See how the work really runs before anything is built.
Process mapping is where we draw how one process really runs today, from the first form to the final report, with the people who do it. You see where work is retyped, chased or left waiting, and we redesign the process before anyone builds or buys anything. It is the first step of our workflow and automation work, for owners, operations leads and programme directors in London and across the UK.
Who is process mapping for?
It suits a team that knows something is slow but cannot yet say where. If any of these sound familiar, it is a good place to start:
- The same figures are copied from one spreadsheet into another every month.
- Month end takes days, and most of that time goes on checking.
- Nobody can say who owns a task, or what is late, without asking around.
- Updates arrive by email, and someone chases the ones that do not.
- You are about to buy a new tool and want to know what it has to do first.
It is also the lowest-risk first step when you are not sure what you need. You come away with a clear picture whether or not anything is built afterwards.
What you get from process mapping
A map of the process as it runs today, step by step, showing who does each step and which tool it happens in.
The points where work is retyped, chased or waits on one person, marked on the map.
A redesigned process: the same work with fewer hand-offs, with the steps that could run themselves drawn apart from the steps that should stay with a person.
A plain-English note of what we would change first, and what we would leave alone.
The maps and the note as files you keep. Every file we make is yours, to use with us or with anyone else.
How it runs
A call about the process that hurts most. We ask what exists today, who is involved, and what a good result would look like. We do not talk price on the call.
A written scope before any work starts. It names the one process we will map, who we need to speak to, the dates and the price.
Conversations with the people who do the work. We follow the real steps, including the spreadsheet with “final v3” in its name, rather than the version in the handbook.
A weekly look at real progress, so you see the map take shape and can correct us early.
The walk-through. We take you through the map and the redesign, and you decide what happens next. If you want the redesign built, that becomes its own written scope.
What to bring
- The process you want to look at first, described in your own words.
- Time with the people who do each step, for a conversation each.
- Copies or screenshots of the spreadsheets, forms and reports involved. Blanked-out or invented data is fine: we need to see the shape of the work, not its contents.
- Any date that matters, such as a funder report deadline or your month end.
An example
This is an example on invented data, not a client's process. A team reports to its board every month. The programme list sits in one spreadsheet, the budget in a second and the monthly figures in a third. Updates arrive by email. At month end, someone copies figures from all three into a document and checks them by hand.
Mapped, the process shows the steps where nobody is named as the owner, and that only one person knows which copy of each spreadsheet is current. The redesign puts every programme in one database for your records, with an owner and a due date. Owners update their own records through a short form, and the report assembles itself for a person to check, which is where automating the repeat steps comes in. You can see process maps on the Work page, drawn from systems in daily use.
Process mapping and your website
If enquiries reach you through your website, the form is the first step of the process. The same studio offers website design and build, so the form and the process behind it can be planned together, and the enquiry lands where the next person needs it. Owners who want their brand, site and admin from one studio will find more on working with growing businesses.
Questions about process mapping
What is business process mapping?
Business process mapping is drawing, step by step, how a piece of work really moves through your team: who does what, in which tool, and where it waits. The map shows where time goes on retyping and chasing, so you can fix the process before you automate it or buy software for it.
Do we have to buy software afterwards?
No, the map and the redesign are yours whether or not you buy anything. Some fixes need no new tool at all, such as naming an owner for a step or removing a copy. If software would help, we start with the tools you already pay for.
Who from our team needs to take part?
The people who do each step, and the person who decides what changes. We speak to each person about their own part of the work, so nobody has to describe someone else's job.
What if the map shows we do not need automation?
Then you keep the map and the redesigned process, and nothing is built. A clearer process with named owners is a good result on its own.
Do you need access to our real data?
No, blanked-out copies or invented examples show us the shape of the work, and that is what we need. If we do look at live records, it is in your own accounts, under your own permissions, with your agreement first.
Book a call
Tell us which process eats your week. A call with Dorotea and Rron about how it runs now. Before any work starts, you get a written scope.
Not sure which? Plan your project