TOOL—PROCESS RELATIONSHIP MAP

The Process Relationship Map (PRM) is a picture of the input/output relationships between
the major work processes in an organization. It will help you understand and display the
network of processes required to run the business. It will also identify how other processes
affect or are impacted by a specific process selected for improvement.

When to Use

Use the PRM:

 Any time the business' operating context needs to be understood.

 During any analytical, definition, or design work where it is important to understand the big picture.
 During any project where it is important to understand how processes impact each other.

How to Use

Components of a Standard PRM

First, develop a Process Inventory using the Process Inventory Tool.

Then follow these steps to build a PRM:

1. Lay out a chart with bands for the process types:

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 Sample Chart

 Customer band—represents the processes that occur in the client's customers'

organizations that interface with the client's processes.
 Management band—represents the processes that provide direction and guidance to the
organization, e.g., Strategic Planning Process, Budgeting Process, and Business Planning Process.
 Primary band—represents the processes that produce the product or service that the client
organization produces. The value chain is another name for these key or core processes, e.g.,
Selling Process, Order Fulfillment Process, Customer Support Process, etc.
 Support band—represents the processes that enable the other processes to work effectively, e.g.,
Staffing Process, IS/IT Process, Accounts Payable Process, Capital Appropriation Process.
 Supplier band—represents the processes that occur in the client's suppliers' organizations that
interface with the client's processes.
2. Place the first process box from your Process Inventory in the appropriate band leaving space for
other processes that occur chronologically before this process. On the PRM, a box represents an entire
process. If it is important to show sub-processes and put them inside the process box.
Sample Chart with Process Box

3. Add "upstream" and "downstream" processes that provide input or receive output (refer
to your Process Inventory). Time moves from left to right.
Sample Chart with “Upstream” and “Downstream” processes

4. Connect the process boxes with labeled arrows representing the inputs and outputs for
each process. Typically, focus on the most important two or three outputs for each
process (refer to your Process Inventory).

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 Sample Chart with Input and Output arrows

5. Number the boxes top-to-bottom, left-to-right as identifiers, not to indicate specific

sequence.
6. Validate map and revise again.

Time Required

The information you need to build a PRM is the process profile data gathered in your
interviews with either the Executive Team or other designated specialists. Once that
information is collected, it may take you several hours to build the map, depending on its
complexity.

Materials Required

You will need the following materials to construct your PRM:

 Process Profile information

 Process Inventory

Tips

Give each process box a title that indicates the name of the process and not the name of the
department with most responsibility for the process. It is easy to misinterpret the map if the
boxes “sound” like departments. For example, it is better to call a process “Product
Design” than “Engineering” or “New Product Development” instead of “R&D.” If
necessary, add the word “Process” to each title to ensure the user reads the map as
processes, and not as departments.

Example—Process Relationship Map

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 PRM Example 1

PRM Example 2

TELECOM BUSINESS SYSTEMS - PROCESS RELATIONSHIP MAP

Customer needs

capital
Performance new pr oduct requirements

Management Strategic Budgeting Monitoring and

collater al
sales

Planning Process Process Feedback Process 7

leads

1 strategic 3
plan

•leads
Lead •report
Management
Process 13
funding designs
Product A sales coll ateral m aterials, tools

R&D Process Product competitiv e positioning

6 Planning Process quote
Primary 10
•market message
funding

Leads

•product pl ans
•promotional progr ams
•sales tools/c ollater al
customer needs

demographics Franchise
Marketing Manage ment
Process • mkt. strategy
• mkt. reqt’s
Process
strategy Product B •Acquisition
technology 9 and plans
Business •Managing
Product B •Franchises
Development
R&D Process Process 12 14
5

•people
enhancements
product specs

Staffing and
new pr oducts

•practices
Develop ment •compensati on Capital Employee
Support
and

new deal er

Process •benefits IS/IT

prospects

•Administer Hum an •training

Appropriations Communicating
Resourc es Process Process Supporting Process
2 4 8 11

Supplier Business A
Business B

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