2 min read

Process Mapping

Process Mapping

"Drawing a process flow chart gives me so much anxiety because there are all these symbols I need to memorise" :(

What if I said to you, that you only need to know 4 symbols to draw-out an end-to-end process map.

Here it is.

1. The OVAL

This signifies the beginning or end of a process.
- This will normally only appear at the start of a process and the end of a process.


2. The PROCESS rectangle
Use this to describe any key activity or work that takes place after an input or trigger.
Some examples::
- A file is sent to System A after once the user has completed form X
- A change request status is changed to Accepted once all mandatory fields are completed


3. The DECISION diamond
Use this to describe when a choice or decision needs to be made.
Some examples::
- Is the home loan help request asking for a loan extension? Yes/No.
-- Yes, send to loans department
-- No, send to sales support department

- Is file size greater 20mb? Yes/No.
-- Yes, show warning message to user “File size too large”
-- No, send file to system X.


4. The SUB-PROCESS rectangle
Use this diagram if a process activity/work can be broken down further into its own little process diagram.
Some examples::
-- Provisioning engineer process work request for Ethernet WAN service.
-- Major incident team assess P1/P2 tickets.


When talking with end-stakeholders about process mapping an AS-IS process flow or a future-state (TO-BE) process, a BA only needs to be able to draw using the above 4 symbols.
- And of-course don’t forget to draw arrows connecting the boxes so you can follow the process from start to end.


When starting out, make sure a process is first drawn from a high-level view.
- This view will likely include more sub-process boxes than the standard process box.
- Then as required, drill down into the sub-process boxes to understand the lower level detail as needed.

With enough practice, you will be surprised to find how useful and easy it is to map business processes, complex systems, systems integrations, data flows etc.

Happy process mapping