Business Consultants Use This Framework for Process Development

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Sooner or later every entrepreneur faces the need for process development.

If you came across this article most probably you are already carrying the idea of standardizing your processes and streamlining operations. It does not matter if you are in a leadership position, own a business, or are a front-line team member, the process development framework is identical.

In this article, I’ll show you the process development framework that you can use independently of what industry you are in.

It is a 100% teachable 5-step framework that requires ZERO previous process development experience.

Let’s dive in!

5-step framework to develop a process

Step 1. Name the process and define the goal.

It’s pretty much easy but super important! The majority of people skip this step and eventually, it leads to designing the process that may be even unnecessary. It is going to help you to limit the scope of the process you are about to design.

Below are a few examples of the process names and goals:

Example 1

• Name: Content development
• Goal: publish content across multiple marketing channels

Scope: from generating content ideas until the content is live.

Example 2

• Name: Graphic design
• Goal: design multipurpose graphical assets

Scope: from receiving graphic design tasks to delivering assets.

Pay attention to the scope that the name and goal define. Our thinking process usually goes through the scope definition before arriving at the definition of the process name and its goal.

That’s the exact reason many people are not able to name the process right away and take a few minutes to mentally process the request.

Those few minutes are when the brain goes through the scope of work trying to figure out how that group of steps (process) can be named.

Our brain tries multiple combinations of tasks until it forms a group where tasks are somehow connected to each other contributing to the same output (outcome). This forms the scope of the process.

Think of it as a mental representation of Gestalt principles.

The Gestalt Principles are a set of laws that describe how our minds perceive and organize visual information.

A simple request to name the process triggers a lot of mental work that is performed unconsciously.

Step 2. Build the process visualization (process map/flowchart).

We don’t build the buildings without the actual plan, the same is with the process.

There is no way you will ask the right questions if you don’t have the process visualization in place. You won’t get it until you try.

Practice building a process map of a non-business process before building one with the business context.

The go-to topic is how to make a sandwich process.

Feel free to use a pen and paper for practicing.

I usually recommend starting with the A3 paper as it gives you plenty of room to make a few errors, cross, re-draw, etc.

If you are more of a technology person, I would opt for Lucid Charts.

After trying multiple apps (Whimsical, Miro, MS Visio, etc.), I opt for Lucid Charts whenever it comes to process mapping. It is a very user-friendly tool with great process development functionality that will be handy as soon as you increase the complexity of your maps.

This article is in a no-way sponsored by Lucid Charts, I am myself paying for Whimsical subscription instead but for the reasons other than process mapping.

If you want to have a conversation on what tool is the best, feel free to reach out to me and we can review the pros and cons of each tool.

Here are the basic forms you can use to build your process.

Here is a how-to-make-a-sandwich process map example.

The rule of thumb: make your process map understandable for the people outside of your industry.

This is just the guarantee of simplicity.

Tips & Tricks

If you see that your team cannot master the process mapping, ask them to simply explain everything they do in one document: from the very beginning to the very end.

This will help them offload everything they keep in their head and organize their notes.

When a document is there, it will be easier for them to see the processes through and build a map.

Step 3. Test and adjust the process.

Doesn’t matter how much you polish your flowchart (the process visualization/map), there will always be something that needs small adjustments or small improvements and you can only figure that out when you start testing it.

It is definitely one of the important steps so that your team can actually start executing the process and they can provide you with feedback, on what’s working, what’s not working, what has to be improved, added, removed, all those kinds of small details.

Mapping (Step 2) and Testing (Step 3) is an iterative process with multiple cycles.

Don’t spend too much time making your process maps look excellent. Draw your first draft and rush to testing. Otherwise, you will waste a lot of time. There is a separate article on Excellent vs Good Enough that you can read here and decide for yourself.

Testing means actually going through the process (executing it) as shown on the process map.

That’s where another concept comes in (gemba). Learn more about Gemba in this article.

Usually, the process shown on the visualization (map) is slightly different from the one people actually go through. Going to gemba will help you understand if it is a process map issue or an actual process issue, In other words, Gemba will help you understand what is bad, and where the issue is.

Should you adjust the process map or adjust the process (re-train people)?

After going through a few cycles of testing and remapping or re-training, your process is ready for the next step.

Step 4. Document it.

Usually, people use a standard operating procedure template (SOP) to complete this step.

The SOP is the complete manual for your team to execute the process.

Think of the process map as a recipe and the SOP as instructions on how to cook the actual dish.

I am sure that during the mapping-testing stage, you ended up with a bunch of side notes here and there explaining some of the steps in more detail or referencing useful resources.

This step is all about taking all those side notes, expanding them, and organizing them into a well-structured document.

Your team can reference the standard operating procedure (SOP) document at any point in time in case they have doubts. It also helps you reduce the training time when onboarding new team members, which opens the door to less skilled team members and reduces costs.

• Here is an SOP template that you can use for your reference.
• And here is an example of an SOP that can help you build your own.

Step 5. Share it.

Ensure that all the people participating in the process see the documentation (including process maps) and are well aware of the process.

If needed, conduct a training.

You want your team to wake up in the middle of the night and be able to describe the entire process exactly as it is in the process map from A to Z.

Train new team members and re-train the existing ones consistently. That’s your guarantee of the effectiveness of the process.

You are looking for a consistent quality of the outputs (results) of the process.

This can be achieved through consistent training and re-training of your team members.

Use learning management systmes (LMS) to create training and re-training programs.

A good system to begin with is EdApp. If your budget allows, opt for Trainual or a similar system.

This is not the end

The SOP as well as the process map are living documents.

We are going through a constant change and thinking that process development is a one-time job is just wrong. Initial process development, as you can see, indeed takes a lot of time.

Maintaining processes up-to-date and alive is a simpler process. However, it is still a process.

Every time a new technology is released, or a new update to the existing technology is released or you add more team members to your team, or you modify the product or service offering, the process will inevitably change, and this change must trigger the change in your process map and documentation.

It is a good practice to conduct process reviews every quarter or so (depending on the nature of your processes) just to ensure the effectiveness, relevance, and quality of all the documentation.

How to change the process

As simple as that, go through the steps 2 to 4.

What we want to do when applying changes is to understand how the change will affect the entire process and the people participating in it. Of course, there is no better way to do it, than through the process mapping.

Duplicate your existing process map, and then modify it applying changes.

See how the process is affected by the applied changes. Good questions to ask during this process:

• do we increase or decrease the complexity of the process?
• do we increase the cost of executing the process?
• time
• number of people involved
• quality of the output
• change in the necessary inputs (what is needed to execute the process)
• change in the technology used

If you are happy with the change, move on to the testing and documenting stages.

I won’t recommend you change the process without looking at the process map as you may be increasing the complexity of the process by thinking otherwise. That’s a common mistake lots of entrepreneurs make. That’s exactly the time when you hear business owners say it was way simpler and faster when it was just me and my assistant.

Summary

Process development is not a scary thing. It is a learnable skill and the best way to learn it is through practice.

Start from non-business processes (how to make a sandwich) to get the gist of process development.

Add some technology into the mix to digitalize your process maps and enable team collaboration.

The framework is super simple:

1. Name the process and define the goal
2. Map it
3. Test it
4. Document it
5. Share it

Think of it as inventing a food recipe:

1. Name it
2. List the ingredients
3. Cook it
4. Put the recipe together.
5. Share it with the loved ones.

There is, of course, more to it but if you are looking to start with the process development, you are now fully equipped.

Follow me for more tools, tips, and tricks on process development and streamlining operations.

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