Process Flows
Process Flows Provide Insight Into How Work Gets Done
What is a Process Flow?
Process flows (or process diagrams) provide a visual overview of all the tasks and relationships involved in a process.
The Purpose of Process Flows
The goal of illustrating a process could be two-fold:
- To explain how a process works
- To improve a process
Explaining How a Process Works
Most processes tend to be fairly opaque with a lot of institutional or "tribal" knowledge moving things forward. If you work an environment like this you probably hear a lot of comments that sound like this:
- "Bob knows what to do with those."
- "Sara handles that."
- "Ed decides which way to go with that."
But how do you explain these processes to new employees or to executives unfamiliar with all the details?
In most cases, you'll create a process flow using flowcharting tools like Visio or LucidChart by dragging and dropping icons representing tasks, decision points, inputs, etc. and then connecting them in the proper order.
This allows anyone outside of or unfamiliar with the process to follow the workflow step-by-step without a lot of expository explanation.
Improving a Process
It's one thing to show how a process works currently, it's quite another to show how the process could work better in the future.
This is the goal of process improvement—to improve the efficiency and accuracy of a process by reviewing its current state and finding ways of improving it.
There is a variety of process improvement methodologies to consider which we document in another article.
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Process Examples
Every department and group in an organization runs on some kind of process. Some are simple, like submitting a request for vacation time. Others are much more complex, like developing a new product.
We've compiled many common workflow examples that we've seen in the field in other articles but here's one example.
Contract Approval Process
This simple example shows the process flow of a contract that needs to be reviewed and approved by the Finance Department and then the Legal Department before being pushed into a contract database.
Tips for Creating Process Flow Diagrams
Creating a process flow diagram can seem simple at first but the more you dig into how the work gets done in your organization, the more you may find yourself struggling to recreate it visually. Here are some tips:
- Each box or icon should represent a SINGLE action or decision.
- When using a decision box (usually a diamond), label the arrows leading to the next logical steps with a question (Completed? Approved? etc.)
- Avoid having arrows cross over each other, which can confuse viewers.
- Create separate/child flow diagrams for subprocesses. You can note this within the main process illustration (e.g., "See Approval Subprocess.")
For more tips on creating process flows and anything else process-related, check out our free Business Process Management Guide.
Next Step: Process Automation
While it's helpful to document and illustrate your processes, to take them to the next level, you'll need to consider process automation.
By automating your processes, especially those that are currently handled manually, significant benefits can be realized:
- Greater Productivity
- Improved Job Satisfaction
- Increased Efficiency
- Full Audibility and Tracking
- Improved Accuracy
Building automated processes is similar to building process flow diagrams except, once completed, they become living, working processes where:
- Tasks are generated and assigned
- Alerts, reminders, and escalations are sent
- Actions, like providing approvals, trigger additional tasks
- Activity and performance is tracked
- Data is pushed into and pulled from other systems
Automation helps keep work moving forward while allowing teams to look back at performance, identify bottlenecks, and reduce mistakes.
Interested in Turning Process Flows into Automation?
We have a variety of resources to help you on your journey to an automated workflow.
Automate Any Business Process
To see how quickly you can begin automating your business processes, request a demonstration or trial of Integrify.
