines what the business is all about. As a result, it sets the stage for everything else in the plan. All the goals and subjects come under this category. The second quadrant helps you assess what your company wants to accomplish, focusing specifically on customer needs or wants at a specific time. Unlike the above example, this business plan flow chart type gives a much more detailed overview to the business owner and investor. It focuses on the target market, and the share business has in it. This type is essentially beneficial for most companies. Whether you have a small or huge business, it will analyze your market exposure accordingly.

2.4 Business Strategy Diagram

A business strategy diagram is a step-by-step flowchart. This business plan flow chart helps you simultaneously visualize the process of developing and implementing your company's overall mission, vision, and goals. Moreover, it can help you evaluate potential new growth strategies and improve current ones. A business strategy diagram includes a whole architecture that summarizes your organization's overall goal.

Simply put, it is a step-by-step roadmap targeting economic departments, strategies to work, and actions performed in a business. Furthermore, it classifies how grouped, and individual actions impact business growth. All in all, this type is an in-depth value analysis chart for every small and big firm that wants ideal business automation.

3. Tips To Create A Business Plan That Stands Out

The Business Plan Flow chart is a visual way of showing the procedural roadmap of a business. It helps your team see the big picture and visualize the order in which tasks need completion. It can help them understand how to sequence their work, so they don't miss anything.

An exemplary flowchart also helps you create a business plan that stands out from competitors. It is possible by providing more information than other companies do about their company goals, services offered, and market presence. To create an ideal business plan that has the potential to visualize a complex production framework, you must follow the given tips.

• The business plan flow chart should be simple, clear, and concise so readers can easily understand it.
• The business plan should include at least one example of how each element has been completed successfully or unsuccessfully in the past. It is necessary because it shows how other people have accomplished similar tasks previously and helps increase confidence that you can do it too!
• Be honest, and do not overestimate your capabilities. Be realistic about the time it takes to accomplish your goal and what resources you need.
• It s better if the business plan flow chart references previous projects as testimonials for future projects. It shows that you have experience with similar tasks, improving customer and investor confidence.
• Make sure that you clearly understand your target audience's demographics and how they will react to your product or service.

4. Conclusion

A business plan flow chart effectively organizes your business and keeps track of the tasks due for completion. It is also a great tool for communicating with investors, bankers, or partners. The above examples show how a simple flowchart can help you communicate ideally while maintaining order in your company's growth process. With EdrawMax , creating, designing, and sharing happens all in one place. You do not have to worry about losing your files, as all the exported files from EdrawMax are highly encrypted. All in all, EdrawMax is a solid tool -- you just sit with your design ideas and explore the tons of features that this business plan maker has to offer.

Flowchart Complete Guide

Check this complete guide to know everything about flowchart, like flowchart types, flowchart symbols, and how to make a flowchart.

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Essential Guide to Business Process Mapping

By Kate Eby | February 24, 2017 (updated August 4, 2023)

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With the range of disparate personalities and ways of thinking on your team, how do you get everyone to see something the same way? Moreover, how do you get your whole team to actually perform a task or a process in the same way, every time? Business process maps are a framework intended to do just that: layout a process graphically so that everyone has the same vision of it and can perform it the same way.

In this guide, we tackle newbie and advanced topics around business process mapping including its scope and purpose, its history, the types of maps, and the benefits. We’ll look at the principles and framework to map out processes, and the current state of process mapping. Then we will review the symbols often found in process mapping and modeling, and explain how to go about actually creating a map. Finally, we’ll cover where business process mapping fits in with process documentation and business process management life cycles, and share expert tips from around the web and around the world. Happy mapping!

What Is Business Process Mapping?

Business process mapping is a visual representation of work processes. Process maps show the relationship among the steps required to complete a product or service, and can be expressed as flowcharts or as Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) symbols.

A part of business process management (BPM) , business process maps are concerned with business activities, purpose, standards for success, roles and responsibilities, and when and where different steps will occur. Business process mapping promotes transparency, not only for those within the company, but also for all stakeholders, especially those involved in compliance.

Business process mapping is often mistaken for business process modeling. When professionals perform business process modeling, they are more interested in how the processes are performed, and who (or what department) is performing them. In this way, they focus on analyzing and optimizing the business process architecture through reviewing the processes and considering the company’s goals and requirements. A business’s process architecture details the entire enterprise’s set of processes. Often termed a “blueprint,” the architecture is typically used to align the company’s processes with their objectives. Modeling is more about how processes flow, while mapping is about what is in existence. For more information on business process modeling, see the Beginners Guide to Business Process Modeling .

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The Scope and Purpose of Business Process Modeling

Business process modeling is part of project planning for a wide range of project types. Businesses may choose to map their processes because they are conducting strategic planning, developing new metrics for reporting, or improving on their existing processes.

Process maps inspire professionals to consider how to make their organization more effective by thinking through their workflows. When you map a process, you must diagram it out in a way that achieves a shared understanding. The scope of business process mapping will show end-to-end activities, inputs such as materials or labor, and the linkages. A process map can cut across different departments and teams, and could even include external partners. It all depends on the process.

Organizations use business process modeling for different reasons, but primarily it’s a formal approach to quality management. Overall, businesses want to become more effective, so when all of the company objectives are measured and compared, it becomes possible to align them with your company’s values and capabilities. With aligned objectives, your organization can behave as a single entity with interconnecting parts, which significantly increases the value of your end-product or service. Other purposes of building business process maps include:

• Process standardization
• Employee onboarding and training
• Process improvement
• Communication
• Compliance with regulating agencies (e.g. International Organization for Standardization, 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act)
• Internal auditing

The History of Business Process Mapping

Business process mapping began with The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1921. From there, engineers and manufacturing plants adopted business process maps and evolved them into the software solutions we have today.

In 1921, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth introduced the flow process chart in a presentation that they gave called “Process Charts, First Steps in Finding the One Best Way to Do Work.” (Purdue University has an archive of these materials , if you want to learn more.) The tools that the Gilbreth’s presented quickly became engineering standards and continued to be shown through the 1940s, having been sanctioned by the ASME. In 1947, the ASME adopted a symbol system for consistency in this type of chart.

The manufacturing industry also adopted process maps to identify value-add activities and inefficiencies. These maps often took days to create and were static. More recently, business process mapping has evolved with software development. Businesses can use software tools to create their maps quickly, evolve them over time, and make them accessible to all team members, facilitating a culture of improvement. Most business process mapping software integrates with business process management software systems, so that you can draw the maps and have them come to life within your business.

Types of Business Process Maps

You can create business process maps for project plans, details, documents, products, roles, locations, strategies, or interactions, at varying levels of detail. We’ve outlined the most common types of business process maps in the list below.

The Reasons Why We Map Processes

There are many reasons that companies choose to map their business processes, including increased visibility, decreased errors in processes, and the ability to identify risk. The list below outlines some reasons your organization may decide to map its processes:

The Principles of Business Process Mapping

To properly transform your organization into a sustainable one, you must understand how we begin to map business processes. These following principles should be present in every mapping project:

• Define the scope of the project itself, with the boundaries, start, and end points.
• Look at the big picture - the intent of the process.
• Define each step clearly.
• Get feedback from everyone in your organization who is involved in the process.
• Strive to be complete in your accuracy, especially with the map of the “as-is” process.
• Strive to keep the sub-processes simple.
• Test the process with accepted metrics. Metrics should measure the time, volume, rates/costs, equipment, and any added value.
• Work from output to input, backward.
• Create ownership with single points of contact where feasible.
• Redesign processes to be customer-centric.
• Use technology to enable your processes.
• Decrease inefficiencies in the hand-offs.

The Framework of Business Process Mapping

To map your business process, first identify your business’s ideal processes. Then, define the purpose of the map. Analyze the process, optimize it, and then document the process while identifying problem areas. We’ve expanded on these steps below:

1. Identify your organization’s best practices: As in the principles of good business process mapping, your organization should agree on what is mapped and the scope of each. The process should be easily understood as mapped by someone who is not close to it. Each process should also have a series of questions posed to it that answer why it is being done and what goes into each detail of it. Finally, apply metrics as a basis for measuring the success of each process.

2. As-is in process design: Specifically define the purpose of mapping the process. Ask where the process initiates and ends, and determine what the opportunity of fixing it could become. After selecting a process, determine all the steps in it, as well as inputs and outputs. Establish the systems, roles, and time involved. Select a mapping technique. Interview the contributors for the roles they play in the process, looking at every duty and decision point.

The following are the specific criteria that you are looking for in every process:

• Responsibilities
• Risks and controls
• Key performance indicators

3. Analyze and evaluate: Review your process map. You are looking for processes that are redundant, delays and unnecessary steps, vagueness, bottlenecks, points of rework, and flows that continually pass back and forth between certain people. Determine a measure for each segment, and where exactly to implement it. Identify the appropriate people to review the map. Select a process improvement plan. Process innovation analyses should consider Steven Shapiro’s 7 R’s of process innovation:

• Reconfigure

4. To-be in process design: Document the process, emphasizing any problem areas. Using the best practices developed in Step 1, document the differences in the existing and new processes. Use a root cause analysis to ferret out potential problems.

The Current State of Business Process Mapping

Businesses today are more focused than ever on sustainable improvement. Using software to map business processes allows companies to review and develop process maps more easily, so they can sustainably improve them.

Even with measurable operational improvements, it may be difficult to sustain the enhancements you make. Many businesses still have inefficient processes, and view technology as a magic bullet that can solve their woes in one shot. Experts say that while technology can certainly help, you need to use it judiciously in order for it to make lasting positive change. 

Furthermore, the organization must make cultural improvements, since the development of technology for developing process maps has far surpassed most organizations’ ability to implement them. Without cultural shifts, the people who are involved in the process can easily sink the improvements before they even take hold.

The Symbology of Business Process Mapping

The standard notation for business process maps is known as Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) , but many businesses use a simpler form of notation. Many common software solutions support both BPMN symbols and their simpler counterparts.

We’ve summarized the BPMN symbols in the charts below:

Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) is a different matter, however. BPMN is a much more formalized approach to mapping and modeling. Special software is required, and there is a learning curve in the use of BPMN. It is an extremely regulated language of notation, with specified symbols for almost any scenario. Mainly professionals who produce a lot of process models use BPMN. Across industries, countries, and languages, BPMN acts as a consistent way to identify the steps in processes. A more in-depth exploration of BPMN may be found in Beginners Guide to Business Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) . Some basic symbols of BPMN are inlcuded in the chart below.

Steps in Business Process Mapping

To map your business process, start by identifying the process to map. Gather information about the current process, and analyze it to determine where improvements can be made. Continue to monitor the process for improvement.

Performing the Business Process Mapping

In business process mapping, the processes you choose to map will determine how advantageous your maps are. Ensure that your business process maps are as impactful as possible by considering how they affect your customers and your overall business strategy.

We’ve outlined three methods for determining the most effective processes to map below:

• Group your processes based on their effect on your customer: These processes are core, enabling, and guiding processes. Core processes reflect the reason that the business exists, and have a direct effect on your clients. Enabling processes are those used in the management of the business. Guiding processes are those used in the planning and governance of the business. It is recommended in a process improvement project to start with either an enabling or guiding process so as you fine-tune your improvement method and do not impact your customers.
• Link your overarching strategy with your process and tasks: This starts with identifying your organization’s strategic goals. Once complete, you can form a process architecture based on it for your current processes. In this, you are determining what processes are most relevant to achieving your company’s strategy, and in what order to improve them to most keep in line with it and create a future agenda of improvement.
• Forced improvement: Less about a planned approach, this is more about reacting by necessity. For example, a failed audit or a management mandate can force a process improvement initiative. In this case, the required processes are targeted and mapped.

What Is Process Documentation and How Does Business Process Mapping Fit In?

Process documentation includes any documents that support or delineate a process. Business process maps are an element of process documentation that creates a visualization of how you perform your processes.

You can use process documentation as a roadmap for your organization to capture not only the end-products of your process improvement projects, but also how you got there. Decide how often you will update your process maps, and who will initiate new improvement projects. Another big component of process documentation is software documentation. Encourage users of all levels to use the software for the intended processes.

Business Process Management Life Cycle

The full BPM lifecycle is made up of unique business process improvement projects, and generally includes five phases: design, modeling, execution, monitoring, and optimization. 

Business process management aims to systematically improve business processes. It is a cohesive agenda for the advancement of people and information with many components, including software. To learn more, see our guide to business process management .

