Map out your business process before you "improve it".
In a world of interacting software solutions and byzantine regulations understanding a process flow is the critical first step in learning to validate requirements and improve outcomes. Costs are high for those who seek organizational action first and understanding of interdependencies later.
As an organizational leader you must first force yourself to fully understand what the outcome is and how it is created. Previously when the world was less complex and there were far fewer dependencies individual operational activities could be altered without impairing neighboring functions. This is simply no longer the case. Now when a support function attempts to improve an internal function it has a direct impact on operational outcomes. The reverse is also true. Often times these interdependencies are not readily apparent.
Getting clarity by constructing a visual is the first step in defining what is being produced, how it is produced and by whom. As the adage goes a picture is worth 1,000 words. Human understanding works far better with a visual than in written text. But not only does a complex process need to be described through a visual but also the meaning must easily convey to the viewer otherwise there is little deep learning.
Finding a good example of process mapping is also beneficial. Attached is an example of the Federal hiring process within an organization where the organization is attempting to hire a person into a midlevel general schedule position. It is a simplified linear map that shows one single transaction of many that could occur. Indeed this display will undoubtedly generate 1,000 words.
A Civilian Being Hired in the Federal Government
