Who should be involved in creating a process map?

Involving people who are directly engaged in the process is essential for creating an effective process map. These individuals possess firsthand knowledge and experience that can provide invaluable insights into the actual workflow, bottlenecks, and pain points that may not be apparent to those outside the process. They can describe how tasks are performed, identify variations in the performance of the process, and highlight areas that require improvement.

The process mapping exercise benefits significantly from the contributions of those who execute the tasks daily. Their involvement ensures that the map accurately represents the steps taken, the sequence of activities, and the interactions between different roles and functions. This leads to a more accurate and comprehensive depiction of the process, which is critical for identifying inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.

On the other hand, individuals who are independent of the process or those merely providing oversight (like consultants or quality control experts) may lack the detailed operational context needed to depict the process accurately. While their input can be useful in certain aspects, the richness of insight and specificity required for an effective process map fundamentally comes from those who are actively involved in doing the work.