Why Workflow Process Mapping is So Important
Blog: Comindware Blog
Workflow process mapping is one of the most important steps in managing workflows. Whether you specifically define them or not, your organization has workflows, because that’s how things get done – how products get made and how services get delivered. The problem with undefined workflows is that they often develop quickly, out of need, and not necessarily with enough foresight to make them efficient. Then, over time, that inefficient workflow becomes entrenched, making the inefficiency harder to break out of.
Sometimes you must make a concerted effort to root out inefficiencies.
Workflow mapping is designed to address this precise scenario. With workflow mapping, you map out the steps of your processes so you can understand them, evaluate them, and improve them. Workflow mapping creates a “roadmap” that you can look at to see if you’re taking the most efficient route from order to completion, whether you make physical products or provide services.
Workflow Process Mapping as a Learning Tool
When you map out workflows, you’re creating a baseline view of a process. That’s why it’s critical that you map out a process as it actually is, not as you wish it were. That comes later. Meanwhile, you have your work cut out for you, because most processes go undocumented. The good news is, when you map workflow processes out, you’ll almost certainly see opportunities for improvement.
Your workflow process maps are designed to document processes and give you a reference point and a bird’s eye view of how things get done. From there, you can analyze the steps in a process and determine whether some can be automated, or if extraneous steps could be cut out. You may be able to successfully combine some steps to streamline the process.
Workflow Mapping Can Lead to Optimizing Efficiency
Though it doesn’t have to be, workflow mapping is often done as part of a re-engineering project. When you and your work team can see a clear illustration of how certain steps create processes and how processes flow together into workflows, you have the best opportunity to recognize inefficiencies and root them out. Workflow mapping is usually best done with workflow management software that lets you take baseline workflows, modify them, implement them, and then measure whether they result in more efficiency, lower costs, or higher revenues.
The Right Software Makes Workflow Process Management Easier
Workflow management software can be the key to mapping and optimizing your workflows.
A reputable workflow management software solution will include an intuitive interface that makes mapping processes simple and straightforward. In fact, this is one of the most important features workflow management software can have, because without effectively mapping your workflows, you won’t be able to make improvements. Your software should also allow flexibility in diagramming alternate workflow patterns, regardless of how simple or complex they may be. Most organizations find cloud hosted solutions preferable because they allow your team to focus on solutions, rather than maintaining on-site hardware and software.
Today You Can Focus on Workflows, Not on Making the Software Work
Workflow mapping software today doesn’t require having extensive IT skills, because the latest in workflow process mapping software offers an intuitive interface and a short learning curve. When an organization is determined to evaluate and improve workflow processes, they want to get to work right away rather than having to wait for the IT team to set up the hardware and software and train key employees on how to use it. Comindware Tracker allows organizations to map and manage workflows within departments, or across departments throughout the organization, with a powerful, user-friendly interface that lets you start right in.
Conclusion about workflow mapping software
Making your organization run at its most efficient requires that you be able to take a clear and honest look at your workflows as they are. With the right software tools, you can not only do this, but also collaborate and communicate about how those workflows can be improved, and you can do it without having to undergo extensive software training. Workflow process mapping and improvement using high quality software can take cumbersome processes, streamline them and accelerate them, all while reducing error rates. Comindware Tracker is designed for non-technical users to map, evaluate, and improve workflows without undertaking a major IT project. Better still it’s mobile-friendly, flexible, and agile enough to allow the communication and collaboration your organization needs to optimize your workflows and maximize success.
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