Planning Your Processes

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The thought of mapping your first process can be daunting! How do I even start? How much detail do I need? We say start at the top!

• Step 1: Most processes can be broken down into 10-12 very high-level steps (or less!). Begin by building your main flow using only these high-level steps and finish with your first end point. Add your backstory in the top right corner that provides additional information on what this process is about, why it’s important, how it ties into other processes, what the expected outcomes are, etc.
• Step 2: Take your first step on your main flow and make it into a new related flow. Now navigate to this new and repeat the process, beginning with the high-level steps needed to complete the first task.
• Step 3: Continue to repeat this process for every step of the process, creating layers of related flows with each one containing more and more detail, until you’ve completed mapping all steps of the process.

How much detail do I need?

Think about the audience of your flows! It really depends on the purpose for the flows and who will be using them. Put yourself into the shoes of whomever will be using the flows to best determine what level of detail will be required:

• Flows that will be used to train and support new employees will need to include detailed step-by-step instructions that will allow them to execute the process with little to no mentoring or questions.
• Flows used by more senior team members who already have a high level of technical expertise will contain much less detail.

What about “blue moon” exceptions?

There will always be “one-off’s” or “edge cases” that the flows won’t catch, or “blue moon” exceptions that only occur once in a while. Don’t waste time trying to map all of these out! Put in an action shape that says “This is weird. See a supervisor or manager!” and move on. If it starts happening more and more, you can always come back and map it out at a later date.

When you're finished…we all need validation!

If all members of your team follow (or will be following) the particular process or procedure that you’ve been working on, it’s never a bad idea to have a validation session with both senior and junior members of your team once you’ve finished creating new flows. These sessions are extremely helpful for several reasons: 

• Senior members of the team may have found a more effective and efficient way to complete certain tasks, or may have additional tips, tricks or shortcuts that could be added to the flows so that all members of the team can benefit from them.
• More junior members will be able to quickly find any gaps or information that may be missing in the flows, and point out areas that could use additional clarification from a new employee perspective.
• These sessions also provide an opportunity for the team to reach a consensus on what the best practice should be.  Allowing all team members to participate in deciding what that is gets everyone on the same page and using the same version of the process.