Process Mapping Assignment
Introduction
This assignment will provide an opportun
Process Mapping Assignment
Introduction
This assignment will provide an opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned about process mapping. Assignment #1 (10 points):
Write a narrative describing the process illustrated in the diagram below. Be sure to include every step in the process.
Assignment #2 (20 points)
Using the process described below, fill in the text boxes within the colored areas of the process map on the following page to illustrate the process narrative below. Be sure to give your diagram a descriptive title.
Students are required to prepare and submit registration forms. The administration reviews forms for completeness. Completed forms are sent to the registrar to verify all appropriate details. Incomplete forms are returned to the student.
The registrar will determine if minimum standards are met. The student’s registration is rejected if the minimum standards are not met. The registrar prepares and sends a rejection letter to the student, ending the process.
Approved registrations are forwarded to faculty advisors for further evaluation. Faculty advisors make the final admission decision. Based on the decision, Faculty Advisors will prepare acceptance or rejection letters to send to students, and then the process ends.
Replace each of the “Text” items with the correct process step in the diagram on the next page.
Enter your Diagram Title Here
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Part #3 (30 points):
The final part of the assignment requires you to create a cross-functional process or swim lane diagram (in swim lane format with a process role in each lane) for a Coffee Café. The assignment includes the simple concepts of ordering, making, and providing Coffee or Tea in a typical Café. To keep the job manageable, the only drinks that are available are:
Coffee
Tea
Assume that the processes to order, prepare, and deliver the hot beverage are similar to those in any large coffee chain. The processes include:
Orders and cash are taken by the Serving Attendant / Cashier from the customer;
Orders taken by the Serving Attendant / Cashier are passed to a Barista automatically and shown on a screen for fulfillment by a Barista;
There are separate processes for preparing tea and coffee;
Completed orders are provided to the customer by the Barista;
The Barista can also request additional milk and coffee beans to be obtained from the storeroom by the kitchen hands or other stock to be ordered by the Café Manager;
The customer can select the sugar or sweetener of their choice from a serving bar located at the point where They receive their beverage. Using Microsoft PowerPoint, create a process swim lane diagram of the coffee café process outlined above. Replicate the type of swim lane diagram discussed in the videos for this module entitled Process Map.mp4 and used in assignment #2 above.
More information concerning swim lane diagrams begins on page #5 of this document.
Notes: You should submit two documents to D2L. You should submit a Word document with parts #1 and #2 and a PowerPoint document with your diagram for part #3. Please also remember that all process maps must have a title, swim lane titles, all steps connected, and every step, decision, and decision path labeled. Please name your PowerPoint file as follows: ProcessFlow.pptx
Swim Lane Diagram Information:
How do you use a swim lane diagram for process mapping?
The swim lane diagram easily splits the job into categories so each person can see what and when they are expected to do a task.
Processes rarely affect one person and often cover many different departments. It can get complicated quickly, especially if you try to label who is doing which operation. A swim lane diagram makes this easier to interpret, clearly showing department interactions.
What is a swim lane diagram?
A swim lane diagram is a type of process mapping similar to a flow chart. It is organized into several ‘swim lanes’ that split the flow chart into different departments or roles.
This split makes it easy to see how the process flows between the different departments, making it easier to see the process flow quickly.
When do you use them?
These are especially useful when it is a relatively linear (simple, so it works the same each time) process that involves several people or departments. This means there are likely better mapping methods if there are many options/lots of different ways of doing the process depending on factors or if it only involves one or two people.
A swim lane diagram is handy for seeing where processes unnecessarily involve large amounts of traveling to different departments, which is often a source of waste.
You will generally use it during the Measure phase of DMAIC when you are trying to map out how the process is currently working or the Analyze phase when looking for ways of displaying the data to show potential improvements.
Why are they so great?
Identify waste
Especially finding where there is too much complexity and movement between areas.
Baseline
Shows you the current state as a baseline to build from in lean improvement
Show dependencies
Some departments are not very resistant. For example, sometimes your process needs to be signed off by, e.g., the head of finance, and there’s only one person with authority. When they’re on holiday, sick, or leave the company, it will come crashing to a halt. The swim lane diagram can help highlight interaction with these ‘danger’ departments.
Identify bottlenecks
There will always be busy and quiet departments, faster and slower ones. Each time your process interacts with an active or slow department, there is a potential bottleneck slowing down the process. By removing these or combining them into fewer ‘visits,’ you can reduce this waiting.
What are its weaknesses?
There are some downsides (listed below).
Lacks detail
You’ll essentially just be getting a series of step titles in the process steps. To do a proper analysis or improvement effort, you will usually want a more detailed description or mapping, which can be, e.g.:
The detailed narrative of a standard operating procedure
Movement data from a spaghetti diagram
The data and analysis of a value stream map focused on the process
The thorough analysis of a3 problem solving
Does not show interactions with other processes
This mapping process is very focused on the process, so it can be hard to see how the process fits into the bigger picture.
For one level up, to see how the process interacts with the area just before and after it, you can use a basic process map such as SIPOC or COPIS.
For a real top-level view and with the data to improve it, you’ll often find a high-level value stream map hard to beat.
Complicated processes
While they work great for extensive processes involving many teams or locations, they can struggle with processes that have lots of potential options. In these cases, you may be better off with a classic flowchart, which has more flexibility for these complications.
Method
Swimlane diagrams are easy to put together, so here’s a quick how-to guide. All you need is a piece of paper, a pen, and a ruler (or a computer):
1) Draw your grid
The grid shape is in the name: draw a series of parallel lines, so your paper should look like a swimming pool with lanes set up for an Olympic race.
2) Pick your lane
List the different stakeholders involved; this could be the various people involved, departments, or sites. See the ‘stakeholders’ section below if you’re unsure which to choose.
Add one of these to the start of their lane, and they’re ready to start!
3) Write out your steps
List the process steps in order from left to right, just the headlines of what you would do to get the process done.
4) Move the steps to their correct department
Add the steps to the diagram. Earlier steps should be less far down the lanes than later steps, and each step needs to be in the correct lane based on who performs it.
5) Connect your steps into a flowchart
Draw lines between the processes to track the progress through the procedures easily. You can have more than one ‘path’ through the diagram where there are options.
You’ve now made your diagram; well done! Each person/department can now easily see which steps are theirs and where they lie in the process.
You can take this opportunity to find improvements easily. Is your process repeatedly going between two departments? Can you rearrange the process steps so that fewer lane jumps are needed? This analysis will take time, waiting, and waste out quickly.
Stakeholders
There are options for what you choose to have as your swim lanes, and you need to plan which will be helpful to you for the process. Some examples to get you going are:
People
Job roles
Departments
Groups/teams
Machines
Symbols used
It’s common to use the flowchart symbols to add extra detail to the chart; simple flowchart symbols are below:
Example
Buying a product is an easy and regularly used example; this involves different departments and a clear flow between the steps.
The diagram quickly shows the dynamics between the different departments. It can clearly show procedures that would look more complicated written out. It is easy to see if procedures needlessly bounce between departments wastefully. You can quickly identify the most complex parts of the process, which could be simplified or automated (Example below).