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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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