Tips for Business Process Mapping

Business process mapping can be intimidating for first time users. We’ve collected expert tips, from recognizing your assumptions to using subject matter experts, in the list below: 

• Apply business process mapping to the right types of processes. Processes that reflect how decisions are made may not be the best processes to map because they are limited in steps, and may not offer the most impact for your time.
• Be clear about the focus of your process mapping. Sometimes the inefficiencies in your processes are outside of the process itself. It then becomes critical that you review any intersecting (secondary) processes as well.
• Aim for good. There is no perfect. Enough said.
• Use care in cross-party responsibility process maps. These types of process maps are not the ideal, as the leading party is difficult to show graphically. Take care in the analysis to differentiate the leader when the process crosses boundaries.
• Get someone skilled to map your processes. Consider outside help if you do not have someone currently trained in mapping.
• Validate your maps. Right after you draw them, review them with the process participants so that you ensure they are correct.
• Be constantly aware of your assumptions. Your assumptions and those of your staff can get you into trouble. Keep asking the questions that reveal your biases. 
• Don’t fix your processes until they are fully mapped. Define your ‘as-is’ state completely, ensuring that you see the whole picture and changes are then better informed.
• Remember that there are always exceptions and errors. Capture these, but remember that they may not be the norm and may not reflect the real as-is situation.
• The people who use the processes are the experts. It is critical that you have an appropriate overview because some people may be too close to change the processes, but they will be able to tell you whether the postulated changes have a chance of working.
• Collect all the documents from your improvement process. Improvement projects are not just about the map. Sure, it is important, but you may have to create it again.

According to Sean Martin, Marketing Manager:

“We are actually in the process of BP Mapping for our sales and marketing teams right now. It's important that we tie these different reports into a singular goal: Growth. To do that, we've employed some strict metrics in what we call a 5x3 Growth Plan. But the most important piece of advice I have for companies looking to invest in BPM is to RECORD AND MAP ALL OF YOUR PROCESSES BEFORE YOU START CHANGING THEM. Today's marketing world is in a flux of constant innovation and optimization. Because of this, we marketers are often hustling to implement, report, and optimize our tests all at one time. This simply doesn't work. I advise agencies employing business process modeling to slow down and make sure you get a complete and accurate picture of your business process before you start making changes. Crawl before you walk - and walk before you crawl - otherwise you'll end up tripping over your own optimization goals.”

According to Ray McKenzie, Founder and Principal of  Red Beach Advisors :

“Companies that decide to map their processes should evaluate the top three to five processes to map first.  Every company has several processes and they all need to be addressed. However, every process cannot be a top priority. It is best for companies to evaluate the top company-impacting pain points, evaluate which points need process definition, and structure a process to solve that pain point. If there is a process that is revenue generating or negative impacting, those should rise to the top of the priority list. As a company is able to develop more and more process, the company injects more stability and growth potential. 

“The first process selected to be mapped should be the largest pain point in the business which restricts revenue generation. Every business is going to have obstacles and pain points to have growth. An efficiently run business is a successful business and successful businesses have significant revenue. Revenue generation keeps the business moving forward so a company should want to remove all obstacles slowing the acquisition of revenue.”

According to Robby Slaughter, Principal at  AccelaWork :

“The technical capacity of BPM has dramatically outpaced the level of adoption or even awareness of the field. Most companies have never done any process mapping -- not even informally -- and they suffer from poorly-defined procedures, minimal staff engagement, and significant rework and duplication.

“Your time is the most important investment, and purchasing software or hiring consultants won’t help if your team isn’t truly committed to process mapping. Learn one or two of the UML forms. I suggest using case diagrams and activity diagrams. Practice these extensively with fun, non-work processes like planning a party or scoring a frame of bowling. Once you learn the technology of process mapping, you’ve got a fighting chance of implementing it in your organization.

“We’ve done process mapping for all kinds of organizations, from marketing firms to factories to logistics companies. In most cases, the experience requires sitting down with staff directly and watching them work to learn about the procedures. This is the only accurate method to document the as-is state of the organization. Training materials, manuals, and even what management says is usually outdated or flat wrong.

“It’s good to select a low-impact, high-visibility process to highlight the capacity and utility of mapping. From there, the next step is to develop a lexicon for the organization. This is the terminology that people use to describe activities and work product. Then, we’re most interested in processes that cross teams or departments. That’s usually the area where there is the biggest disconnect and the most challenges.”

According to Mike Hammontree, CEO of  WundrMedia :

“Business process mapping is a very important part of setting up a new business or just a new part of a business. You have to know who is going to do what and at what level of efficiency and quality because if they aren't meeting those needs your business could fail right out of the gate.   “My best advice is make sure you have every little thing mapped out, even to who will be getting the coffee for the office, you want your office to be moving as smoothly as possible to make sure there are no kinks. Especially when starting something new, it has to move quickly and effectively to be successful.

“We just recently finished recruiting our teams for our new magazine, Wundr Magazine, which is an entity of Wundr Media. When doing so we had to map out every single thing from editors to journalists and content creators along with managing trips and photoshoots to make sure everyone is doing their job to the highest level possible. The way I chose to map my processes was to decide on which is the most important and what would fail if we didn't get it exactly right from the start. For us it was marketing, of course. If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound? Or if a magazine launches and no one knows about it, does it even exist?”

According to Jitesh Keswani, CEO at  e-Intelligence :

“Business process mapping has been high on most lists of important business sustainable growth plans throughout the last year. It is a logical continuation of deliberate investment into the improvement of business processes. The demand for business process mapping is slowly and steadily picking up. The business owners and leaders have understood the value of optimized business processes as an essential part of their overall success. According to a recent study by AIIM, most businesses see business process mapping as a systematic approach to improving their processes. However, less than half of the business owners really know all they need to about business process mapping. While they show a positive attitude toward adopting business process mapping for their businesses, most of them cite stuck-in-process as the biggest reason for failing to implement business process mapping. Increasing awareness about business automation however increases the scope of adoption of business process mapping among the business and technology leaders."

In the field of marketing, business process maps are called journey maps. These journey maps are based on the customer’s perspective and transform complex data into a one-page visual diagram. 

According to Kevin Sides, Chief Marketing Officer at  ShipMonk , who uses journey maps as business process maps, “Journey maps are our key to business. My specialty is mapping out the standard growth or marketing funnel. It looks like this:

• Acquisition - How do we get customers to our site?
• Activation - How do we get them to sign up?
• Retention - How do we get them to stay?
• Revenue - How do we make money?
• Referral - How do we use those customers to get more customers?

“Starting with the gap from customers visiting our site and signup up for our service, we utilize a few different tools to enter them into a journey. Our live chat and eBook are at the forefront of the mix. We use these to get more information on who they are and what pain points they are having. Once we get their contact information, we enter them into a journey decided upon by the sales person or the lead form they filled out. For example, if they are fulfilling orders in-house, we'll send them information on how to transition to outsourcing and the benefits associated, free consultations, signs to outsource, etc. If they are using another fulfillment center, we'll sell them on what ShipMonk specifically does better. If they are just getting started we'll give them information on how to get started themselves and when to consider outsourcing. 

“Once we get customers to sign up, our focus is solely on retaining them. It costs five to seven times more to gain a new customer than to retain a current customer so this is very important. We send milestone emails and rewards each time a customer reaches a certain number of packages shipped and we check it every few months to make sure everything is going as they've hoped. We proactively try to stay ahead of issues before they boil out of control. This is all done through marketing automation and timed in a behavioral journey.

“Revenue - We have partners who have services that benefit our customers and if we see an opportunity that would benefit our customers first, we'll enter them into another journey to promote a partner service. If they aren't interested, we remove them from the journey immediately and move on. Our goal is to help our customers sell and ship more packages. If they sell more we ship more. 

“Referral - It’s pretty simple, if you have a good product or service people will be willing to let others know and write a review. The problem is most people are extremely busy and don't think to write a review unless they are unhappy. We use journeys to remind customers of the review and what it would mean to our business.”

According to Ted Hessing, Owner at  Charlotte Web Development  and  SixSigmaStudyGuide.com :

“Business process modeling and mapping can seem daunting at first. Which process should you start with? The answer is: Which process needs the most attention? Company or initiative strategies comes into play, but that may only tell you the general direction to go. In that case, or in the case of initiatives containing multiple processes, it's a good idea to refine your search. There are tools that I like to achieve focus: the SIPOC and the Process Performance & Process Capability calculations. A SIPOC can give you a high-level end-to-end view of your process. Often by examining the interactions on the ends, the suppliers and consumers, it's obvious which process to begin to model. Process Capability and Process Performance calculations give us common language to measure processes against each other - even if they are wildly different. Once we have a way to quantitatively measure processes, we can then choose to model the worst-performing process in order to begin to see how we might improve it, which would then improve the whole.”

According to Kimberly Watson-Hemphill, Founder and CEO of  Firefly Consulting , and Co-Author of Innovating Lean Six Sigma:

“Business Process Mapping is an excellent way to get started on a journey of continuous improvement. How can we improve if we don’t know our starting point? We can’t! So, the first step is understanding our current level of performance. To this end, we need to know what our current processes are and how to measure their performance.

“Each company has core processes that are essential for achieving the company’s strategy. For example, in an insurance company, the claims process is absolutely critical, and could be a good starting point for process mapping. In a manufacturing company, planning and scheduling is essential, and could be an excellent starting point. Pick something that is important, so that the time spent on documenting and evaluating the process is viewed as beneficial.

“To map the process, work with a team of individuals who do the work on a daily basis. They’re the ones who know how the process is really working, and what are the potential issues. Some key questions to ask include:

• What are the process steps from beginning to end?
• What function is responsible for each step in the process?
• How do we measure the performance of each process?

“No investment is needed to get started. The team can begin with just a stack of sticky notes on a white board, and once the process is determined, document it for future reference in a software program that the company is already using. Through the exercise of working with the team on business process mapping, many process improvement ideas will surface. You’ll be amazed at all of the good ideas that team members have on how things could be done better. Now is the perfect time to get started!”

Business Process Mapping: Tools and Software

Depending on the long-term needs of your business, you may consider purchasing business process mapping software and tools. It is important to determine what features are available and find a solution that fits the needs of your team. 

We’ve made a list of popular features for your consideration below: 

• Drag-and-drop interface
• Formatting capabilities
• Integrated BPM tool
• Publishing and sharing capabilities
• Venn diagram maker
• Mind mapping software
• Data flow diagram software
• Intuitive design
• Automated updates
• Integration with MS Office products
• Graham process maps
• Linking between charts and other documents
• Reporting capabilities
• Review scheduling capacity
• Unified platforms
• Collaboration
• Business rules management
• Process analysis
• Process simulation

How Smartsheet Can Help Improve Business Processes

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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• The Workstream
• Project management
• Process Flow Chart

Process flow chart: what it is & how to create one

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Keeping your business organized can be a tall order — especially as it grows. Process flow charts are one way to organize business processes by visualizing the steps of a process or workflow . As you dive deeper into the individual steps of a process, you can discover opportunities to improve teamwork and productivity.

Visualizing processes with a flowchart can help you organize important details and improve your operations. As you develop your process flow chart, you can discover non-value-added processes and optimize your workflow.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what a process flow chart is and how you can create one for your business. Keep reading to learn more.

What is a process flow chart?

Process flow charts are a way of visually organizing your workflow. They use different shapes connected by lines, each representing an individual step.

A process flow chart aids in project management by helping you outline and visualize your workflows. An example could be a chart showing how you process and fulfill customer orders from the moment an order is placed to delivery.

Importance of process flow charts

Visualizing your workflow allows you to understand your project scope better so you can plan your project based on your goals and deadlines.

Having a clear visual representation of your processes helps improve teamwork and keep everyone on the same page. This way, everyone can understand your business processes from start to finish and the role they play in those processes.

Creating a flow process chart can improve productivity by weeding out non-value-added activities. You have ample room to grow and improve if you’re not wasting precious time on unnecessary steps.

Types of flow charts

There are several types of flow charts, each serving a different purpose. You can learn more about some of the different flow charts below:

• Basic flow chart: Simple flow charts are ideal for visualizing basic steps without many complexities or details.
• System flow chart: System flow charts show how every part of a system interacts with the other parts.
• Workflow diagram: Workflow diagrams visualize steps or processes required to complete a project, which can help you minimize waste.
• Data flow chart: Data flow charts show how data moves throughout your system and other connected systems.
• Decision flow chart: These flow charts play a vital role in the decision-making process , answering simple questions to arrive at a final decision.
• Swimlane flow chart: Swimlane flow charts allow you to visualize who’s responsible for each part of a process or project, whether that’s an individual or a group.

Components of a process flow chart

Process flow charts have a few key symbols used to contextualize the information in the chart. Different symbols are used for different steps within a process flow chart with connecting lines in between.

Different shapes and symbols—including diamonds and rectangles—are used for each process or step, with lines connecting the symbols. Different types of lines denote the beginning and end of the flow chart, and directional arrows indicate the flow direction of the chart.

Visualizing information with flow charts can play a crucial role in project planning , and it’s easy once you understand what the symbols represent.

Steps to create a process flow chart

Creating a process flow chart isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic guidelines you need to follow. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you create your next process flow chart.

Identify the process

Start by clearly defining the process or workflow you’re going to outline. Choosing which projects to visualize and optimize is critical to strategic planning . Once you have a good idea of what you want your flow chart to represent, you can start building it out.

Define boundaries

When it comes to process flow charts for businesses, you can always add more details or break a process down further by adding more steps. However, when creating a flow chart, you only want to include the necessary details.

