Articles Archives - Gravity Flow

Jul 24 2017

When Should You Perform a Workflow Audit?

How do you know if your workflow has stopped working for you?

There may be times throughout the year when you need to reevaluate whether your workflows are achieving the desired results.

Or, you might find yourself in a situation where you are working from previously developed workflows – maybe from past leadership or old processes – that no longer fit the needs of your current team, processes or goals.

In either case, it might be time for a workflow audit.

Workflow audits are often a necessity for keeping everything running smoothly in your organization. But where do you start? When do you know it’s time to evaluate and what should you look for?

Here are a few tips for performing workflow audits:

Free download: Tips for Performing a Better Workflow Audit

When Should You Perform an Audit?

Sometimes faulty or antiquated workflow can be easy to recognize.

When workflows are outdated, bottlenecks become noticeable rather quickly. Click To Tweet

However, in some cases, a workflow is just good enough to get things done, but it’s not optimized to its full potential. This can make it harder to detect whether your workflow is effective, because you are still reaching your goals, albeit slower than you could be.

So when do you know it’s time for a workflow audit? Generally speaking, you should perform a workflow audit when any of the following occur:

Noticeable bottlenecks or delays are present
Basic tasks feel illogical or cumbersome
Significant changes to your team roles
Significant changes to your processes
New team roles are added or new processes put in place
Goals are not being met at the desired rate of speed

Even if you don’t notice slowdowns or things haven’t changed much in the last 6-12 months, you should still perform a workflow audit at least once a year. This ensures that you’re meeting your goals and that everything is optimized for the best results.

Where to Begin the Evaluation Process

Before you begin the actual workflow audit, you need to make sure that you have a clear understanding of what your workflow should be achieving.

Make a list of ideal outcomes

Make a list of outcomes and note any places where they are not being achieved.

If the goal of your workflow is to process new hire paperwork and you know that paperwork should be approved and uploaded into the system within 48 hours of a new hire, that should be the benchmark for your audit.

It may require you to audit the process over several months. You could also go back through your records to see how long paperwork was uploaded into the system, so you know how long the actual process takes. If you notice that things were not uploaded in 48 hours, you have a good starting point for an audit.

Map out complex workflows

Determine if any of your workflows overlap. If you have multiple complex workflows, you will need to have them mapped out clearly (we often recommend using a swim lane diagram, as they can give clear detail to complex workflows).

If you have a complex workflow, it’s worth mapping them out in case a potential bottleneck in one workflow is actually caused by another related workflow or process. The more accurate your workflow maps are, the better results you will have.

Define all roles and responsibilities

Effective workflow modeling depends on defining and clarifying roles at every step, especially if roles have shifted or been added in the last 6-12 months.

Each participant needs to know what he or she is responsible for, at what point input or action is needed, and to whom the workflow is handed off to once those responsibilities are fulfilled. You may have to explicitly state what each person is tasked with so you can be certain that no steps are left out.

How to Perform a Workflow Audit

After you have completed the above, you should be ready to perform a workflow audit.

1. Create a workflow inventory

Create a master workflow inventory that includes all of your workflows. List each process, write down what you believe the purpose of that process is, and then list all of the people within your organization that is involved with this process.

You may be surprised at the amount of workflows in your inventory, and that’s okay. As long as you have a general picture, you can start to narrow down your audit.

2. Rank your workflows

Once your inventory is complete, you can then audit individual workflows as needed.
Using your inventory, rank each business workflow from most important to least important.

This may be more difficult, as some processes can be interrelated or dependent, but do your best. This will give you a sense of where to start your audit if you don’t have a specific workflow in mind. Be sure to get input from your team if you don’t know which processes are most important, as they can help you decide which process to streamline first, second, third and so on.

3. Break down workflows in processes

If you have already mapped your workflows, this step should be done for you. If not, do it now. You want to break down each of your workflows into discrete steps – the more granular, the better.

What’s most important in this step is to capture the beginning, middle and end (or desired outcome) of the process you’re aiming to streamline.

4. Monitor your workflows and solicit feedback

You may already have noticed there are areas in your workflows where there are bottlenecks or breakdowns, but if not, you may need to gather reports from your team and solicit feedback from colleagues, co-workers, subordinates, supervisors and anyone directly or indirectly involved in the business workflow chain or the outcomes that the process produces.

Keep in mind that perfection is not always the goal. Very few processes will be perfect, but your workflows should be getting close to your ideal outcomes. Remember the old adage, “progress, not perfection” when evaluating.

5. Remap your workflow

Once you have identified a few areas that may need improvement, you will need to come up with a few solutions to improving the process. You may need to remap the whole workflow – in which case, you would want to start from the brainstorming session and work down from there.

Alternatively, you may just need a few small tweaks or role changes to solve your problem. Remap your new workflows with the new changes and additions. If you are adding new workflows to the process, be sure to update your workflow inventory.

6. Automate and implement your updated workflow

Use a business workflow management tool (like Gravity Flow) to map out your final workflow and automate any processes. Once your new workflow is in place, you will need to monitor it for any changes to your outcomes.

If you notice that things are improving, continue with your new workflow until your next scheduled audit. If you notice that things are not improving or have become noticeably worse, you will need to follow steps 1-5 again.

7. Refine as you go

Again, no process or workflow will ever be completely perfect. Once you have improved your existing process to come as close as possible to your desired outcomes, you should expect to continue to refine your processes over time.

It may be helpful to create a schedule of workflow audits every few months, so as not to audit everything all at once, and to have a plan in place to review processes to help you notice slowdowns as soon as they happen.

