Visual Process Mapping

What's a process? Are there different types of work processes? How should process improvement be tailored to different organizational cultures? The answers to these questions define the context for a successful process improvement effort.

A typical organization could have dozens or hundreds of work processes. The first step is to select the right improvement target that will have the greatest strategic value for the company.

There are two approaches for mapping. The first is the easiest to apply. It is easily understood and applied by the broadest range of workers. The second drives a deeper reflection on the purpose and structure of any work activity. Depending on the reason for your improvement questions, one approach or the other will provide the greatest and quickest returns on your effort.

Real life examples are provided along with the conceptual explanations. Some examples are literally "built right before your eyes", with notations about the questions and issues that framed each step in the flow of building the map.

Examples from a wide range of actual clients make the concepts in Visual Process Mapping come alive! See how the tools and concepts appear in for-profit firms and public sector agencies.

Creating a map is not an end in itself, but merely a tool for focused thought on how to work faster, smarter, and better. The criteria for a successful process provide the reference points for working smarter.

Most processes start to erode immediately after they've been redesigned! The Process Owner is the new organizational role required to secure the performance gains from a process improvement effort.

Regardless of your level of proficiency, you will find the explanations and examples in this eBook as invaluable tools to begin your process mapping. You will quickly notice yourself returning again and again with a greater insight and appreciation for the benefits that mapping provides, such as efficiency, productivity, and profits.

With 30+ years in organizational development, over 250 clients from a vast spectrum of businesses (Hewlett Packard, Stanford University, Levi Strauss and Co., Intel, United Defense, O'Connor Hospital) have sought his expertise. Anxious to jump start your process mapping work, consider adding Jerry to your team.

VPM gives you a clear, graphic definition of the key terms and concepts underlying process mapping. This sample explains the basic concept of a process directive vs. a process resource.

VPM provides the details to flesh out the subtleties behind the general concepts. This sample explains how each type of process calls for a different process improvement approach or strategy.

VPM provides examples to clarify the various approaches to process mapping. This sample shows an actual process map generated for a high-tech client; it is actually the final step in a series of files showing the step-by-step procedures for creating the map. Ample annotations point to the key issues isolated as a result of the mapping.

"This comprehensive program, which is delivered on CD-ROM, provides a rich set of resources to help newcomers to understand the basics of process management, strategies for mapping business processes in Inspiration, and how you can improve a process once you have created an initial map of it%u2026.

The book is presented as a series of linked Inspiration maps and outlines (the medium is the message!), and offers numerous examples of the different types and applications of process maps. I found Jerry's instructions and explanations to be concise, informative and clearly written. He also is very proficient at making Inspiration sit, beg and roll over - I didn't realize the program could be used to present this much information, with such clarity. Bravo..."

- Chuck Frey, Innovation Tools

The mindServegroup are specialists in Inspiration Software®. Drawing upon deep roots in education, business, eLearning, and Human Performance Technology, we are consultants and performance engineers engaged in learning and organizational development through visual demonstrations.

Our mission is to serve the minds of educational and professional thinking communities and to inspire visual thinking across a variety of disciplines.