Figure out the scope and boundaries of your flow chart before you start fleshing it out. That way, you’ll avoid wasting time adding information that complicates the main objective. Details are good, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Gather information

This is where knowledge sharing comes into play. Now, it’s time to collect detailed information about the steps, inputs, and outputs contributing to the process. Ensure you track the process from start to finish to avoid missing crucial steps.

Identify the sequence of steps

Now that you know the steps involved in the process you’re outlining, you can put them in the correct sequence to start organizing your flow chart. Your flow chart should move in one consistent direction from beginning to end, with each step bringing you closer to completing the process.

Draw the flow chart

With process flow charts, the individual steps only tell part of the story—you need to connect them to tell the whole story. Complete your flow chart by using symbols and connectors to connect individual steps and create an accurate visual representation of the process from start to finish.

Review and revise

Once you’ve organized and drawn everything out, review your flow chart to ensure it’s accurate, complete, and clear. If there are any issues, you can revise your flow chart.

Reviewing and revising is a never-ending battle. Even after completing a flow chart, you must review and update it regularly to ensure accuracy. Make sure to reflect any changes in your flow charts as they occur.

Uses of process flow charts

A good process flow chart can provide several benefits for businesses. Here are some of the common uses of process flow charts:

• Process improvement: Visualizing processes helps you understand how to optimize them, saving you time and money.
• Training and onboarding: When you clearly understand your training and onboarding process, you can streamline it and ensure everyone receives the same training.
• Communication: Flow charts can help you identify communication gaps in different project stages to keep everyone on the same page.
• Documentation: Using visuals helps everyone follow documentation best practices — from project documentation to team documentation.
• Compliance and quality assurance: Creating a step-by-step visual representation of a process helps you identify potential compliance or quality assurance issues before it’s too late.

Best practices for creating effective process flow charts

An effective flow chart can help you optimize business processes and improve productivity and project collaboration . Here are some guidelines to follow to ensure you’re doing it right.

Keep your process flow chart simple. Focus on adding key steps and information only.

Using consistent symbols and connecting lines adds clarity to your process flow charts, making it easier to collaborate with your team and boost productivity. You can even involve stakeholders in the process.

Once your flow chart is complete, there’s still work to do. Updating and maintaining flow charts helps you keep a constant visualization of the processes that your business relies on.

Create process flow charts with Confluence Whiteboards

Process flow charts can offer several benefits for businesses, improving productivity and teamwork while eliminating unnecessary steps. With Confluence Whiteboards, you can visualize and turn ideas into tasks.

Confluence brings everyone together in a connected workspace to move projects forward. Teams can create, edit, and share project plans in a connected workspace so everyone is on the same page.

Confluence flow chart templates make it easy to create effective flow charts quickly, plus you can convert stickies into Jira issues with a few clicks.

Use Confluence Whiteboards to visualize your workflow and optimize your business with process flow charts.

Process flow chart: Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a process flow chart.

A great process flow chart example is product delivery. You can use a process flow chart to visualize the delivery of a product from the moment the customer contacts you to the moment you finish the job. The first step may be the customer contacting you (or vice versa), eventually leading to the point where you fulfill the order, and the customer receives an email letting them know their order arrived.

You can use process flow charts for almost anything, including manufacturing, service delivery, product delivery, and project management processes.

What tools can you use to create process flow charts?

Confluence allows you to create process flow charts that visualize your business processes accurately. Confluence is easy to use, and you can start with a flow chart template so you don’t have to do all the work. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add individual steps and symbols to clarify the chart. Confluence also integrates seamlessly with Jira and various third-party tools.

How often should process flow charts be updated?

If you modify a workflow or process outlined in a flow chart, update the chart accordingly. Flow charts don’t provide much value if they’re inaccurate, and you probably add or remove steps from various processes and workflows more than you think. You should regularly review and update your process flow charts to ensure they continuously add value to your business.

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Business Process Flow Chart: How to Make One In 7 Steps

Creating an automated business process flow chart will go a long way in determining your restaurant business workflow and dynamics. If you do not have an effective business process flow chart template, you need to get one.

Key Takeaway - Having a business workflow that projects productiveness for every team member is crucial. Besides using ecommerce automation tools , a process flowchart makes getting work done within your company easier.

With the perfect business process mapping, you can automate daily tasks. You can also standardize business operations.

Operations like invoice processing , creating an invoice template , or using order management software are all done smoothly. In addition, you can set up a loyalty program , or automate orders. 

A process flowchart can simplify complex activities like payment processing . The inventory management process and order management workflows can become easy tasks. The inventory definition is even easier to understand with the correct flow chart usage. Heck, the right flow chart can even help offset the inventory carrying cost if you know what you're doing with it.

The point is for your entire team to be in sync. A process workflow chart can help the restaurant team remain aligned with each operation and workflow process. 

How do you design a process flow diagram? This article will help you understand the intricacies of restaurant business process automation. You will also learn how to create a business process flow chart. First, however, let's begin with the most basic question.

What Is a Business Process Flow Chart?

A business process flow chart is a diagram that details the entire process of a business operation. It is a diagrammatic representation of distinct business processes and tasks. 

The purpose of a business process flow chart is to simplify complex procedures and map out your process flow. Restaurant process maps depict the workflow using conditional logic to account for every potential situation. 

Besides the entire business operation, the process flowchart maps out who is doing what tasks. It also shows timelines, and resources needed to perform specific tasks. Kind of similar to how warehouse system flow charts work.

For instance, you can create a business process flow chart to automate handling complaints and requests. Or one to make sure the sales team gets approval upon receiving a new purchase order.

You can create flowchart templates that will help your team handle complex processes if you are off work or unavailable to help. The idea behind process flowcharts is that anyone can replicate the actions for specific operations and get the same results.

Documenting your business workflow makes it easy for employees to work with minimal likelihood of errors. It doesn’t matter if you know the entire business process management by heart. Having a system in place helps your employees adopt the processes as their own.

Creating a process flow is similar to how you write your restaurant business plan . In the long run, it will improve restaurant business productivity. It also helps you continue delivering high-value customer service .

How Can Process Flow Diagrams Help to Improve Productivity?

Do you know that about 50% of employees in a company lack an understanding of their job function and duties? According to a report, most managers do not set expectations for new hires. Ultimately this leads to poor performance and productivity. ( Effectory )

You can avoid this by having a simple business process flow chart template for each operation in your company. So, let's put it into context. How can business process optimization boost business efficiency? 

Increased Work Productivity

Having a business process map template for every process in your company improves productivity. Every employee knows what tasks they are doing and when they are doing them.

Business process diagrams answer the questions of business processes' what, where, when, how, and why. In addition, business process flow charts help employees understand each step in a work process.

Overall, work performance increases because of the work autonomy and clarity of purpose. 

Business Process Improvement Solutions

Documenting your process flow will help create a standard mode of operation. Then, it is possible to align these standard processes with your company's goals and set KPIs to monitor the results.

Business process flow makes checking how simple and complex processes function within your company easier without manually tracking anything. 

Employee Training Guide

Creating a business process flow chart makes it easier to train new employees. It can also help enforce compliance with the company's rules and regulations. 

A typical onboarding process for new employees can take up to six months. But with a flowchart, employees can quickly understand their new roles, making it easier to align with the company's working system.

How Do You Design a Process Flow Diagram? Getting Started In 7 Easy Steps

We've established that your company needs a business process flow chart. The next thing is designing one that will fit your business needs. After that, you can automate the entire work process and remove all errors in your work system.

Designing a business process flow chart is easier than you think. However, the design process begins with picturing the business process. 

Thinking ahead for all possible workflow scenarios when fulfilling a task. It accounts for the solutions to these scenarios.

Let's start designing your business process flow chart in these seven simple steps:

• Select a Workflow Process

The first step is to select the workflow process you want to automate. Next, choose a process that will achieve specific objectives and can be quantifiable. For instance, you can automate the invoice management operation to reduce processing costs.

• Define the Process Steps 

After selecting the process, you want to make sure you understand every possible outcome involved in that process. Reach out to team members and get more information from their experiences. This will help you define the components of each step.

You must break down each step into the tiniest detail without leaving anything out. Also, make sure you walk through these steps to check if the system works.

• Create the Process Flow Diagram

You can use a pen and paper to draw out the diagram. Make sure to draw out the start and end points of each process. For example, the start point for purchase order management can be to “create a requisition,” and the endpoint is “issuing the invoice.”

Remember to set conditions and fill in the details of the steps within the diagram. Also, use business process model and notation, as well as clear tags, colors, and shapes when depicting specific steps.

• Test and Update the Process

Now, you need to test your process diagram. Are there any redundancies? Does it achieve the desired outcome? Is it easy to understand? 

The good thing about a business flow diagram is that you can edit it based on new information. However, with further edits and updates, make sure to run an experiment.

It is essential to update the process as your company expands to eliminate redundancies and improve team performance.

• Set KPIs and Monitor

Setting restaurant business KPIs and metrics for each automated process makes it possible to monitor performance. For example, you can check if the flowchart still aligns with your company goals. 

In addition, setting performance metrics makes it easier to monitor complex processes. The results you get over time will inform if there is a need to break that process down or change the steps involved.

• Business Process Management Tool

You can use a pen and paper to draw your process diagram. However, it is not feasible. 

An eCommerce business process management tool offers a workflow solution for your process flow management. It is much easier than drawing the entire process on paper. You can learn more in our eCommerce business guide.

Business process management tools offer pre-built template options and workflow wizards to help you set up your company's processes. All you need to do is select the process, add the steps, and set the conditions.

Most tools also have a drag-and-drop feature that makes it easy to customize and create a workflow. You can assign roles to each task and add supervisors to monitor the entire process.

However, you can use a business process flow chart template if you don't want to go through the time-consuming process of starting from scratch to create a process flow chart. Most business process management platforms make it easy to modify a flow chart template to suit your B2B eCommerce business .

Therefore, you can fill out the template with your specific business processes and procedures.

• Use a Restaurant Management Software

The whole essence of having a business process flowchart template is to create efficient business systems . A process flowchart is a great place to start if you are looking to automate your restaurant operations.

However, using restaurant management software will offer similar benefits. A restaurant management software is designed to run restaurant operations.

The tool can help process payments, and help streamline marketing and operations. A restaurant management system can improve inventory management and employee scheduling. 

You can even make changes to different types of menus. Using both a process flowchart and a restaurant management tool will help you stay on top of all activities in your business. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Process Flow Chart

Why is a process flowchart useful.

A process flowchart helps to automate the workflow in a business. Whether you are running a bar or a deli restaurant, a business flowchart can help to organize your operation.

Here are some uses of a process flowchart for your restaurant business:

1. Organizes the operations of a business.

2. Provides easy-to-follow process documents for employees.

3. Reduces employee training requirements.

4. Sets standards and desired outputs for work processes.

5. Improves conversation and efficiency within the company.

What Is the Best Way of Documenting Business Processes?

There are various methods of documenting business processes. You can use a flowchart diagram to map out your workflow processes. However, if you are looking for something really simple, you can try a checklist app.

The most important thing is that whatever method you choose is able to capture your workflow. In the long run, it should be easy for your team to follow.

How Do I Organize Business Processes In a Developing Startup?

Here's a checklist of how you can organize your startup restaurant business processes :

1. Map out business processes.

2. Implement the business process flow chart.

3. Analyze and review set KPIs.

4. Monitor and adjust the process as needed.

5. Use restaurant management software.

The hospitality business is not for the faint of heart. Having a business process in place with the perfect hospitality software will help to grow your restaurant startup.

To Sum It All Up

Running a new restaurant business can be difficult if you do not have the perfect plan in place. A flowchart simplifies things and gives you an excellent head start.

It does not matter if you are operating a small business. As long as you have plans to expand someday in the books, it’s best if you think about process flow-charting.

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Create flowcharts quickly and easily with SmartDraw's flowchart software

What is a flowchart, flowchart symbols, how to make a flowchart, types of flowcharts, flowchart examples, with smartdraw, you can create many different types of diagrams, charts, and visuals.

A flowchart is a visual representation of the sequence of steps and decisions needed to perform a process. Each step in the sequence is noted within a diagram shape. Steps are linked by connecting lines and directional arrows. This allows anyone to view the flowchart and logically follow the process from beginning to end.

A flowchart is a powerful business tool. With proper design and construction, it communicates the steps in a process very effectively and efficiently.

You'll notice that the flowchart has different shapes. In this case, there are two shapes: those with rounded ends represent the start and end points of the process and rectangles are used to show the interim steps. These shapes are known as flowchart symbols . There are dozens of symbols that can be used in a flowchart. If you're new to flowcharting, it's important to know what they represent before using them. Just as word usage conveys a certain message, flowchart symbols also have specific meaning. Read our complete guide to flowchart symbols.

There are several ways to make a flowchart. Originally, flowcharts were created by hand using pencil and paper. Before the advent of the personal computer, drawing templates made of plastic flowchart shape outlines helped flowchart makers work more quickly and gave their diagrams a more consistent look.

Today's flowcharts are typically created using a flowchart maker .

