6 Steps To Process Mapping Your Business
The goal is to understand the constraints of the business, this is a bottleneck analysis to visually understand what’s really happening and where the leaks are.
Every business operates around two fundamental questions:
How do we get a customer? (Sales Process)
How do we deliver what we promised? (Service Delivery)
Process mapping helps you document how a customer moves from stranger to buyer and how you deliver your product or service.
By mapping the process visually, we can leverage a powerful principle from Japanese quality management: Kaizen (continuous improvement).
You can’t improve what you can’t see.
This exercise uncovers blind spots, highlights friction points, and gives your team one of the highest ROI improvements you can make.
Why Process Mapping Matters
"You measure what you manage." — Peter Drucker
The key question process mapping answers:
How do customers actually happen in my company?
Not how they should happen. Not how you hope they happen. How they happen today.
Once your process is visual, three things get easier:
Focus: Stop guessing and see exactly where effort has the most impact.
Simplify: Eliminate noise, streamline the experience, and remove unnecessary steps.
Scale: Fill gaps, strengthen weak points, and double down on what already works.
Tools You’ll Need
Analog (Start here):
Whiteboard or large sheet of paper + Whiteboard marker
Sticky notes (square/diamond) + Sharpie
Tip: Take a photo of your analog map before moving
Digital (Optional, for sharing and scaling):
Visio (Microsoft 365)
Lucidchart (Google Workspace plugin)
Miro
Figma
Canva
Symbols (Keep it simple):
Oval: Start or End
Square: Task / Activity
Diamond: Decision point (Yes/No)
Parallelogram: Data input or list (optional)
Arrows: Flow direction
Step 1: Capture the Process (Process Discovery)
Before you map, understand reality first. In consulting terms, this is As-Is Process Documentation.
Goal: Collect all steps, decisions, tools, and roles before visualizing.
How to do it:
Talk to the team: Ask what actually happens at each step. Focus on roles, not names.
Observe the workflow: Watch tasks in action — people often miss steps when explaining.
Collect artifacts: Templates, forms, software, spreadsheets.
Document decision points: Any “it depends” moment, approvals, or yes/no choice.
Identify bottlenecks: Where things slow down, fail, or drop off.
Practical Approaches:
Option 1: 7-Question Workflow Inventory (Recommended)
What starts the process?
What is the end point?
What steps actually happen in between?
What decisions are made along the way?
Who is involved at each step?
What tools or systems are used?
Where do things slow down or break?
Option 2: Funnel-Builder Questions (Marketing Focus)
What are you selling?
How do prospects find you today?
Which channels are you using?
How do you follow up?
Where do prospects make micro-commitments?
What are your “aha moments”?
Which actions or pages convert best right now?
Output: A complete, factual view of your process — every step, decision, and tool documented.
Step 2: Pick the High-Impact Process
Start with the one process that gives the highest return on effort — the 20% that drives 80% of results.
Examples:
One product
One service
One customer acquisition channel
One fulfillment or delivery channel
Map the rest later. Focus on impact first.
Step 3: Define Start and End Points
Every process has a clear beginning and finish. (Α — Alpha to Ω — Omega)
Start: The first moment a qualified prospect enters your world.
Example: They see an ad, get referred, visit your website, or call.
End: The moment the sale is complete.
Example: Payment received or contract signed.
This concludes the Client Acquisition map and triggers the Client Fulfillment map.
Place Start top-left, End bottom-right.
Step 4: Sequence Process Steps and Decisions
Time to map the middle. Once you have the start and end, the next step is to lay out each step in order and capture all decision points.
Ask the single guiding question at each point: “Then what happens?”
Start with the triggering event: “They see a Facebook ad.”
Ask repeatedly: Then what?
Write each answer on a sticky note until you reach the end.
Use a diamond for decisions (yes/no):
Did they click?
Did they opt in?
Did they book a call?
Did they show up?
Did they buy?
Each yes/no creates a branch.
Stop when:
Every step is visible
Every decision point is clear
The map shows how customers actually happen today
Do not optimize yet. Document reality first.
Step 5: Identify Gaps & Opportunities
Once visualized, problems and opportunities jump out:
Dead ends
Missing follow-up
Orphan tasks
Automation opportunities
Steps that create friction
Drop-off points
Aha moments not emphasized
Steps to merge or remove
This becomes your improvement roadmap.
Step 6: Create a Clean Digital Flowchart (Optional)
Once your sticky-note map is complete, move it digital for clarity and sharing:
Visio (Microsoft 365)
Lucidchart
Miro
Figma
Canva
Focus on clarity and usability, not aesthetics.
The Desired Outcome
After mapping, you have a clear view of how customers become customers and how you deliver your products and services.
Deliverables:
Visual process map of reality
Team-shared tool for onboarding and training
Roadmap for optimization
Foundation for automation
Blueprint for scaling
Next: Use this map to define metrics and KPIs — ensuring every activity is executed efficiently, by the right person, with measurable benchmarks.
