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Process Mapping
Table of Contents
Map the real workflow before you redesign it - start on the floor, not the slide.
Key Concept
- A flowchart drawn from memory lies politely - map from observation first.
- Process mapping is the artifact after you see real motion - not a substitute for sitting with one nurse, cashier, or new hire.
- Fix the map when reality diverges - stale diagrams train new hires into workarounds.
- Listen Before Fixing and People-Centered Design sit beside Shadow the Work - hear pain and fit humans before boxes and arrows.
Level 1 - Recognize
Process mapping is drawing how work actually moves - handoffs, waits, and workarounds, not the manual version alone.
Level 2 - Explain
Like tracing the path people actually walk, not the sidewalk on the plan - documented process is often aspirational.
Level 3 - Use
Stand behind the counter for three lunch rushes before redrawing checkout - shadow one full cycle, then draw boxes and arrows.
Level 4 - Connect
Committee templates before observation are decoration - stale diagrams train new hires into workarounds when reality diverges.
Level 5 - Create
Build a living map: Shadow the Work, draw the real handoffs, test it with the people inside the process, and update it when reality changes.
Examples
- The shift-change chart had three tasks with zero arrows to an owner - glad mapping from the whiteboard, not memory, showed the gap in one pass.
- I stood behind the counter for three lunch rushes before we redrew checkout - the slide had one tap, reality had four stalls.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | Outcomes Over Pitch Decks | when the deck ships before anyone maps real work |
| extends | Listen Before Fixing | Hearing the pain plus drawing the motion |
| extends | People-Centered Design | Maps should fit humans inside the process |
| extends | Shadow the Work | Observation before boxes and arrows |
| implements | Workplace Principles | Concrete move before process redesign ships |