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Types and Uses of Flowcharts

There are a wide variety of flowchart types . Here are just a few of the more commonly used ones.

• Swimlane flowcharts
• Data flow diagrams
• Influence diagrams
• Workflow diagrams
• Process flow diagrams
• Yes/no flowcharts
• Decision flows

Flowcharts were originally used by industrial engineers to structure work processes such as assembly line manufacturing.

Today, flowcharts are used for a variety of purposes in manufacturing, architecture, engineering, business, technology, education, science, medicine, government, administration and many other disciplines.

Here are some of the ways flowcharts are used today.

• Project planning
• Program or system design through flowchart programming
• Process documentation
• Audit a process for inefficiencies or malfunctions
• Map computer algorithms
• Documenting workflow

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• What is process flow? Plus, how you can ...

What is process flow? Plus, how you can visualize it

A process flow diagram is a way to visualize each subsequent task you and your team need to complete to hit a goal. While they were originally designed for industrial engineering, process flowcharts have become an integral tool for business project management. In this article, learn how to depict process flows with diagrams or flowcharts that help you streamline, analyze, and improve your processes.

Are you looking for a way to improve the process of getting work done? Revisiting your process flow may be the solution. 

A process flow is a series of steps you and your team go through to achieve your goal. Visualizing your process flows can help you uncover redundancies, repetitive tasks, and bottlenecks.

What is process flow?

A process flow is a way to visualize each subsequent step that your team goes through when working toward a goal. By visualizing these steps in a diagram or flowchart, everyone can easily understand what order they have to complete tasks.

Improving processes is critical for getting higher-impact work done, faster. Today, knowledge workers miss over 25% of their deadlines each week —and unclear processes are a top contributing factor. By clarifying who’s doing what by when, you can empower your team to understand the context of their work and execute their tasks more effectively.

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Process flow example

Regardless of your job description, there’s one simple process flow that everyone is familiar with: requesting time off. This process is pretty linear and a great example of how you can visualize a subsequent order of tasks:

Step 1: Request your paid time off (PTO).

Step 2: Your manager reviews your request.

Step 3: Your manager decides whether or not they will approve your request.

Step 4: You’ll receive an email about your manager’s decision.

Step 5: Your request is either approved or denied.

Ideally, process flows like the one above are accessible to everyone. That way, your team knows where to find process flows for all kinds of workflows, and can reference that information when they’re working on new or unfamiliar processes.  

What is a process flow used for?

Process flows are more than handy charts. They’re an incredibly helpful tool in project management that you can use to analyze, optimize, and standardize new and everyday processes. 

Here are four ways in which process flows can positively impact how you run your business:

Plan and document processes

Unclear processes lead to disengaged team members, low morale, and tasks that fall through the cracks. Instead, mapping out your process gives your team a better understanding of how your business processes flow. If your team members have questions about who they should reach out to or what happens next in the project, they can refer to a central source of truth they can rely on.

For example: Rather than having your team track their progress in different places, map your process out in one central location. Use a work management software to streamline your team’s tasks and progress.

Standardize processes

Process flowcharts are a great tool to standardize or streamline processes. Instead of reinventing the wheel every time you start a new project or wasting time crafting a new process flow, your team can reference the standardized process flow and stick to it. This prevents your team from missing tasks or taking unnecessary risks.

For example: Like the PTO request example earlier, creating a diagram or flowchart that explains a standardized process will make it a lot easier for your team to understand what’s happening. When they see the big picture, they’ll likely feel more valued and less stressed out about the process.

Analyze processes for optimization

When mapping out your process flow, you may realize that there are redundancies or repetitive tasks that you can omit. You may also uncover process risks that you can communicate to your team so they’re aware of them. This will improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of your processes.

For example: Let’s say upon reviewing a new process flow, a stakeholder notices that you could skip a step in the communication process. You may be able to shave valuable time off your timeline by omitting this step and optimizing your process flow.

Increase your team’s accountability

When everyone on your team knows exactly what their tasks are and when they’re due, your process can flow without disturbances. A good process flow diagram also gives team members a clear view of any important project dependencies , resource constraints, or due dates they need to account for.

For example: If you're creating an article for your blog without a process flow, you may find that you’re running into roadblocks. Perhaps your team is unable to get work done on time or they often experience miscommunication issues. If you clearly define and visualize the process, everyone knows when it’s their turn and who to contact if assets are missing.

Process flowcharts are typically used to map out simple processes. 

What is a process flow diagram (PFD)?

A process flow diagram is one way of visualizing your process flow. Depending on the type of process flow you’re depicting, you may call them top-down flowcharts, schematic flow diagrams, or process flowcharts.

Where did the process flow diagram come from?

The process flow diagram (PFD) was first introduced by Frank Gilbreth, Sr., an industrial engineer and efficiency expert. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) adopted the concept in the 1920s. 

Today, process flows are still used in chemical and process engineering but are also popular tools in manufacturing and business (where they’re often called business process flow, or BPF).

To visualize your process flow, you can use a series of symbols and notations that define and detail every task. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the most commonly known PFD symbols. Although some businesses use their own symbols, using standardized symbols makes it a lot easier for everyone to follow your process flowchart without further instructions.

If you’re curious about the different types of flowcharts and kinds of symbols, read our article on flowchart types, symbols, and how to read them . 

5 steps to document business process flow

You can create business process flowcharts or workflow diagrams in five simple steps:

Step 1: Select your type of diagram. Depending on the complexity of your process you can create a simple process flow diagram or pick a more complex visualization like the swimlane diagram.

Step 2: Determine your start and end points. Indicate what actions trigger the beginning and end of your process so you can effectively communicate these stages with teammates or stakeholders.

Step 3: Gather necessary information. Connect with your team and stakeholders to gather details and approvals needed to create your diagram. Find out what kind of deliverables are associated with each step so you can scope the time your team needs to complete their tasks.

Step 4: Eliminate inefficiencies. Analyze your diagram to uncover any redundancies or repetitive tasks that may slow your team down or cause bottlenecks . 

Step 5: Design your diagram. Now you can design your business process or workflow diagram. Map them out in the type of diagram you chose in step one and then review it with your team and stakeholders to ensure everything is accurate. 

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How to Make a Production Flow Chart for Manufacturing Processes (Example Included)

Manufacturing requires an understanding of production, its phases and when you need to assemble the product you’re building. Mapping this out with a production flow chart ensures a more seamless process.

What is a production flow chart? We’ll get to that shortly. We’ll also show you how one works and even provide you with an example to see a production flow chart in action.

What Is a Production Flow Chart?

A production flow chart is used to illustrate the manufacturing process of a product. It shows the stages, equipment used and quality control checks where you’ll check the product to ensure it meets quality expectations. If the quality is lacking or there has been any damage en route, these errors will be corrected before returning to production.

Through this mapping process, manufacturers are able to build a more efficient ordering process for their production line. The product flow chart is a visual representation of that process and can be easily shared. Because of the nature of its simple design, it’s also easy to read and understand at a glance.

A production flow chart sets up the sequence of the production of a product. It records all events using symbols to represent different stages or equipment and helps production managers improve manufacturing speed and quality. Production flow charts are easy to create by hand or with software tools.

ProjectManager is online software that turns production flow charts into workable manufacturing plans. Set up the flow chart on our kanban board, which breaks up your production cycle into columns such as to do, doing and done. These columns are customizable to conform to every step of production. Cards are tasks that move from one column to another as they’re processed. Managers get transparency into the process and can reallocate resources as needed to keep the production flowing smoothly. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

How Does a Production Flow Chart Work?

The production flow chart works as a visual production management tool. It’s a picture that illustrates each step of a process in sequential order and it’s used for defining or analyzing new processes, standardizing or redesigning existing processes and finding ways to improve processes by removing unnecessary steps, bottlenecks, etc.

A flow chart is illustrated with symbols and each has the following meaning:

• An oval means the start or finish of the process
• An arrow represents the direction of the process from one step to another
• A rectangle represents a process
• A diamond is a decision on an activity
• A D-shape means delay or wait
• A rectangle that curves up on the bottom right side represents that supportive documents are required
• A rounded-edged rectangle is sometimes used as the start or finish of a process.

There are two common types of production flow charts, high-level and detailed. The former works as a macro view of production planning usually only featuring six to 10 phases or steps and focusing on the major blocks in a process. It’s used mostly to identify improvements.

The detailed flow chart as its name suggests goes into greater detail or a micro view of the activities in your master production schedule . These flow charts are at least 15 phases or steps long and often much more than that. They’re good for finding steps that can be weeded out of the process and are mostly used when standardizing or modifying an existing process.

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Production Flow Chart Example

To better understand a production flow chart, let’s look at an example and illustrate what that process looks like in a production flow chart for a typical manufacturing cycle . It starts with customer demand which leads to figuring out the design required. From there, the product is designed to meet those requirements.

Now you have to buy materials to build the project . When those materials are received, you first have to inspect them to make sure they’re useable. If they are, you’ll want to document the inspection results so you can then manufacture the product. If not, you have to return them to the vendor from which they were purchased and wait for a replacement shipment. When it arrives, return to the verification activity and follow through until it passes.

Once you have the product built, verify it meets the product requirements and the inspection results. If it doesn’t pass inspection, it has to be fixed and inspected again until it passes. If it does pass, then you have to package and ship the product. Finally, the last step is to have service support if necessary. That’s a simple production flow chart, which is illustrated below. As you can see, the product flow chart makes it quickly digestible and easy to follow, which is the point of having a production flow chart.

How to Make a Production Flow Chart

You know why a production flow chart is important and you’ve seen how it works in our example of a production flow chart. Now, let’s take a look at how you make a production flow chart.

1. Identify Tasks

First, you have to know all the tasks in the production process , everything from start to finish. You must be thorough or you’ll have to start again. Take time with this first step and include your production team to help you outline the steps.

2. Add Details to the Tasks

Once you have the tasks listed, you need to attach the team members who are responsible for those tasks. You’ll also need to identify any variables and events that might deviate the process.

3. Check Your Work

It’s critical that you get these first steps right. Once you’ve completed them, it’s important that the key stakeholders review your outline. They’ll help you make sure that what you collected is accurate. If it’s not, you’ll need to revise these first two steps.

4. Make Your Flow Chart

Once you’ve gotten the okay from your stakeholders, you can begin to draw your production flow chart. Use the symbols listed above to map out the production flow chart by hand or use online software or project management software .

Once you’ve mapped out the tasks that are required to manufacture a product and you’re ready for production, you’ll need a production schedule. This free production schedule template for Excel helps you keep track of the status of production orders, starting and ending production inventories and important due dates.

When to Use a Production Flow Chart

There are many applications for using a production flow chart. It’s designed to help you understand the manufacturing process , which leads to seeing where and how you can improve those processes.

Not only will a production flow chart help you to better understand your manufacturing process and improve it, but it’s a great communication tool. The visual aspect of the production flow chart makes it easy to show everyone on the team how the process is being executed. This helps everyone know what they need to do.

Production flow charts are a great way to document a process, but they’re also valuable when you’re planning a project . They can help you discern the best processes to get your product to market fast while keeping to your quality expectations.

Advantages of Using a Production Flow Chart

A production flow chart is great for communicating process improvements and sharing them with both your team and management in a clear and easy-to-understand presentation. They can turn a complicated process into a clear visual asset.

The production flow chart also helps with analyzing issues in your manufacturing process. It can help you pinpoint where you reduce costs and save time. You can look at each step in your process and identify areas that are wasteful. By eliminating them you can increase your productivity.

Also, production flow charts are good for project documentation . They capture processes in a way that everyone can understand and can be shared across departments. This helps bring everyone together when it comes to cleaning up wasteful processes. It also explains why the process is the way it is, which is helpful to keep everyone on the same page.

Disadvantages of Using a Production Flow Chart

A production flow chart is without its problems. For example, if you have to change the production flow chart, you’ll have to redraw it. Any small change to one of the steps requires a full rewrite of the document, which is time-consuming and frustrating.

Also, if you’re dealing with a complex process, the production flow chart could end up cluttered and difficult to understand. If the production flow chart can’t be read easily, its production planning benefits are lost. When making one, think about steps that can be combined or simplified.

You’ve probably already noticed that the symbols on a production flow chart aren’t on your keyboard; you have to either draw them by hand or use software that allows you to create those symbols. That means it can be difficult to make a production flow chart and share it.

ProjectManager and Production Planning

If you use project management software, then you can take the lessons of a production flow chart and add them to your planning. ProjectManager is software that helps you plan, manage and track your production. You can easily share plans and when changes are required, they can be simply added and everyone’s plan is updated at the same time.

Plan on Robust Gantt Charts

A production flow chart is going to be of great assistance when planning your manufacturing production cycle. You can easily turn that flow chart into a Gantt chart , which organizes all your steps, links dependencies to avoid bottlenecks and filters for the critical path. You can also add milestones such as when you need documentation. Once you set the baseline, you can track your planned progress against your actual progress in real time to help you stay on schedule.

