Creating robust process documentation is essential to any organization looking to retain knowledge, streamline operations and improve productivity. This article covers the why and how of process documentation.
There are three fundamental reasons why you should document your processes.
An "As Is process" is just another way of saying your current process.
If you want your organization to achieve its goals, you need all employees pulling in the same direction.
Having comprehensive process documentation is a way to get everyone on the same page.
Process documentation acts as a job-aid for existing employees, a training guide for new employees, and a reference point for process governance and oversight.
Continuous Process Improvement is essential in removing the inefficiencies and waste in your processes, improving employees’ productivity, and aligning your processes to new business objectives.
Digital Transformation is also one of the highest priorities for many organizations. It is a way of improving business operations through the application of digital technologies.
Process Improvement or Digital Transformation in an organization is very difficult unless you have a clear understanding of your “As Is” processes (what you are doing today) and your “To Be” processes (where you plan to go).
I like to say that “a well-documented process is a blueprint for business process automation.”
Let me put it this way; would you build a skyscraper without a set of blueprints? Then how can you automate a process unless it’s been clearly defined?
A well-documented process includes all the data and tool requirements needed to drive automation.
The process documentation becomes the “user story” that guides developers in automating the process while establishing the acceptance criteria by which the business can validate a successful implementation.
Having well-documented processes and comprehensive technical requirements will accelerate Digital Transformation by minimizing waste and re-work. A lack of process documentation and technical requirements is one of the key reasons Why Digital Transformations Fail.
When it comes to creating process documentation, there are certain best practices that should be followed to ensure maximum effectiveness. Firstly, it's important to understand why you're documenting processes in the first place - whether it's to communicate the current process, improve it, or lay the groundwork for automation.
Once you know your purpose, you can begin to document the process itself, involving knowledgeable stakeholders in workshops to ensure a comprehensive and accurate capture of all essential elements. It's also crucial to use a comprehensive process documentation template that tells the complete story of the process and can be repurposed for various audiences.
Finally, choosing the right process documentation tools can make a huge difference in the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. The Navvia Process Designer is a cloud-based option that offers powerful yet affordable capabilities, including process maturity assessments, automation requirements capture, and automatic documentation generation.
By following these business process documentation best practices, organizations can achieve greater productivity, efficiency, and alignment towards their goals.
Gain valuable insights on how to enhance your process design and documentation by watching our informative webinar : Best Practices in Process Design and Documentation.
Comprehensive process documentation ensures you have captured the complete end-to-end process. The business process documentation format can vary from organization to organization, but your documentation process should include some combination of the following:
Want to learn more about documenting processes? Check out these resources:
There is much more to a process document than a simple flowchart. Yes, a flowchart is an important part, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Comprehensive process documentation needs to tell a complete story. It’s the end-to-end narrative that captures all the essential elements of the process.
It also should be modular so that you can repurpose it for different audiences (without having to re-write the whole thing). What do I mean by that?
Each section should stand on its own, for use in other related documents, such as:
FREE Process Documentation Template FREE
The following are some business process documents that you are free to access!
Here is the table of contents from an ITIL-based Change Management process aligned to a Servicenow implementation. I’ve provided two views, one for a Complete Process Document and an Executive Summary.
Did you know that the Navvia Process Designer can automatically create tailored process guides for you? Click here to learn more.
There are a variety of tools for process documentation.
When first designing a process flow, many like to use a whiteboard and yellow stickies.
When documenting a process, many folks turn to Microsoft Visio and Word products.
Some organizations use complicated and expensive BPMN tools.
The problem with these tools is that they are either labor-intensive or overly complex to learn and use.
We recommend you take a look at the cloud-based Navvia Process Designer.
Navvia is an inexpensive yet powerful tool to design, document, and share your processes. With Navvia, you can: