Process Mapping

Lec- 3
 Process Analysis Tools

• Process Mapping
• Flowcharts provide a view of the big
picture
• Time-function mapping adds consistency
and a time element
• Process charts show detail
• Service blueprint focuses on customer
interaction
 Process Mapping

Process mapping is describing processes in terms of how

the activities in the process relate to each other. Can be
simple or very complex

• Used to identify different types of activities.

• Shows the flow of material, people or information.

• Critical analysis of process maps can improve the

process.
 Why use Process Maps

• A visual display of a process for a product or

service.

• Why use them?

– To identify the current sequence of the steps
– To support the communication of above flow
– To support in analysis of the process
Process mapping symbols

Operation (an activity Beginning or end of process

that directly adds value)

Inspection (a check of Activity

some sort)
Transport (a movement Input or Output from the process
of some thing)

Delay (a wait, e.g. for materials) Direction of flow

Storage (deliberate storage, Decision (exercising discretion)

as opposed to a delay)

Process mapping symbols derived Process mapping symbols derived from

from “Scientific Management” Systems Analysis
 Example

Raw Stored Move to Stored Take

Assembly Sell
Materials Sandwiches Outlets Sandwiches Payment

Standard sandwich process

Customer
Request
Raw Assembly Take
Materials Payment

Customer
Request

Customized sandwich old process

 Customized sandwich improved new process

Assemble whole
sandwich

Assembly of Use standard Take

“sandwich No Payment
“base”?
bases”

Fillings

Bread and Yes

Base filling Customer Request

Stored “Bases” Assemble from

standard “base”
Simple Process Mapping Example
A little more complicated Process Mapping Example
Flow Diagram
Time Function Mapping
Process Chart
 Service Blueprint

• Focuses on the customer and provider

interaction
• Defines three levels of interaction (Process,
Points of Contact, Evidence)
• Each level has different management issues
• Identifies potential failure points
Service Blueprint of A Shoe Line
 Throughput, cycle time and work in process

• Work content: the total amount of work required to produce a unit

of output

• Cycle time: the average time between units of output emerging

from the process.

• Work-in-process (WIP):since join the queue in the process. e. g.

when customers join a queue in a process they become WIP

• Throughput time: unfinished items in a production process waiting

for further processing. It is the elapsed time between an item
entering the process and leaving it.
Little’s law: Mathematic relationship
Throughput time = WIP x Cycle time
• Example: the time to assemble and sell a sandwich is 2 minutes and that 1
people were staffing the process.

• Every minute a customer arrives and being served, so on average a customer

is emerging from the process every two minutes. This is called the cycle time
of the process, the average time be units of output emerging from the
process.

• When customers join the queue in the process they become work-in-process
sometimes written as WIP.

• If the queue is ten people long (including that customer) when the customer
joins it, how long he or she has to wait until emerges from the process
(throughput time)?

Throughput time = 10 people × 2 mins

= 20 mins
Example
• The sandwich shop decides to make some process
changes so no customer waits longer than 4
minutes, on average.
• No more than 10 customers at a time.
• If the time to assemble and sell a sandwich (from
customer request to the customer leaving the
process) in the new process has been reduced to
1.2 minutes, how many staff should be serving?
Putting this into Little’s law:
Throughput Efficiency