Track Progress With Real-Time Dashboards

When you set the baseline on the Gantt chart, you can toggle over to the live dashboard , which collects real-time data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts. The real-time dashboard gives you a high-level view of production, from costs to workload and more. There’s no setup required, it’s ready when you are.

When you want to get more information, use our customizable reporting features . You can filter each report to show only what you want to see. Quickly generate reports on status, timesheets and much more. Reports can also be used to keep your stakeholders and management updated.

Related Content

ProjectManager is software that helps you manufacture more efficiently. It’s also an online hub for all things project management. We publish new blogs weekly and have informative guides and tutorial videos as well as free templates. Here are just a few links to some of that content.

• How to Create a Master Production Schedule (MPS)
• Production Planning in Manufacturing: Best Practices for Production Plans

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6 Simple Steps to Creating Business Process Flow Diagrams

You know company processes inside out. But what about new hires? They’re stuck in an endless cycle of reading manuals and quizzing colleagues to execute basic tasks. That said, even long-term employees waste time hunting for information on how certain processes function.

In fact, over 57 percent of employees say this is the reason for low productivity at work. They spend around two hours a day on average looking for relevant data, customer use cases and understanding hierarchies. Not only does this make the organization less effective, but it negatively affects its customer service and revenue generation.  

Whether you’re training a new employee or conducting a small refresher for the company veterans, penning down business processes in one place—with user-friendly tools—can help streamline the process.

This is where documentation solutions like corporate wikis, knowledge bases and digital adoption platforms come in handy. In this article, we’re going to dive into one such tool that helps employees learn on the job quicker: business process flow diagrams. 

Let’s get started!

What is process flow?

A process flow is the sequence of steps or activities involved in a particular process or workflow.

It outlines how inputs, activities and yields connect highlighting the stream of data or materials through different stages.

Defined process flows give a clear and organized depiction of the structure, reducing bottlenecks and clarifying steps. They're essential for training, optimization and communication inside an organization.

What is a process flow diagram?

A Process Flow Diagram (PFD) is a visual representation of the steps within a flow cycle. Most process flow diagrams use elements like arrows and shapes to show the progression of materials, data or activities through different phases.

A PFD outlines actions employees must take to achieve a particular outcome.

They first appeared way back in 1921. A husband and wife duo, Lillian and Frank Gillberth, were researching ways to improve workplace productivity. During this, they stumbled upon the concept of a process chart, which they pitched to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Here’s what a typical example looks like: 

With flowcharts, documenting current business processes—and creating new ones — becomes a lot easier. This is because they provide an in-depth insight into each process and the people involved in it. This helps you find bottlenecks. And in turn, you can brainstorm solutions to make the process more efficient.

Business process flow diagrams can also help ensure your business processes are in-line with the company’s goals. When you connect inputs and outputs with in-between actions, you gain an insight into the company's workflow. This makes it easier to understand whether everything is running smoothly and efficiently. 

Suppose the company’s goal is to decrease expenditure on inventory. Simply create a flowchart for the inventory management process. Analyze each step, find resource-intensive actions that cause financial drain. And finally, remove or automate them. This helps the business function more efficiently while saving money.

5 Benefits of business process flow diagrams

At first glance, your business processes may seem all hunky dory. But as you start process mapping, you’re bound to discover a few unexpected twists and turns. Business process flow diagrams let you take a step back and get a broader view of how the company functions. 

This way, you’ll be able to identify big-picture problems that may be impacting your bottom line. Apart from this, here are five more benefits you stand to gain with flowcharts: 

Helps in automation 

You can’t automate SOPs or onboarding guides without understanding the whole process in depth. Flowcharts let you see each step of the process in sequence. This improved visibility helps you identify rule-based processes that can be automated. 

Standardizes processes

Business process diagrams help ensure each process is carried out in a consistent way. It does this by breaking each task into bite-sized steps. This detailed approach helps employees understand each process better. Breaking these sequences into smaller parts also helps you see which actions are required for each step. 

Once mapped, these process documents can be used for years—unless you encounter bottlenecks. The result? Your company processes are streamlined and carried out in the samy way, every time. 

Training employees 

Companies spend big bucks while onboarding an employee. From orientation to the training period: it’s an expensive ride. One way to save on these costs is by implementing business flow diagrams. They contain step-by-step processes that help employees quickly understand action items. 

It also gives everyone a resource to fall back on when they’re unsure of how to proceed in a work situation. You can store all your flowcharts in a centralized database like a corporate wiki,  so all your business processes are laid out in one place for people to refer.  

Tools like Scribe can help you create step-by-step guides to help employees learn business workflow as well. You can also add videos and screen recordings to explain a process. And the visual nature means it helps with memory retention. So, refresher courses can take a backseat. 

Improving processes

With flowcharts, it gets easier to dissect complex business processes. You see how each process flows. This allows you to pinpoint room for improvement. The process of creating flowcharts also lets you engage with employees in various departments and find better solutions, faster. 

Eases communication 

While explaining a process to employees, text-based process mapping becomes very hard to follow. And let’s face it: people don’t enjoy reading large paragraphs either.  

With flowcharts, you can quickly point out relevant processes and assign tasks quicker. Everyone on the team also gets more visibility on which tasks are assigned to whom. They can then reach out to the designated person faster, instead of asking around for information. 

5 Steps to creating a business process diagram 

Documenting business processes can be very time-consuming. Especially if you’re typing out step-by-step procedures on a Word file. To make things easier, create business process diagrams to visually map out each workflow. This makes it easier to streamline workflow and guide employees. Here’s how to do it: 

Outline your current processes

Determine the chief elements of each process. These include inputs and their outputs, along with connectors. Inputs can be resources, data and other information that fuel a process. Their outputs can be new processes, decisions or permits. Say your input is a reimbursement form and the output is expense approval. 

The steps to connect this process would be:

• Collect reimbursement form.
• Analyze expenditure. 
• Match it with the receipt. 
• Check for spend limits or terms and conditions. 
• Confirm expenditure. 
• Approve/deny the reimbursement request. 
• Make payment. 

The above example depicts a rough step-by-step process to approve a reimbursement claim. While this structure remains largely the same for most businesses, there may be some variations. So, while outlining each process, make sure you’re customizing it to suit your company’s policies.  

Gather enough information 

While creating the sequence of events, chances are you’ll run into doubts about structure at some point. This is why you should make it a point to collect enough information to help you create a flowchart with no gaps. 

You can ask your colleagues for tips and best practices to understand the most efficient way to map the process. After this, tell them to list all the bottlenecks they face while executing it. Try to think of solutions and note them down. For instance, if a process is very lengthy, you could divide it into two halves and recruit one person to carry each one out simultaneously. This would help save on previous time. 

Involve relevant stakeholders

Once you’ve collected enough data about each process, it’s time to create your business process diagrams. During this step, make sure you involve team members from the relevant department. After all, they’d have a better grasp on niche processes. 

For example, employees in the marketing department would understand lead generation better. On the flip side, those from the development team will be able to offer more insights on technical processes. Take everyone’s feedback into account and tweak your flowcharts accordingly. Ask relevant questions like:

• Where do we encounter most problems?
• What can we do differently to speed up the process or save costs?
• What approach could be taken to solve each problem?

Don’t forget to include managers in the decision-making process. They supervise key departmental processes and understand day-to-day processes better. After creating your flowcharts, schedule a presentation with the senior management for approval. 

Use a business process management tool 

If you don’t have technical expertise, there are several code-free workflow builders to help out. Tools like Lucidchart or Canva are great for creating graphic flowcharts collaboratively. You can also use the features in your BPM tools to create or update business processes whenever required. 

Several companies are adopting BPM tools into their process management. This is because they come with several benefits like: 

• More control over business operations. 
• Reduced chance of human error. 
• Improves collaboration between employees and managers.
• Speeds up processes, leading to improvement in overall productivity.

Assign user roles 

After your flowchart is ready, you’ll have to assign user roles. Assign responsibility for each step to an employee on the diagram. If you’re using a BPM tool, you’ll be able to assign roles through a dashboard. It’ll give you access to a scroll-down menu with relevant team members. Simply pick the right person and they’ll automatically be notified of the same. 

Launch & test the process

You’ve launched the process. But is it perfect? Keep testing iteratively to see if this is the most effective version. Check if employees have all the required tools and resources to execute the process in the right way. 

Get their take on what’s working and what isn’t. You may face some roadblocks in the beginning. But hang in there. The process gets better with each iteration. 

Take your first step towards documentation — with Scribe! 

Business process diagrams make it easier to improve and create business workflows. Always remember: process mapping is a continuous process. You’ll have to keep analyzing each process regularly to find bottlenecks. Then brainstorm for solutions, and start implementing. 

Scribe makes business documentation easier for everyone. Employees have easier access to important resources and guides.

Sign up with Scribe today to automate your business documentation and improve productivity.

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10 Flow Chart examples - FREE downloads [in visio & PDF]

Flow charts are a diagrammatic representation of the inputs, outputs and steps that make up a business process. stakeholdermap.com

• The Top 10 Flow Chart symbols you need to know
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Why you need Lucidchart for Flowcharts!

[Business Process] Maps and flowcharts help make work visible. Increased visibility improves communication and understanding, and provides a common frame of reference for those involved with the work process. Damelio, R. 1996, pg. 1

Flow Chart examples from real world projects

Patient check in flow chart.

Raise Purchase Order Process

Distribution Process Flow Chart

Match Invoice Process

Get References for a New Hire Flow Chart

Project Start-up Flow Chart

Risk Management Process Flow Chart

Service Request - Call Flow Chart

Scrutiny Process

Scrutiny Process second example

Business Readiness Flow Chart

An example Data Flow diagram

Taking the Cat to the Vet - Flow Chart

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A guide to business process mapping

Kazyna turdibayeva september 2, 2024 process mapping.

Table of Contents

Just like navigators use maps to get through vast seas, businesses can use process maps as a key step in process analysis to navigate complex processes and relationships.

Being able to clearly design your business processes helps you understand how your business process works. Process mapping helps you learn what needs improvement, along with your strengths. By using business process mapping symbols, such as ovals for start and end points, rectangles for tasks, and diamonds for decision points, businesses can clearly represent different components of a process. 

Process mapping can also help businesses identify risks and compliance issues, optimize resources and workflows, and improve customer experience. Additionally, business process mapping can be used to develop process improvement initiatives and identify potential areas for intelligent automation.

What exactly is process mapping?

Business process mapping is a technique used to visually display how work is done in workflow steps from start to finish. A process map can also be called by different names, such as a flowchart, functional process chart, or workflow diagram.

Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is often used in formal diagrams to provide a structured way to represent tasks and workflows, allowing for clearer communication and understanding of complex processes.

Process mapping helps organizations understand and improve their work processes by displaying a visual representation of their workflow. By mapping out processes, teams easily communicate priority issues and identify where time and resources are wasted.

With a detailed process map, teams must identify and understand individual steps, devise precise timelines, and identify task owners. Business process mapping brings lots of helpful insights but is just one step in the overall goal of a business process analysis.

What is business process mapping used for?

Process mapping is executed to establish an order for procedures, a necessary prerequisite for any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Certain enterprises use process maps as templates, guidelines, or diagrams for tasks. These are meant to help guide employees on how to carry out procedures. 

Understanding the current process is a foundational step in business process mapping. Gathering information about the current process helps identify areas for improvement, engage stakeholders who manage and implement the process, and utilize process mapping tools for accurate documentation.

Relying solely on process maps without a business process management (BPM) platform often results in missed opportunities for improvement due to untracked metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). Process mapping comes before a BPM platform and is the basis of the whole workflow engine .

With a BPM platform, your enterprise can track the amount of time it takes to complete a process, spot bottlenecks or time-consuming tasks, reinforce defined execution standards, automate work, and more.

How to create a business process map

Below is a step-by-step guide to help you map your business processes.

1. Meet with all of your process stakeholders

Before you begin process mapping, you will want to gather all of the stakeholders that will be affected by a process together. Changing processes will affect the way people work. Make sure your staff is prepared mentally for the transition and that you are establishing workflows that are conducive to their work.

2. Define the starting and ending points

Establish where a process starts and where it stops. Some processes are more complex than others and thus have multiple endpoints. Thinking of all possible outcomes is critical to avoid confusion later on.

3. List which actions are making the process actually work

List the steps that drive your process forward. An active voice with action verbs should be used to describe each task, such as “fill out request form” or “contact supplier.” 

4. Determine a sequence order

After defining the tasks that move your process from start to finish, now you need to put them in chronological order. Each action is supposed to trigger the following step in the sequence.

Common BPMN symbols. Sourced by Lucidchart.

5. Mark with appropriate symbols

When marking workflows, you’ll want to ensure you are following BPMN 2.0 , the universal notation for business process modeling . BPMN consists of three main elements: events, activities, and gateways. To connect these three main elements, a fourth element can be used, something called the “sequence flow.” These are the black lines with arrows that connect everything together.

Once your diagram is complete, ensure each process works as originally designed. Are your employees following the correct steps?

