The Art of Connecting Process Steps

The Art of Connecting Process Steps.jpg

Welcome to Process Diagramming

A process diagram illustrates a process step-by-step, enabling stakeholders to grasp a process quickly. Universal Process Notation (UPN) takes a simple, flexible approach, with a process diagram showing up to ten steps as activity boxes connected by arrows. Each box has a short label starting with a verb describing what the activity does.

UPN encourages labeling the arrows connecting activity boxes, describing the process flow as shown in the following model:

The arrow on the left has two labels - “Input” and “WHEN does this happen?” When input arrives, it triggers the “WHAT happens” activity. The input may have content, like an incoming email message, or only reflect a condition, like “credit card expired.”

Along the same lines, the arrow on the right has two labels - “Output” and “WHY does this happen?” The “WHAT happens” activity produces an outcome reflecting why it happened. The activity may produce something for the next step, such as a new record, or only reflect a condition, like “valid credit card.”

Labeling arrows connecting activities can pose challenges. For instance, is an incoming arrow a condition or an input? Is an outgoing arrow an outcome or output? Which of the four apply to an arrow connecting two activities? The patterns shown below can help decide how to label connecting arrows.

A Minimal Status Connection

When an arrow connects two activity boxes, the outcome of the first step triggers the next step. To illustrate, the “Validate credit card” activity shown below connects to the “Process payment” activity with an arrow labeled “valid,” indicating the payment process only accepts valid credit cards.

This diagram fragment shows minimum labels for activity connections, with only one word on each arrow showing the credit card validation status. The “invalid” status would connect to an error processing activity.

One Activity’s Output is the Next Activity’s Input

An arrow pointing away from an activity box can show output from the activity. An arrow pointing to an activity box can reflect the activity’s input. When one activity’s output is another’s input, the connecting arrow can show the common output/input handed off from one activity to the next. 

The implementation lifecycle diagram below shows activities passing deliverables or content from one activity to the next. 

Zoom in on diagrams if needed to read the text.

Diagram adapted from Elements.cloud demos.

The ANALYZE activity sends stories and a release plan or an immediate change to the BUILD activity, which produces a change package. The DEPLOY activity takes the change package and produces a system update. 

The minimal status and output/input connections each show only one aspect of connecting activities. Nothing constrains the connection label to show only one or the other. Given some thought, the connection labels can become more descriptive.

Richer Status Connections

The diagram below shows the implementation lifecycle with the same activities connected with meaningful status descriptions.

Diagram from Elements.cloud demos.

The arrow connecting BUILD and DEPLOY says “processes and supporting systems ready to go live,” summarizing the status of the BUILD process and anticipating the next step - deployment.

The connection between DEPLOY and OPERATE provides more context than the previous output/input diagram, saying “process and systems live with staff trained.” Managers reviewing the diagram can see that the implementation lifecycle includes training. They can drill down the BUILD or DEPLOY activities to see how training fits into implementation.

Multiple Condition Labels

Drilling down the BUILD activity in the implementation lifecycle shows the diagram below. 

Zoom in on diagrams if needed to read the text.

Diagram from Elements.cloud demos.

The “Prepare training material and training documentation” activity box (5) has four incoming arrows labeled:

  • tested new process and systems (from activities 2 and 7)

  • tagged list of object and field nodes (output from a configuration change)

  • independent need to change training material

Why do the arrows from activities 2 and 7 have the same label?  Because they trigger the same actions in the “Prepare training material and training documentation” activity. Drilling down into the activity shows its incoming arrows starting the process, as shown in this diagram:

Each connection triggers a different activity. The “tagged list of object and field nodes” and “independent need to change training material” connections each trigger an activity for their specific case. 

The “Build and document” activities in the BUILD process connect to the “Prepare training material and training documentation” process with two connections labeled “tested new process and systems.” Drilling down into “Prepare training material and training documentation” shows one “tested new process and systems” connection to the common “Create new training and help content” activity.

Multiple Outcome Labels

Sometimes an activity can have more than one outcome. For example, an event hospitality solution tracks a guest’s arrival at an event. An event coordinator selects one of four arrival means: airline, private jet, train, or independent. The diagram below shows the arrival information-gathering activities, depending on the means:

Once a user selects an arrival means, a process runs to collect information for the selected arrival means shown in boxes 2, 3, 4, or 5. Each means-dependent activity connects to the “Add arrival comments” box. The diagram shows the four lines merging into one, labeled “Arrival information captured.”  

Creating Meaningful Diagrams

Making meaningful connections between activities requires thinking about what the activities do and what they affect. In some cases, like a live diagramming session with stakeholders, the diagram creator doesn’t have the time to think of eloquent labels for activity connections. Instead, he or she would put minimum condition or output/input labels in the diagram.  

Ian Gotts demonstrates brief labeling in the humorous video, Mapping Processes Aviation Gin. In some cases, he labels connecting arrows with output/inputs, typically the gin and its ingredients. In other cases, Ian labels arrows with minimal status to keep the video moving.

A process diagram connected with minimal status or output/input connections can undergo wordsmithing when time is available. For example, this output/input diagram connects activities with only noun-labeled arrows without reflecting any status between activities:

Augmenting the output and input label arrows with status clarifies what the diagrammed process does:

Connections from the ANALYZE activity (1) indicate it finalized the stories and release plan, or someone needs an immediate change. Two incoming connections to the ANALYZE activity share a label, “optimization identified.” The connections indicate that the BUILD or OPERATE activities found system or process optimizations for analysis. The other incoming connection to ANALYZE has the label extended to “operational feedback and ideas to consider.” It refers to output from the “OPERATE” activity. The connection indicates that the ANALYZE activity will consider the feedback and ideas.

An output/input can combine with status to make a connection label more expressive. However, the label should not paraphrase the activity box label using its verb in the past tense. For example, the connection from “DEPLOY changes to process and systems” activity (3) should not have an outgoing arrow labeled “changes to process and systems deployed.” Combining output/input with status often results in informative labels, making the process diagram more meaningful.

Creating meaningful process diagrams requires connecting process diagram steps with informative labels.

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Basic Decision Analysis and Modeling

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Leveling Process Maps