5 types of business process mapping

As you develop your process map-building skills, you’ll start to discover more ways to use them in different areas of your business. Having a strong understanding of the types of business process mapping will help you expand your use of these tools — from giving instructions on simple admin tasks to guiding more complex project management.

Using a variety of process maps allows you to turn those routine, barely-have-to-think-about functions into more easily managed operations. In doing so, you’ll begin to see where you can automate your processes, accelerating the pace of business. You’ll also give your employees more freedom — according to a study conducted by freelancing hub WorkMarket, 85 percent of business leaders saw automation as an important way to focus more time and energy on critical projects. Ultimately, the more work you can map out and automate, the more you’ll set yourself up for future success.

These five essential types of business process mapping can get you started on streamlining your workplace.

1. High-level mapping

High-level maps are the most fundamental type of business process mapping. They consist of a short series of steps, usually around four or five, that break down a process (typically a repetitive admin task).

The goal of high-level maps is to give a process an easily readable structure, allowing anyone who’s new to a team or process to follow along and accomplish tasks with little friction. These types of visualizations are best for things like approving expenses, processing invoices, or even simply placing a group lunch order when you’re hosting a client in the office.

2. SIPOC mapping

A more specific version of high-level maps, SIPOC maps are one of the best types of business process mapping to use when you’re looking to understand events along a supply chain. SIPOC stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, and customers — five common roles represented in this linear map.

SIPOC maps differ from high-level maps in that you’ll tend to use them less for straightforward admin tasks and more to visualize how products or services get to your customers. It shows a simplified yet clear breakdown of a supply chain all the way through to the point where a business receives payment for services rendered.

For that reason, they’re often found in the food and beverage service industry. A coffee shop would use SIPOC mapping to demonstrate the transition of product supply (the delivery of coffee beans and raw materials) all the way through to the customer transaction (paying for a cup of coffee).

3. Detailed process mapping

When high-level maps and SIPOC maps just don’t quite cut it and you need more information about what goes into a process, it’s time to turn to detailed process mapping. Detailed process maps lay out a workflow more granularly, including sub-steps that spell out how workers need to complete a task or process.

While you can apply these maps to admin tasks, they’re best for things that require more managerial input at each level. For example, detailed process mapping works for creative approval on a graphic design, which usually involves more back-and-forth between several decision-makers. A detailed map breaks down the levels of editing approval or input on the creative project, or shows you if and when you have to involve other stakeholders to align on a final design.

4. Swimlane mapping

Now we’re on to the more complex process maps. When building maps, you may find yourself diagramming workflows that rely on multiple departments or levels of stakeholders. At this point, you might want to use the swimlane method to organize tasks across teams.

The term “swimlane” refers to the layout of these maps — with two or more rows (the lanes), these diagrams clearly lay out who’s in charge of an assigned step based on their department or level of involvement. For example, a simple two-row swimlane map helps in approving a candidate’s job application — a process that depends on your HR department as well as the department looking for a new employee. A swimlane map outlines the candidate’s progress through the hiring process and who needs to approve them along the way.

5. Value stream mapping

One of the most complex types of business process mapping, value stream mapping is best if your organization handles inventory and is growing to encompass factory management and manufacturing. It’s comprised of three layers:

• Information flow: The channel and steps in which information proceeds over the workflow
• Materials flow: The movement of materials along the workflow based on what’s known from the flow of information
• Lead timeline: The time that passes between the phases of each flow

Value stream maps track the movement of information and materials over your company’s manufacturing or product development. They allow you to measure the value of each function and process while also indicating where you can amp up the productivity.

Jotform for process mapping

When you use one of these types of business process mapping, it’s important to find ways to automate steps within them — like workflows.

With Jotform Workflow’s approval process flowchart templates, you can turn your existing or new online forms into workflows. You can also build charts from scratch by easily dragging and dropping the elements you need. Managing approval flows with certainty is easy too — simply track each phase of approval, set notifications for decision-makers, and reply to submissions to keep communication levels high.

You can also use Jotform Tables to monitor and track both submissions and progress in one place, as well as the Jotform Mobile Forms app to oversee workflows on the go. With more than 200 different workflow templates to choose from, Jotform is an adaptable tool that you can leverage to make high-level maps for simple tasks or more detail-oriented value streams.

When you understand the different types of business process mapping, you’ll have the confidence to implement them into more aspects of your operations. And when you use tools like Jotform Workflows, you set yourself and your company up for more productive work and overall growth.

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