Once you’ve completed the main steps of business process mapping, it’s time to go one step further and implement the culture of continuous improvement with the next concluding steps. 

7. Analysis 

The analysis phase is about working through the map to identify opportunities for improvement. Good questions to ask in the analysis are: can steps be eliminated? Can tasks be completed more efficiently? Are there potential bottlenecks slowing down the throughput time? Analyzing the entire process is crucial to identify dependencies and inefficiencies. 

8. Develop new methods of work 

Once you have worked out the areas for improvement in work processes, it’s time to eliminate unnecessary actions and manual work, rearrange or automate business process steps, and develop more effective workflows.

9. Process management

This final phase is about maintaining effective processes with regular reviews and progress monitoring . The most effective process map is one that is kept fresh and used actively.  

The biggest benefits of process mapping

1. sharing visual information, data, and ideas.

Process mapping allows teams to communicate complex information more effectively. By creating visual representations of processes, it becomes easier to convey information, share ideas, and discuss potential improvements. Visual maps enable stakeholders to grasp the workflow steps and understand the relationships between different tasks, fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing.

2. Providing digestible information for effective problem-solving 

Complex processes can often be overwhelming, making it challenging to identify bottlenecks or areas for improvement. Business process mapping breaks down these intricate workflows into easily understandable symbols and steps. This simplification helps stakeholders gain a clear understanding of the process, enabling them to identify inefficiencies and propose solutions more efficiently. Different mapping techniques, such as flow charts and swim-lane diagrams, facilitate this understanding by providing visual representations of the processes.

3. Breaking complex processes down into universally understood symbols

Process mapping utilizes universally recognized symbols and notations, making it easier for individuals across different departments and teams to comprehend the workflow. Regardless of their expertise or background, employees can understand the process represented on the map, facilitating cross-functional collaboration and fostering a shared understanding of the organization’s operations.

4. Providing a visual representation of the process from start to finish

One of the primary advantages of business process mapping is its ability to provide a comprehensive visual representation of a process, from its initiation to its completion. This end-to-end overview helps stakeholders identify dependencies, redundancies, and potential areas for optimization . It also enables them to track the progress of tasks, ensuring accountability and timely completion. A value stream map, a specific type of detailed flow chart used in Lean Six Sigma methodology, is particularly effective for illustrating complex processes and identifying areas for improvement. 

5. Building alignment and prioritization between various individuals and teams

Business process mapping brings individuals and teams together by providing a shared understanding of the organization’s objectives and processes. By visualizing the workflow, stakeholders can align their efforts, identify interdependencies, and prioritize tasks accordingly. This alignment enhances collaboration, minimizes misunderstandings, and improves overall efficiency.

Invoice payment process flowchart

Who maps the processes?

In most companies, the job of mapping processes is usually given to the Business Analyst or Process Improvement teams. These teams have the knowledge and expertise needed to understand the complexities of different business processes and turn them into visual representations. 

The Business Analysts work closely with stakeholders from different departments, having discussions, conducting interviews, and gathering data to fully grasp the existing processes. Using this information, they can create business process maps that accurately show the steps, dependencies, and interactions involved in each process.

Process mapping is a collaborative effort that involves the participation of individuals who have a deep understanding of the processes being mapped. This ensures that the process maps truly reflect how work is being carried out in the organization. While Business Analysts or Process Improvement teams usually take the lead, the involvement and input of stakeholders from various departments are crucial to ensuring the business process maps are both accurate and relevant. 

Process Mapping vs. Process Modeling

Process mapping is a valuable technique used to gain a comprehensive understanding of established processes within an organization. It involves creating visual diagrams that depict each activity, providing a clear and tangible representation of the overall business process landscape. This approach allows teams to identify the current state of processes, highlighting their sequence and dependencies. Process documentation plays a crucial role in supporting business operations by creating a clear blueprint of core processes, ensuring consistency, and facilitating process improvement initiatives.

On the other hand, process modeling takes a broader perspective by focusing on the desired state of processes within the entire organization. It enables teams to envision and design an optimized workflow that supports the lifecycle of processes and fosters continuous improvement. Business process modeling goes beyond simply mapping out the existing processes; it aims to create an ideal representation of how processes should be, considering factors such as efficiency, effectiveness, and resource allocation.

In simple terms, business process mapping provides a visual snapshot of the current state of business processes, while process modeling delves into the realm of optimization and simulation. Process mapping and business process modeling are complementary techniques. The former provides a foundation for understanding existing processes, while the latter enables organizations to optimize and simulate improved workflows. Both methods go under the larger Business Process Management effort.

6 typical process map types 

Start with the basics. Flowcharts are easy-to-follow visual maps that almost everyone can understand. Flowcharts provide basic process details such as inputs and outputs. 

• Deployment maps

Deployment maps (or cross-functional flowcharts) are ideal for finding those pesky bottlenecks. Deployment maps display relationships between different teams and use swimlane diagrams to illustrate how a process flows through your organization. 

• Detailed process maps

As the name suggests, detailed process maps show a deeper version of a process and contain information about sub-processes. 

• High-level process maps

High-level process maps are all about seeing the bigger picture. Otherwise known as value-chain or top-down maps, high-level process maps include the key process elements such as a supplier, process, output, input, or customer.   

• Rendered process maps

Rendered process maps show current and/ or future state processes. This information highlights areas for improvement. 

• Value stream maps

The final step is documenting the steps needed to develop products and services for an end user.

Process mapping symbols and their meanings 

Process symbols are a representation of individual elements in a process map. Otherwise known as flowchart symbols, flowchart shapes, or flow diagram symbols, process symbols have specific meanings. Like the musical notes printed on piano sheet music, process symbols are universal and have specific meanings.

Common process mapping symbols

7 popular process mapping tools

There are many business process mapping tools to choose from, but five of the most popular tools are: 

ProcessMaker

ProcessMaker offers an AI-powered process mapping functionality within its larger business process automation platform. 

Microsoft Visio 

Now part of the Microsoft Office pack, Visio is a diagramming and vector graphics application initially released in 1992. Microsoft Visio is widely used to create flowcharts and process maps.

Lucidchart 

A popular web-based diagramming application for visual collaboration and drawing. Users can revise and share charts and diagrams to improve processes, systems, and organizational structures. 

Diagrams.net

This freeware design tool can integrate with Google Documents and other online-based tools providing flexible diagram visualization options. While it does not offer an advanced collaboration functionality, its ease of use and zero cost make it a popular choice for beginners.

Users diagram via an HTML5 cloud-based app and can create UML diagrams, floor plans, Venn diagrams, flowcharts, and more. Users can share and edit diagrams in real time.

Launched in 2009, this web-based software is for designing and drawing diagrams. The tool creates flowcharts, wireframes, organizational charts, and more. 

SmartDraw  

Teams use this collaborative web-based diagramming tool to work on flowcharts, mind maps, and many other business visuals.  

Bottom line

Process mapping helps companies become more efficient with clear insights and defined goals to save time, money, and staffing. However, business process mapping was often a time-consuming and complex endeavor. Thankfully, things have changed.

With ProcessMaker, you can automatically track processes without the hassle of slow, manual work. What’s more, you’ll get real-time actionable insights from day one thanks to AI-powered process intelligence software. 

So steer your company in the right direction today by booking a meeting , and make business process mapping a breeze.

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Process flow chart examples that every business should have

Managing a business through well-designed and continuously monitored processes brings a number of business advantages: Efficiency, effectiveness, reliable information, ease of data collection and KPIs, as well as help in making tactical and strategic decisions in an agile and assertive way.

Currently, with the availability of BPM Low Code software the use of this form of management has become much more practical and easy to implement in companies.

And if you need some business process flow chart examples to get inspired when it comes to creating your own, stay calm: we have separated 5 of the most important ones so you can download and edit them right away. Just sign up to our free BPM platform .

Know more: The 10 Questions to ask when choosing BPM Low Code for your business

5 Ready-to-use process flow chart examples

1- process flow chart examples: continuous improvement.

One of the most important processes in a company is continuous improvement.

It’s one of the basics of BPM and controlling that process properly is very important.

In this process, anyone in the company can make a suggestion for improvement, which will be studied by process analysts and, if accepted, submitted to the Change Committee.

In the case of approval, you will need to document, request IT changes (if necessary) and then gauge improvements after the new process is in place.

See more details: Check diagram for continuous process improvement

2- Process flow chart examples: Sales

Every for-profit organization dominates some specific sales process.

Today, especially when it comes to B2B sales, the sales process is advisory and focused on helping the customer realize the value of their company’s solution to solve a problem, need, or desire for it.

In our sales process flow chart example 4 stages are considered: lead identification; qualification; proposal and proof of concept; and negotiation. So, feel free to check it out:

Check out more information: Sales Process Flow Chart: Close More Business!

3- Process flow chart examples: Hiring

Another key process in a company is hiring employees. After all, without people, there’s no way for a company to function.

This process involves a request from those who need the new employee, the selection of HR curricula, job advertisements, tests and interviews by both HR and applicant, as well as the department manager’s approval to hire.

Read more about this process:  Recruitment and selection processes: Bring more talent to the company

4- Process flow chart examples: ITIL service desk

Customer service satisfaction and after sales support have become key processes for customer loyalty and retention.

The secret of this type of process is not only to quickly resolve customer requests, but to create a knowledge bank so that attendants can resolve calls with increasing assertiveness and agility.

Get this  ITIL Service Desk process flow chart example:

Click here to know more: Check out the details of the ITIL Service Desk Process Workflow

5- Process flow chart examples: ITIL change management

The business environment is increasingly volatile and unstable. New technologies and markets arise continuously, therefore being prepared for change is a must for any manager.

Take a closer look: ITIL change management: employ best practices

So, were these examples of process flows useful to you? How good are you with BPMN notation? Take a test right now and find out !

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How to Create Business Process Flow Charts Using Excel: A Guide

Creating a business process flow chart in Excel is straightforward. Start by opening a new Excel document and selecting the ‘Insert’ tab. Choose ‘SmartArt’ from the ‘Illustrations’ group and select ‘Process’ from the left-hand pane. Pick the flow chart design that fits your needs, and then fill in the steps of your process accordingly. You can adjust the design and format as necessary.

After completing your business process flow chart in Excel, you will have a visual representation of the steps in a business process. This can be helpful for training new employees, analyzing existing processes, and identifying areas for improvement.

Introduction

Flow charts are a fantastic tool for visualizing complex processes, breaking them down into easy-to-understand steps. They help us to see the big picture, as well as the tiny details that make up that picture. In the business world, they are particularly useful for mapping out the steps in a process, identifying bottlenecks, and finding areas where improvements can be made. Excel, with its grid structure, is an ideal platform for creating flow charts, as it allows you to easily move shapes and arrows around to reflect the process accurately.

Whether you’re a small business owner trying to streamline your operations, a manager looking to improve your team’s workflow, or an employee tasked with documenting a process, knowing how to create a flow chart in Excel is a valuable skill. It’s not only about making your work life easier but also about enhancing productivity and efficiency in your business processes. Plus, you don’t have to be a tech wizard to do it—Excel simplifies the process with its SmartArt feature. So let’s dive in and learn how to create business process flow charts with Excel.

Step by Step Tutorial: Creating Business Process Flow Charts in Excel

Before we begin, let’s understand what we’re trying to achieve. Creating a business process flow chart in Excel will give us a visual guide to the steps in a business operation. It helps in understanding the workflow, communicating the process to others, and identifying areas for improvement.

Step 1: Open Excel and Select SmartArt

Open a new Excel document, go to the ‘Insert’ tab, and click on ‘SmartArt’.

In the ‘SmartArt’ window, you’ll find a variety of graphics to choose from. For a business process flow chart, you’ll likely want to choose one of the options under the ‘Process’ category. This step sets the foundation for your flow chart.

Step 2: Choose Your Flow Chart Design

Select a design that matches the process you want to chart.

Each design comes with a different layout and number of steps. Consider the complexity of your process and the number of steps when choosing your design. You can change the design later if necessary.

Step 3: Fill in the Steps of Your Process

Click on the boxes and type in the steps of your business process.

As you fill in the steps, think about the order and flow of the process. Make sure each step flows logically into the next. You can add or remove steps as needed by clicking the ‘Add Shape’ or ‘Delete’ buttons in the SmartArt Design tab.

Step 4: Customize Your Flow Chart

Change colors, shapes, and sizes to make your flow chart clearer and more visually appealing.

Excel offers a variety of formatting options to make your flow chart look professional. You can access these options in the ‘SmartArt Design’ and ‘Format’ tabs. Use colors to differentiate between types of steps or to highlight important parts of the process.

Step 5: Adjust the Layout As Necessary

Move shapes around to better reflect the process and adjust arrows to show the direction of flow.

The flexibility of Excel allows you to rearrange the elements of your flow chart until it accurately reflects the process. Use the arrow keys or click and drag shapes to move them. Ensure the arrows connect the steps in a way that makes the flow of the process obvious.

