Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ministry of Higher Education

Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
College of Computer and Information Sciences

Chapter 4: Systems Diagramming and the

Process Map
IS 395: Enterprise Resource Planning
Objectives of the chapter
• Identify purposes for system
documentations
• Recognize benefits of process maps
• Be familiar with process mapping
symbols
• Know the steps involved in mapping a
business process
 Why system documentation?
• As information systems become more
“complex” it becomes increasingly difficult to
comprehend exactly
• what steps are involved in a process and
• what systems support a process.
Supplier, is an individual or company that sells goods or
services to someone else in the economic production chain.
Part of the supply chain
Network of all the individuals, organizations, resources, activities
and technology involved in the creation and sale of a product,
from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the
manufacturer, through to its eventual delivery to the end user.
Parts manufacturers are vendors of parts to other
manufacturers that assemble the parts into something sold to
wholesalers or retailers
In IT, the term is commonly applied to suppliers of goods and
services to other companies.
• System documentation plays a significant
role in helping stakeholders gain an
understanding of IS
• System documentation includes various
documentation methods such as:
• narratives,
• checklists,
• questionnaires
• system diagrams
Systems Documentation

• Purposes for Systems Documentation

1. Describing business processes
2. Assessing internal control procedures
3. Evaluating, designing, or changing information
systems
• The focus of this chapter is on system
diagramming, perhaps the easiest
documentation technique to read and
understand because of its visual appeal.
• Systems Diagram – a
graphical representation of
systems and includes:
• Flowcharts
• ER Diagrams
• Other techniques
The focus of this
chapter is on method
called
Process map
Type of flowchart that derives from the
manufacturing industry
Importance of Systems Diagramming in
Business
• The graphical natures of SDs enables stakeholders to
gain an understanding of information systems and their
role in the processes.
• Problems with text only:

“A picture is
worth a
thousand
words”
Importance of Systems Diagramming in Business

• A recent study found that 72% of private and 82% of

public companies have increased emphasis on
reading or preparing systems documentation since the
passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
• A 2006 research study
found that:
Is an act passed by U.S. Congress in 2002
• The ability to read systems to protect investors from the possibility of
diagrams was “very fraudulent accounting activities by
important” or “somewhat corporations.
important” – 77%
• The ability to prepare
systems diagrams was “very
important” or “somewhat
important” – 66%
• Internal controls minimize or reduce the possibility that inaccurate,
incomplete, or unauthorized information is entered into a system
A Popular SD method: Process Maps (1/3)

• A process map, also known as a cross-

functional flowchart, is used by many
organizations seeking to
• document,
• analyze,
• streamline, and
• redesign business activities
• In 1980s, General Electric sought to improve
their manufacturing processes and developed
the process map to assist their analysis.
A Popular SD method: Process Maps (2/3)

• Process map divides a process into a

series of steps and identifies the role, or
function, responsible for each step.

• A role can be an external entity, such as a

customer or vendor, or an internal entity
such as a customer service representative
or a payroll clerk.
• Process maps represent a snapshot in
time. They can provide macro view
perspective of organizational
processes as well as provide micro
view perspective by focusing on
smallest units of work.
Benefits of Process Maps (1/3)
• Defining the “as is” business process
and clarifying the changes necessary
to transform the present process into
the “to be” process
• Determining whether “as is”
measures of performance are
appropriate and potentially
developing new performance
measures to promote efficiency.
Benefits of Process Maps (2/3)
• Promoting awareness of employees’
responsibilities
• Showing the impact a certain role’s
performance has on upstream and
downstream activities in the process
• Highlighting workflow inefficiencies
such as delays, queuing times,
excessive handoffs and unproductive
utilization of resources.
Benefits of Process Maps (3/3)
• Identifying opportunities to streamline
and improve processes, thereby gaining
efficiencies.
• Pinpointing internal controls that need to
be tested during an audit
Process Map Symbols

• Activities (or events):

transform inputs into
outputs
• Decision points: yes/no
(positive/negative)
outcome that depicts the
alternatives
• Process flow lines:
connect symbols and are
labeled with the type of
information flowing into or
out of the activities
Process Map Symbols

