Process Mapping – Understanding How Work Really Flows
1. The Problem It Solves
In manufacturing environments, people often believe they understand how processes work—until they try to describe them together. Production, quality, engineering, and planning each have their own perspective. Steps are assumed, responsibilities are unclear, and handovers are poorly understood.
This lack of shared understanding leads to measurement efforts that miss the real issues. Data is collected at convenient points rather than meaningful ones. Improvement discussions become fragmented, and root causes remain hidden.
Process Mapping exists to solve this problem. It creates a shared, factual picture of how work actually flows, forming the foundation for effective measurement and analysis.
2. The Core Idea in Plain Language
Process Mapping is the practice of visually describing the sequence of steps, decisions, and handovers in a process, from start to finish.
The goal is not documentation for compliance, but understanding. A good process map reflects reality, including rework loops, waiting, and informal workarounds.
Swimlane maps add clarity by showing who is responsible for each step. This makes cross-functional interactions and delays visible and discussable.
Process Mapping turns assumptions into facts.
3. How It Works in Real Life
Process Mapping typically begins with a cross-functional team and a clearly defined scope, often guided by the SIPOC.
The team walks through the process step by step, capturing what actually happens rather than what is supposed to happen. Decision points, queues, and rework are included deliberately.
Once mapped, the process is reviewed to identify where variation, delays, or defects are introduced. These insights guide where data should be collected in the Measure phase.
The map becomes a living reference throughout the DMAIC project.
4. A Practical Example from a Manufacturing Environment
Consider a medium-sized manufacturer experiencing long and unpredictable lead times. Planning assumes a straightforward production flow, but customer delivery dates are frequently missed.
By mapping the process in detail, the team discovers multiple hidden queues, informal priority changes, and unclear handovers between machining and inspection.
These insights redirect measurement efforts. Instead of tracking overall lead time only, the team measures waiting time at critical handovers.
The root causes of delay become visible, enabling focused improvement.
5. What Makes It Succeed or Fail
Process Mapping fails when it is done in isolation by specialists or managers without involving people who do the work. Such maps lack credibility and miss reality.
Another failure mode is over-detailing. Excessive complexity makes maps unusable. The goal is clarity, not completeness.
Leadership behavior matters. Leaders must encourage honest representation of reality, even when it reveals inefficiencies or uncomfortable truths.
Successful Process Mapping creates alignment, not documentation.
How Process Mapping Connects to Other Six Sigma Tools
Process Mapping builds on SIPOC by adding detail within agreed boundaries.
It guides Data Collection Plans by identifying meaningful measurement points.
It supports Data Segmentation by revealing process variations.
It strengthens Root Cause Analysis by providing context for analysis.
Process Mapping ensures measurement and analysis focus on reality.
Closing Reflection
Process Mapping helps organizations slow down to see clearly. By making work visible, it enables better questions, better data, and better decisions.
In manufacturing environments with complex handovers, this clarity is essential for effective Six Sigma work.