Additional Information

Creating business process flow charts in Excel is not only useful for visualizing processes but also for analyzing and improving them. Remember, a flow chart is not just a static document—it’s a tool for process management. Don’t be afraid to adjust your chart as your process evolves. Excel’s flexibility makes it easy to update your flow chart as changes occur.

Another tip is to involve your team in the flow chart creation process. Collaborative input can lead to a more comprehensive and accurate representation of the process. Plus, it ensures everyone is on the same page.

Finally, don’t forget to save your work. You can save your Excel document with the flow chart like any other Excel file. You may also want to export it as a PDF or image file to share with those who might not have Excel.

• Open Excel and select ‘SmartArt’ from the ‘Insert’ tab.
• Choose a flow chart design from the ‘Process’ category.
• Fill in the steps of your process by clicking on the boxes and typing.
• Customize the design for clarity and visual appeal.
• Adjust the layout of shapes and arrows to reflect the flow accurately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i add more steps to my flow chart after i’ve started.

Yes, you can add more steps by clicking the ‘Add Shape’ button in the SmartArt Design tab.

Can I share my flow chart with people who don’t have Excel?

Yes, you can export your flow chart as a PDF or image file to share with others.

What if my process is too complex for a single flow chart?

Consider breaking the process into multiple flow charts, each representing a different part of the process.

Can I print my flow chart?

Yes, you can print your flow chart directly from Excel. Just make sure it fits on the page before printing.

Can I use flow charts for processes outside of business?

Absolutely! Flow charts can be used for any process, whether it’s personal, educational, or otherwise.

Creating business process flow charts with Excel is a skill that can immensely benefit anyone in the business realm. It’s a powerful way to visualize, communicate, and improve your business processes. Whether you’re a seasoned Excel user or new to the platform, the steps outlined in this article will guide you in creating effective flow charts.

With practice, you’ll be able to whip up a flow chart with ease, making you a valuable asset to any team or organization. So go ahead, give it a try—your business processes (and your colleagues) will thank you for it!

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.

Read his full bio here.

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How to conduct process analysis: Step-by-step guide and key tools

September 3, 2024 - 10 min read

Process analysis is a way for businesses to gain a deeper understanding of the systems and tasks that make up the work they do.

It can be a game changer for your organization because it lets you:

• Identify opportunities for efficiency to reduce costs and speed up delivery
• Find bottlenecks, duplicated tasks, or processes that are simply unnecessary
• Optimize any processes that are contributing to poor outcomes
• Spot areas where you can deploy automation

Other guides to business process analysis out there will take you through the academic definitions and labor the many benefits of the method. If that’s what you need, you’ll find that information easily enough.

Here, though, we’ll take a different approach. In this guide, we’ll cut straight to how you can kick off process analysis in your business. We’ll show you how to properly conduct process analysis, before sharing some tools that can be useful along the way.

One tool we’ll highlight in particular is workflow automation software. An overlooked way to improve processes is to automate them entirely. With Wrike , our workflow management tool, that’s much easier than you might think.

2 steps before you can conduct a process analysis

While process analysis is a discrete stage in the BPM methodology, it’s impossible without the two preceding steps in the chart above: process identification and process discovery. 

Together, these three stages enable you to take a deep look at your current processes before you start to redesign and implement new processes. 

So, to be able to kick off your process analysis, you first need to do the following:

1. Identify the scope of a given process (process identification) 

The first step here may seem obvious — namely, you need to identify what processes are taking place and choose which you want to analyze in detail. However, there’s greater complexity in this stage than there might first appear. 

For example, say you’re a manufacturing business. You’ll undertake a range of different processes, including product design, logistics, and product assembly. These processes are discrete, even though they may be closely interrelated. 

In the process identification stage, you need to clearly draw up a list of these processes and assess their individual scope. Where does one process end and another begin? What are the inputs and outputs of a particular process? And which process do you want to prioritize for analysis and improvement? 

2. Gather as much information as possible about that process (process discovery)

In the second stage, you’re looking to build out a map of how your chosen process functions right now , in detail (often, you’ll see this referred to as your “as is” process). This map should include the stakeholders and resources involved, what tasks are being performed, how these tasks relate to each other, and the timeline of the entire process. 

The approach you take to do this will depend on the specific process. For instance, you may need to interview colleagues about their roles. You may be able to refer to some process documentation for insights. Or you may be able to discover your processes digitally, via “task mining.” If all processes are performed on a computer, a task mining device can track your actions in real time to provide a map of your processes.

Ultimately, it’s a detailed process map, model, or flowchart that you’re looking to develop at this stage. You can find more information in our guide to process mapping .

Now, with a process map to hand, it’s time to dig into the details of your process to understand how it works and where there are opportunities for improvement.

How to analyze your processes: 4 approaches

Given the sheer diversity of processes in business operations, there’s no single methodology for analyzing processes. 

That said, most businesses will benefit from four basic analysis techniques. These will help you assess how particular elements of your process are affecting your organization and how you could improve particular process steps:

Observation analysis

When you’re physically conducting a task, you may not be fully aware of how efficiently you’re performing it. This is the idea behind observation analysis. While it’s a low-tech analytical method, it can reveal some important insights about your tasks.

All it takes is someone to observe colleagues to identify inefficiencies in what they do, bottlenecks in their teams, and opportunities for greater productivity in the work they’re doing.

Value-added analysis

As its name suggests, value-added analysis is a way to determine which processes add value to a process or its users. In business, colleagues can continue to perform a process just because that’s the way it’s always been done. Value-added analysis gives you the distance to ask whether a given process is actually worthwhile.

So, for every step in your process map or flowchart, you should ask what value that step is adding. Does it contribute to the satisfaction of the end user? Is it necessary for the process’s final output? Does it contribute to the overall needs of the organization?

If your answer to all three questions is no, then that step in the process is not adding value, and you’ll likely be able to remove it from your process.

Gap analysis

Gap analysis is based on a single question: What is the gap between your desired level of value and the value that’s actually being created by your process? And where are you falling short? This is an essential question because it helps you identify key areas for improvement. 

For example, a gap analysis could reveal that you’re using too many resources to get the process output. It could show that you’re not working fast enough. It could alert you to the fact that, somewhere throughout the process, a step is causing disruption. 

To supplement and extend this analysis, you can use root cause analysis , which is designed to assess the basic causes behind these obstacles. For instance, why is your business working too slowly on a particular step? Or why are you using too many resources?

Predictive analysis

A gap analysis allows you to assess where your processes are falling short. But if you were to solve the problems that your root cause analysis revealed, how would you improve? For instance, could you improve profitability, and by how much?

This is the information that predictive analysis provides. It allows you to simulate how the process would look if you improved the gaps in value. For instance, if you could automate some of your process steps, what gains would you make in efficiency? How much time would it save you? And what savings would this allow in financial terms? 

In all these analyses, you should be on the lookout for opportunities for process automation or continuous improvement, ways to create more efficient workflows, and places where you can reduce waste. 

3 tools that can improve your process analysis

When it comes to analyzing your processes, you don’t need to do it alone. Instead, there are a range of process analysis tools out there that are designed to make finding efficiencies easier. 

• Task mining software: As we mentioned above, task mining is a technology that tracks any tasks or processes that you perform within a digital environment. So, it won’t be able to help if your processes involve phone calls or live meetings, for example, but it can be extremely useful for you to understand the ways your teams are working online. Simply, task mining software tracks your tasks and processes and shows you which can be done more efficiently. For instance, it can flag up opportunities for automation or reveal redundant steps along the way. 
• Process modeling tools: Without a tool to model your processes and tasks, you won’t get very far with the discovery stage of your process analysis. Whatever type of process you’re analyzing, it’s critical to have a way to visualize how that process works. This could be in the form of a flowchart, a process map, or a Gantt chart . Workflow or project management software can be useful here, as they typically come equipped with features that enable you to get visibility over your workflows and processes.
• Automation software: Finally, if you’ve identified opportunities for efficiency within your processes, workflow automation software lets you automate those tasks. Typically, all you need to do is set up automation rules, and, every time a task fits the right conditions, the software will automatically complete the process for you. 

Typically, these come as discrete tools with specific functionality. But if you’re serious about improving your processes, choose a platform like Wrike that unifies these functions together into one space. 

How Wrike can streamline your process analysis and automate tasks

Wrike’s workflow management software is built to help businesses streamline work, maximize efficiency, and empower their teams. Wrike is already used by more than 20,000 companies around the world to speed up and improve the way they deliver projects.

When it comes to process analysis and improvement, Wrike’s got your back. You can:

• Model your processes with Wrike’s Gantt charts . Forget drawing out your processes by hand. Instead, simply create dynamic, real-time process charts with Wrike’s Gantt chart functionality. Understand what tasks are being completed, by whom, and how they interrelate, all at the click of a button.
• Get visibility into disruptions, bottlenecks, and delays with Wrike’s advanced analytics . Understand how fast teams are working, where there are hold-ups, and what resources are missing with Wrike’s deep workflow analytics. 
• Automate tasks and processes from start to finish. Use Wrike’s rule-based automation logic to streamline your individual tasks. Then, with our custom request forms , you can automate entire workflows from ideation to approval. Also read : How to maximize the full potential of task automation
• Identify the best opportunities for automation with Wrike’s AI. Wrike Work Intelligence® works like task mining by tracking all your digital tasks and suggesting frequently repeated processes that are perfect opportunities for automation. Then, with your approval, our system will automate those tasks for you. 

Book a demo and try Wrike today. 

Morgan Jones

As a Content Marketing Manager at Wrike, Morgan is focused on developing and creating content for various channels, including blog posts, articles, social media copy, and email newsletters. With 10+ years of marketing experience, she has created content and marketing materials for various industries, including tech, franchise operations, financial institutions, and an international professional association. Her interests are in communication, collaboration, and productivity. She lives outside Orlando, Florida, with her husband and three children.

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• What is Record to Report (R2R) Proc...

What is Record to Report (R2R) Process: Benefits and Steps

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Key Takeaways

• The record-to-report (R2R) process involves collecting, recording, validating, and reporting financial data to ensure accurate financial reporting and compliance.
• The R2R process includes data collection, recording, validation, ledger maintenance, financial close, consolidation, and reporting. 
• R2R process automation boosts accuracy, automates reporting, and frees accountants for strategic tasks.

Introduction

The objective of the record-to-report (R2R) process is to monitor a company’s financial transactions and generate reports that reflect the organization’s financial performance. The R2R process begins by documenting all financial activities, including revenue and costs, and concludes by generating comprehensive financial statements for that accounting period.

Because of the current economic uncertainties, the importance of the R2R process has reached its highest point. Record-to-report processes help companies evaluate their financial well-being and enhance decision-making with accurate and timely reports. This enables businesses to quickly adjust to market changes and strategically plan for future periods. 

This blog will discuss the record-to-report process, understanding how it functions, its benefits, and strategies for enhancing the R2R process.

What is a Record to Report (R2R)?

Record to report is a financial management process that involves collecting, processing, and presenting accurate financial data. This process starts with recording all financial transactions in the accounting system. It includes activities such as journal entries, reconciliations, and consolidations. 

The ultimate goal of R2R is to produce comprehensive financial reports like balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. These reports help stakeholders understand the company’s financial performance, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and support strategic decision-making.

What are the Steps Involved in the Record to Report Process?

As the name suggests, the record-to-report process can be broken down into two phases: record and report. This process involves several key steps to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting. Here are the detailed steps involved in the record-to-report process: 

Data collection

The data collection phase involves gathering financial data from various sources, such as transactions, receipts, invoices, and other financial documents. This step ensures that every financial activity within the organization is captured and accounted for. 

Data recording

Once the data is collected, it needs to be accurately recorded in the accounting system through journal entries . This involves categorizing expenses, coding transactions correctly, and ensuring that debits and credits are balanced. Proper data recording is essential because it directly impacts the accuracy of financial statements. Any errors in this step can lead to discrepancies that may require significant time and effort to correct later.

Data validation

Data validation is the process of verifying the accuracy and completeness of the recorded data by performing account reconciliations and checks. This involves cross-checking the data against bank statements, invoices, and other supporting documents to identify and correct any discrepancies. The goal of data validation is to ensure that all financial information is accurate, reliable, and free from errors.

Ledger maintenance

Maintaining and updating general and subsidiary ledgers is a critical aspect of the R2R process. This step ensures that all accounts are balanced and up-to-date. It involves ensuring that all transactions are accurately recorded and categorized, making it easier to generate reliable financial reports. Regular review of ledger entries is necessary to identify any inaccuracies and make necessary adjustments. 

Financial close

The financial close process involves finalizing all entries, completing reconciliations, and making necessary adjustments to close the accounting period. This step is critical for preparing month-end, quarter-end, or year-end financial statements. During the financial close, all financial activities must be accurately recorded, and any discrepancies must be resolved. 

Consolidation

Consolidation involves combining financial data from various departments or subsidiaries into a single set of financial statements. This step is particularly important for organizations with multiple entities or business units. During consolidation, intercompany transactionsand balances are eliminated to present a unified financial view.

