CIMA E1 Syllabus E1. Operations management - Process mapping - Notes ^{5 / 21}

Process mapping aims to identify and represent the steps and decisions involved in a process.

Process maps:

1. Describe the flow of materials, information and documents

2. Display the tasks contained within the process

3. Show that the tasks transform inputs into outputs

4. Indicate the decisions that need to be made

There are many types of process maps (process charts)

Two common types of process map are:

• A 'basic' flowchart 

  - which provides a basic 'birds eye' view

• A deployment chart 

  - which provides an overview and also indicates where or by whom actions are performed

Process mapping is also often used to build a prototype model when designing organisational processes.

Advantages of process mapping

1. It highlights the opportunities to standardize the processes

2. It can be used as a tool as part of a corporate initiative, such as business process re-engineering

3. It highlights areas where inefficiencies exist through analysis of queues