• Data stores: support the

process
• Termination: points at
which the process ends
• On-page connector:
reduce clutter on a page
• Off-page connector: when
processes span multiple
pages
Gathering Information for a Process Map

• Group interview method – all people involved in the

process are interviewed as a group
• Employs a skilled facilitator to promote and focus the
discussions, questioning conventional wisdom and
providing an unbiased, objective point of view

• One-on-one interview method – each person

involved in the process is interviewed separately
• Less effective than the group interview method

• Walkthrough – physically reviewing a process in

scope
• To confirm if a documented process is accurately
reflecting current workflow
 Guidelines to Developing a Process Map

• Have a defined purpose for mapping a process

and explain it to those participating
• Identify the scope of the process. The scope
should not be too broad.
• Determine the roles participating in the process
• Roles become horizontal bands called swim
lanes
• Determine the trigger, the event that must
occur to get the process started
• The trigger should be in the first swim lane
 Guidelines to Developing a Process Map

• Events should move left to right/top to bottom to

indicate the passage of time
• The information being exchanged is entered on
the process flow lines
• Decision descriptors should end with a question
mark, and the process flow lines coming out of
the decision are labeled with outcomes(e.g.
yes/no)
• The last swim lane is reserved for the
information systems that support the process
Process Map Example 1

Excerpt from text book: Page no 54

 Additional Hints for Constructing Process
Maps
• Make sure every area of the map contains approximately
the same amount of effort
• Start with a high level process map, and explode
activities into subsequent process maps that are more
detailed.
• Take notes while mapping and create a glossary of
acronyms
• Use humps when flow lines intersect on the process map
• Allow swim lanes to retain the same role throughout the
map even if the map spans multiple pages
• Terminate the process in the swim lane where the
process ends.
Advanced Process Map Example
Advanced Process Map Example
 Exercise

In groups develop a draft process map

for one of the student registration
process
Process Problems/issues to Uncover (1/2)
• Handoffs – transferring of responsibility from one role to
another
• Provides the opportunity for mistakes, miscommunications, and
delay
• Bottlenecks – a number of process flows lead to a single
activity
• Limit the performance or capacity of the entire system, delaying or
completely stopping the process
• Rework – people spending time fixing errors or remediating
problems
• Role ambiguity – people not knowing what they are
responsible for and others do
• Eliminating confusion among the participants in the process
• Data duplication – flows that point to and from information
systems can be analyzed, to identify the extent to which the
necessary data and the activities that create or use the data
can be shared among the organization’s many processes
Process Problems/issues to Uncover (2/2)
• Cycle time – the time consumed during process flow from
start to finish..how long is it and how long should it be?
• Should be at the heart of performance measurement
• Flow time – time between activities can be measured to
identify substantial contributors to delay and
underutilization
• Non value-added steps – looking at processes from the
customer’s point of view provides focus on roles or
activities that add little or no value
• Unnecessary or repetitive steps – process flows that dead
end with suboptimal results or wind back around to the same
event or role a number of times
Process Decision Issues to Uncover
Each decision in the process should be examined to determine:

• Authority ambiguity –clearly defines who owns the

decision
• Eliminate a potential source of confusion
• Decision necessity – when decision point output flows
lead toward the same or similar events, the process may
include unnecessary decisions that may generated
unwarranted delays
• Decisions too early – when decision point output flows
continue for a long time before encountering subsequent
events, the decision point may, in fact, be made too early
• Leads to unnecessary downstream complications
• Decisions too late – when decision point output flows
lead to errors or rework, decision points might need to be
moved to earlier to provide quality assurance or
confirmation of customer satisfaction and eliminate costly
remediation
 Developing the “To-be” Process
The following questions should be asked during development of the “to be” process

• Who is the customer? What is the customer willing to pay for?

What does the customer receive?

• What level of performance does the customer expect? How

well are we satisfying the customer? How can we increase
customer satisfaction?

• What is our first interaction with the customer that starts the
process? Where do our processes end and which endings are
optimal?

• What are the most important value-added steps?

• What activities are in scope that we can change and what

activities are out of scope that we cannot change?
A model that incorporates
BPR using process maps
to help with reengineering
initiative.