Financial reporting

Generating financial reports such as balance sheets , income statements, and cash flow statements is a key step in the R2R process. These reports provide a comprehensive view of the company’s financial performance and are essential for stakeholders to understand the financial position of the organization and for maintaining transparency, gaining stakeholder trust, and supporting strategic decision-making.

What are the Benefits of an Efficient Record-to-Report Process?

An efficient record-to-report process provides numerous benefits that enhance an organization’s financial management and strategic capabilities. Here are some key benefits:

Improved financial accuracy

The R2R process ensures that all financial data is accurately collected, recorded, and validated, which minimizes errors, leading to reliable financial reports. When the financial records are precise, it reduces the risk of costly mistakes and enhances the credibility of the financial information. This accuracy helps in identifying true financial performance and health, enabling better strategic planning and operational efficiency.

Timely financial reporting

Streamlined R2R processes enable organizations to close their books quickly and generate financial reports in a timely manner. In fact, HighRadius’ R2R solution reduces your financial close time by 30%. Timely financial reporting provides management and stakeholders with current financial information, facilitating rapid and informed decision-making. 

Increased transparency

An efficient R2R process enhances transparency by providing clear and detailed financial statements . This transparency builds trust with investors, regulatory authorities, and other stakeholders, as they can rely on the accuracy and integrity of the financial information presented. Transparent reporting also fosters a culture of accountability within the organization, encouraging responsible financial management practices and improving stakeholder relationships.

Cost efficiency

Automation and standardization within the R2R process reduce the time and effort required for financial reporting, leading to cost efficiency. By minimizing manual data entry and reconciliation tasks, accounting teams can focus on more strategic activities, such as financial analysis and planning. This efficiency lowers operational costs and improves the overall productivity of the finance department. 

Better decision-making

With accurate and timely financial reports, management can make more informed strategic decisions. Comprehensive financial analysis provides insights into trends and financial performance, helping management allocate resources more effectively and plan for future growth. This enhanced decision-making capability ensures that the organization can respond swiftly to market changes, optimize operations, and pursue opportunities that align with its strategic goals.

How Can HighRadius Help in Automating Your R2R Process?

HighRadius offers a cloud-based Record to Report Solution that helps accounting professionals streamline and automate the financial close process for businesses. We have helped accounting teams from around the globe with month-end closing, reconciliations, journal entry management, intercompany accounting, and financial reporting.

Our Financial Close Software is designed to create detailed month-end close plans with specific close tasks that can be assigned to various accounting professionals, reducing the month-end close time by 30%.The workspace is connected and allows users to assign and track tasks for each close task category for input, review, and approval with the stakeholders. It allows users to extract and ingest data automatically, and use formulas on the data to process and transform it. 

Our Account Reconciliation Software provides an out-of-the-box formula set that can configure matching rules and match line-level transactions from multiple data sources and create templates to automate various transaction processing required for month-end close. Our solution has the ability to prepare and post journal entries, which will be automatically posted into the ERP, automating 70% of your account reconciliation process. 

Our AI-powered Anomaly Management Software helps accounting professionals identify and rectify potential ‘Errors and Omissions’ throughout the financial period so that teams can avoid the month-end rush. The AI algorithm continuously learns through a feedback loop which, in turn, reduces false anomalies. We empower accounting teams to work more efficiently, accurately, and collaboratively, enabling them to add greater value to their organizations’ accounting processes.

1) What is the record to report in accounting?

Record to report (R2R) in accounting is a financial management process that involves collecting, recording, validating, and reporting financial data. It ensures accurate financial reporting, and compliance with regulations, and provides insights for informed decision-making and strategic planning.

2) Why is the record-to-report process important?

The record-to-report (R2R) process is important because it ensures accurate financial data collection, recording, and reporting, enabling compliance with regulations and providing vital insights for strategic decision-making. This enhances financial transparency, efficiency, and organizational trust.

3) What is the purpose of R2R?

The purpose of record to report (R2R) is to collect, process, and deliver accurate financial data, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and providing insights for strategic decision-making. This process enhances financial transparency and operational efficiency.

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Transform your record-to-report processes with highradius.

Get granular visibility into your accounting process to take full control all the way from transaction recording to financial reporting.

HighRadius Autonomous Accounting Application consists of End-to-end Financial Close Automation , AI-powered Anomaly Detection and Account Reconciliation , and Connected Workspaces. Delivered as SaaS, our solutions seamlessly integrate bi-directionally with multiple systems including ERPs, HR, CRM, Payroll, and banks. Autonomous Accounting proactively identifies errors as they happen, provides the project management specifically designed for month end close to manage, monitor, and document the successful completion of tasks, including posting adjusting journal entries, and provides a document repository to support each month’s close process and support the financial audit.

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Blog Graphic Design 21+ Flowchart Examples for Business Use

21+ Flowchart Examples for Business Use

Written by: Jennifer Gaskin May 17, 2023

Process flowcharts can be used to visualize the steps in a process, organize the flow of work or highlight important decisions required to complete projects.

These amazing flowchart examples with their many use cases may help you apply the format to tackle problems in your organization.

Once you’ve gotten a bit of inspiration, head over to Venngage’s Flowchart Maker to begin creating engaging and effective flowcharts for your organization. We offer hundreds of engaging, fully customizable flowchart templates that are easy to edit.

Click to jump ahead:

• Flowchart examples  

What is a process flowchart?

How do i make a flowchart with venngage, 21 flowchart examples.

Process flowcharts can come in many types and styles, but the basic format created by the Gilbreths a century ago remains the most popular.

If you’re planning to create a flowchart but not sure where to begin, here are some sample ideas to get you started.

Health and safety flowchart example

Keep your team safe in the event of inclement weather or another urgent situation with a health and safety flowchart.

For flowcharts that will apply to all members of the team, be sure you’re not using lingo that folks may not know. (This version also has the added benefit of being a cross-functional flowchart— more on that later .)

Flowcharts are particularly useful in implementing new procedures or training team members on your existing ones, as in the sample flowchart below.

This example applies to a finance department, but it could be adapted for any other industry or process.

Decision flowchart example

Let’s take a closer look at some process flowchart examples.

Some process flowcharts will be organized in a decision format, while others will follow a workflow.

There’s no one right way to do it, so it’s often a good idea to experiment with the format to get the best result.

The flow of information in this process flowchart is guided by the arrows, and there’s no need for the reader to make any decisions along the way.

On the other hand, this process flowchart is simple but requires the reader to make many decisions until they reach their logical conclusion.

Process flow diagrams example

Process flowcharts are sometimes referred to as flow diagrams. The term diagram may be more appropriate in technical fields like programming or engineering. Regardless of the terminology used, charts and diagrams serve the same purpose in organizing and visualizing a process flow.

Related :  How to Diagram a Business Process [Process Diagramming Templates]

Let’s take a look at some examples of process flow diagrams.

This process flow diagram was designed to assess the level of risk team members assume based on their jobs within the organization.

This flow diagram was designed for troubleshooting, but it could apply to any process flow in which the reader will need to make a series of choices, and can be used for both internal and external communications.

Here’s an example of a process flow diagram designed with customer service in mind. It’s easily customized for any job, especially those that deal with clients, customers or members of the public.

Workflow diagram example

Whether you’re dealing with new employees or you’re instituting a new policy that your existing team members will need to master, workflow diagrams can be helpful.

Workflow charts and workflow diagrams are useful in any industry, even one as familiar as food service. After all, everyone is new to a workflow when they first begin.

This workflow diagram example introduces a new student to the various offices they’ll need to know to be successful. It’s easy to customize this example to ensure that new team members get the lay of the land quickly.

As this workflow chart example illustrates, workflow charts do not have to be vertical to be effective. In fact, creating a horizontal workflow diagram is better in some cases, as it may be more intuitive.

Simple flowchart example

We’ve touched upon this already, but flowcharts do not necessarily require a complex structure with questions and answers. Some of the most effective flowcharts are also the most simple.

This simple, easy-to-read flowchart focuses on varying levels of risk in an organization. But it could be modified to organize information across teams or departments in any business.

Consider creating flowcharts for your team members to solve common problems. This simple flowchart is about troubleshooting a computer issue, but it could be customized to apply to any of the repeated issues your team has with systems or processes.

Related:  What is a Problem-Solving Flowchart & How to Make One

Website flowchart example

One of the first industries to fully embrace flowcharts was the computer programming industry. Flowcharts continue to remain popular among programmers, designers and developers. They can aid with troubleshooting or even organizing content on a website.

This flowchart example covers troubleshooting server problems to ensure a website remains up and running.

Website flowcharts are often referred to as site maps. Site maps are critical tools for visualizing all the content and the structure of a website.

Cross-functional flowchart example

Process flowcharts are at their best when they are organizing complex and potentially confusing information. Often, that means ensuring the flow of information across departments in an organization and detailing who is responsible for which task.

This cross-functional flowchart shows the departments or teams impacted at the top. When creating a cross-functional flowchart, it’s best to err on the side of a subdued color palette, as these types of flowcharts and process diagrams can become confusing.

We mentioned this flowchart earlier as a great example of a simple approach. That’s particularly notable considering that it’s also cross-functional thanks to the color-coded key distinguishing which teams or individuals will need to make each decision.

Circular flowchart example

Many processes are circular in nature, meaning they repeat themselves again and again. That’s why it’s useful to have a circular process flowchart template to visualize repeating processes.

Use a circular flowchart like this one to visualize the steps a lead takes to become a regular customer or, as this one does, visualize the revenue cycle of a doctor’s office.

Here we see a slightly different approach to a circular flowchart. In this case, the content is similar, but the circle takes on a pie chart shape.

Fun flowchart example

While flowcharts are excellent tools for internal communication and organization, they are also popular among the general public. Pop culture, sports and lifestyle are all topic areas that lend themselves to flowcharts in content marketing or other external communications.

Help readers determine if they’re ready to buy a house with a fun process flowchart like this one. This type of content is useful for organizations in real estate, transportation, home design and more.

While flowcharts are known for their utility, they can also just be pure fun like this one. You can customize this fun flowchart for internal communications or resize it to use for social media.

Use a process flowchart to engage in the cultural debate. And bonus points if you can be extra snarky with it, like this example that went viral on social media a few years ago.

A process flowchart, also known as a process flow diagram, is a type of flowchart that illustrates the steps involved in the completion of a task or process. In a process flowchart, various shapes and symbols represent different components of the process.

Flowchart software can be particularly useful in creating and customizing these diagrams efficiently.

The most commonly used flowchart shapes include:

• Parallelograms.

The invention of the flowchart can be traced back to husband-and-wife researchers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, who in the early 1920s developed what they called a process chart to diagram and improve workflows.

Process flowcharts soon caught on across many industries, particularly in computer science.

IBM used flowcharts to help engineers with early computer programming. Flowcharts have evolved along with businesses’ needs, and modern flowcharts can cover just about any area.

They can improve decision-making, allow for visualization of processes or help organize the flow of information.

One of the most popular uses for flowcharts is to make decisions. Even when the topic is flowcharts themselves like in this example, the basic structure of a decision flowchart is simple and clear.

Process and decision flowcharts can take on serious issues like this one that covers a disciplinary process. Similar to the previous example, lines and color variation are crucial aspects to ensuring the flow is obvious.

Some flowcharts are designed to focus on information organization. This sales pipeline flowchart example illustrates the steps involved in turning a lead into a sale, and the funnel-style flowchart keeps this complicated process on track

Related :  12+ Organizational Chart Examples and Templates

Venngage’s Flowchart Maker is simple and easy to use. Within 5 simple steps, you can create dazzling flowcharts to organize your team and keep your projects on track. No design experience required.

Step 1: Sign up for a free Venngage account

You can sign up with your email, Gmail or Facebook account.

Step 2: Select a flowchart template from our templates library

Aside from the ones we’ve shared above, we also offer hundreds of flowchart templates that are easy to edit even if you have no design skills.

Step 3: Start editing your flowchart

Most of our templates are created with the simple drag-and-drop editor that lets you design in minutes, even if you have no design skills.

We’re also rolling out new smart templates with the smart diagram editor which makes it easy for you to add new nodes/branches to your flowcharts.

You can add, edit, delete or drag nodes, texts, icons around in one click, and the node will automatically adjust to whatever content you add to it as well.

Step 4: Liven up your flowchart with icons, illustrations and branding elements

We offer over 40,000 icons and illustrations for you to visualize any information you want on your flowchart.

If you upgrade to a Business account, you can enjoy My Brand Kit —the one-click branding kit that lets you upload your logo and apply brand colors and fonts to any design.

Step 5: Share a public link for free or upgrade to download

Once you upgrade, you can download your flowchart in PNG, PDF, Interactive PDF or PowerPoint format—if you want to use it for your presentation.

Use process flowcharts to simplify your business communications

Explaining how things get done in your organization only goes so far. People are visual creatures, and visualizing processes, procedures, workflows and more through flowcharts can help make sure nothing gets lost in translation.

Organize your team, improve existing workflows, devise new ways of doing things and more with flowcharts using Venngage’s Flowchart Maker . Start creating your own flowchart for free, no design skills required.

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