Mapping Out Complexity
Breaking Down Complexity
When discovering customer needs for a solution, complex processes can emerge. Breaking complex processes down into simpler steps has these benefits:
A process is easier to review and understand as a sequence of steps.
Reviewing the steps can reveal gaps between steps.
Filling gaps between the steps makes understanding the process more complete.
The article Discovering the Details, Step by Step shows an example breaking down a complex process.
Getting Clarity on the Concepts
Process steps expressed with the customer’s terminology enable customer stakeholders to focus on breaking down the complexity in their own language. A glossary of customer terms defines the language used in the steps. For example, a glossary defines Lead and Contact as follows:
Lead - a person of interest to an organization
Contact - a person employed by an Account (as employee or contractor)
If a new term arises when breaking down a complex process, the glossary owner should get agreement on the definition and record it in the glossary. The article Coming to Terms covers glossary development.
A concept map shows relationships between customer terms. It can help with the complex process breakdown. For example, a concept map relates Lead to Contact through conversion:
The conversion relationship informs the first step of the sales process example below. See Showing Customer Concepts for more information about concept maps.
A Minimal Breakdown
Let’s say we want to show the customer’s sales process. A business analyst could produce a list of the steps:
Convert a qualified lead into a contact
Qualify contact for product and services presentation
Create opportunity if account qualifies
Present product and services appropriate for the opportunity
Submit proposal
Negotiate contract
Close opportunity
Who or what performs these steps? The sales rep deals with the primary contact in the first two steps. Who else should see the product and services presentation? Who receives the proposal? Who negotiates the contract? Who is the decision maker?
Follow the Map
A process map lays out the steps visually, showing the steps, who performs them, and why. Visualizing a process this way makes reviewing it much easier. Each box in a map contains a step. The text at the bottom of the box shows who does what, answering the questions above. Arrows connect the boxes, each with a label showing what motivates the next step.
While a process map resembles a concept map, the two have fundamental differences. In a process map, the boxes show an action and the arrows show the motivation of that action. In a concept map, the boxes show people, places, or things in the scope of the solution. The arrows show the relationship between those items. The concept map acts as an additional reference by showing who and what performs actions in the process map.
Exceptional Mapping
What happens in the sales process if:
The account has no interest after the presentation?
The account rejects the proposal?
Contract negotiations fail?
A process map can show alternate paths. The steps below, extracted from the sales process map, show what happens in these cases. Red boxes contain these exception steps:
Mapping More Details
Sometimes a process step has enough complexity to warrant its own process map. For example, the “Submit ProposaI” step includes several steps of its own:
This map has the same incoming and outgoing arrows as “Submit Proposal” with the “Proposal reworked” arrow entering in the middle of the process.
A process can have multiple subprocess steps creating a hierarchical structure. A subprocess can have one or more subprocess steps, capturing even more process details. In the case above, the top level is the sales process map. “Submit Proposal” breaks down into steps in the next level. Breaking down “Submit draft proposal for review” adds a third level to the hierarchy.
Process Mapping Considerations
A process map should show at most ten steps in each diagram. This makes reviewing diagram(s) easier for the stakeholders. If a process has more than ten steps, consider consolidating related steps into a subprocess, then breaking that subprocess down another process with the consolidated steps.
When creating a new process, consider the following questions:
Is a “step” really a basic step, or is it a subprocess with its own steps?
What motivates each step?
Why is the step taken?
What is its outcome?
How does the outcome affect the next step?
The answers determine the labels on the arrows.
What person, role or system participates in the step?
Summary Steps for a Successful Process Review
Break a complex process down into steps.
Use customer terms to label actions, who does what and why.
Lay out the steps in a process map, visually showing
The action of each step in the a box as the main label
Who or what performs the step at the top or bottom of the box
Arrows connecting the step boxes, labeled with the motivation for the step pointed to by the arrow
Show no more than ten steps in one map. Consolidate related steps into one complex step, if necessary.
Create a new process map for complex steps that have their own steps.
A process map shows stakeholders a visual layout of complex process steps, so they can understand and review the process efficiently.
Additional Information
I used Elements.cloud to create all the process maps shown in this article. It is designed to create process maps, and offers other useful tools for documenting a Salesforce org. Some use general drawing tools such as Google Draw or Microsoft Visio.