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Process Modeling, Process Improvement, and ERP Implementation
                   through a corporate travel office. The company might require employees to use a
                   preferred hotel, or it might have specific policies regarding car rentals, including preferred
                   rental companies, approved car classes, insurance, and prepaid gas. While all of these
                   considerations are important and should be documented somewhere, the process mapped
                   in Figure 7-2 is the expense-reporting process; the process boundaries do not include
                   these additional travel-related activities. Including these external considerations in the
                   process map would greatly increase the size of the process-mapping project and put
                   the process-improvement project at risk. The complete process map for the expense-
                   reporting process begins after travel expenses have been incurred and ends with the
                   receipt by the salesperson of a refund check. These starting and end points are the process
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                   boundaries for the expense-reporting process.
                       All processes should have only one beginning point and one ending point. In Figure 7-2,
                   the beginning process boundary is represented by the oval figure containing the text
                   “Expenses incurred.” Next, the process map shows four operation blocks that define the
                   tasks performed by the employee in completing the expense report. The number of
                   operation blocks used and the level of detail in the descriptions are a matter of preference
                   and depend on the purpose for which a process map is created. If the process map will be
                   used to improve a business process, and the members of the process-improvement team are
                   familiar with the process, then less detail is needed. In fact, too much detail could obscure
                   the key features of the process. On the other hand, if the process map will be used to
                   document the process for training new sales employees, more detail is required to ensure
                   that new employees can use the process map to follow the process properly.
                       Figure 7-2 also contains one decision diamond. A decision diamond asks a question
                   that can be answered with Yes or No. In this case, the decision diamond asks whether the
                   sales manager approves the expense report. There are only two possible options—Yes and
                   No. It may tempting for the novice to create process maps with decision diamonds that
                   have more than two outcomes; however, doing so can lead to confused logic. All business
                   processes can be defined using one or more decision diamonds, each with only two
                   outcomes.
                       Finally, because Figure 7-2 only shows part of the expense-reporting process, the
                   flowchart ends with a connector. Most business processes are too complicated to fit on a
                   single sheet of paper. Connectors provide a way to continue process maps from one sheet
                   to the next.


                   Exercise 7.1
                   Complete the process map for the Fitter Snacker expense-reporting process started in
                   Figure 7-2, using the description of the process provided at the beginning of this section
                   and the process-mapping symbols shown in Figure 7-1.

                   Extensions of Process Mapping
                   The development of computer technology—specifically, high-quality graphical interfaces—
                   has allowed process-mapping tools to evolve beyond the simple symbols of flowcharting.
                   One helpful tool is hierarchical modeling, which is a type of process mapping in which a
                   business process can be described in greater or less detail, depending on the task at hand.
                   Figure 7-3 illustrates a hierarchical model of Fitter’s expense-reporting process.






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