Learn more with this guide to performing workflow audits

Final Thoughts

Mapping out your workflows will be an essential step to performing a workflow audit, so be sure you know how to map out your workflow properly (we have tips for you here and here).

You may need to gather feedback from various members of your team in order to determine when an audit should take place. Keep in mind that some audits may take longer than others, depending on the complexity of the workflow, so give yourself enough time.

If you find that you keep auditing the same workflows repeatedly, know that it’s okay to scrap it and build a new one that fits your outcomes. Don’t keep tweaking an outdated workflow if it’s just not accomplishing your goals.

Jul 10 2017

3 Types of Flowcharts You Can Use for Workflow Management

Business processes require continuous improvement, and organizations often need ways to improve those processes and minimize inefficiencies that prevent them from performing at their best.

One of the best ways to do this is by creating flowcharts of your business processes that simplify the understanding of business activities, define roles and responsibilities within those processes, and help identify bottlenecks that keep things from running efficiently.

But not all flowcharts are the same, nor should they be used for the same types of process.

While there are several variations of flowcharts that you can use to define a process, there are a few that stand out to help visualize workflow and to better engage in management strategies.

Free Download: Compare Workflow vs. Process vs. Swim Lane Diagrams.

Workflow Diagrams

A workflow diagram is a slightly more generic flowchart that provides a graphic overview of a business process. It typically uses standardized symbols and shapes, showing tasks that need to be completed step by step. They can be as simple or as complex as needed.

These types of flowcharts can be useful if you’re trying to track metrics for a process, improve a process by eliminating inefficiencies, or automate a manual process. They can also be useful to help employees understand their particular roles and how they relate to other departments as well as to train new employees.

Workflow diagrams can also help you discover potential problem areas in your business processes and to clarify more complex operations by showing a high-level overview of the tasks involved.

Most organizations that develop workflows for business process will create a workflow diagram of some kind, whether on the back of a piece of paper or using more complex diagram drawing tools or other systems.

Before designing a workflow diagram, it’s essential that organizations start with a basic workflow analysis, which can help clarify steps in the process and expose any potential weaknesses that may delay the workflow (DocuVantage has a helpful resource for doing that here).

Swim Lane Diagrams

Swim lane diagrams take the basic workflow diagram a step further. A swimlane diagram not only depicts steps in the process, but also separates each unit within the organization, highlighting interaction between departments and providing a high-level view of possible inefficiencies.

They also add areas on your flowchart (the swim lanes) to show additional components to a process, like when multiple departments or roles are involved. Swim lanes point out who is doing the work as well as what is being done.

Swim lanes point out who is doing the work as well as what is being done. Click To Tweet

They’re also helpful in situations where timing is a factor. Swim lane diagrams are perfect for identifying time traps – which processes take the longest – as well as capacity constraints and other bottlenecks that can happen between department handoffs.

When there are activities with multiple roles, diagrams can often become complex as shapes are duplicated and placed in multiple lanes, obscuring the natural flow of the process. Swim lanes can be expanded to indicate additional areas of importance within the workflow.

You can create swimlane diagrams that are organized by role (i.e., person), by department, division, function or some other grouping. Because each lane in the diagram represents the steps performed by one role/function/department, viewing the overall diagram makes responsibilities clear.

This makes swim lane diagraphs a better choice for workflow mapping than traditional workflow diagrams, especially if there are multiple roles, departments and responsibilities involved across the organization to complete a process.

Process Flowcharts

Similar to the swim lane diagram, you also have the option of using a slightly more complex diagram called a process flowchart. Process flowcharts are mostly used in more manufacturing, administrative or service processes, but can be useful for other high-level processes as well.

It can be used for mapping out roles and responsibilities within an organization or for drawing up a proposal for a new process or project. One of the benefits of a process flowchart is that you are not limited to a single department or function. You can gain a much higher-level overview of a business process across the organization.

A high-level process map, like the image above, will describe the core processes in an organization and will be focused on the activity flow, order or sequence and interaction of high-level processes.

They can also be used for low-level processes in a way comparative to swim lane diagrams. The main difference between a high-level and low-level process flowchart is one of scope: A high-level process map will show the overview of the entire process throughout the organization, while a low-level process will “zoom in” on specific areas for more detail.

*Low Level Process Flowchart. Source: Bizmanualz*

The main trouble with a low-level process flowchart is that it doesn’t always define responsibilities with the same detail as a swim lane diagram. This can result in additional visual aids such as color-coding, complicated legends and extraneous notes making the diagram difficult to follow. Its primary role is to define steps and connections the same way swim lane diagrams do, but swim lanes add additional dimensions that can help visualize responsibilities and constraints alongside those processes.

While you could have a more detailed low-level process map, it can be better to use a swim lane when the process involves multiple roles and responsibilities or more detail is needed to help clarify the process.

See the differences? Do a quick comparison of each diagram here.

Final Thoughts

In terms of which type of flowchart will work best, we often recommend using a swim lane diagram in favor over a basic workflow diagram or a more complicated process flowchart.

Swim lane diagrams have all of the advantages of mapping out a process the way a workflow diagram does, but it can expand processes to include roles and responsibilities across multiple departments and identify time traps, bottlenecks and other constraints in a way other flowcharts simply can’t.

Even the more complex process flowcharts – while helpful for more technical processes and high level overviews – often miss details that can be crucial to workflow efficiency.

While we absolutely recommend having at least a basic flowchart for your business processes (don’t forget to do a workflow analysis if you haven’t already), we favor swim lanes for optimal process management.

Jun 26 2017

How Workflow Automation Fits Into the Customer Journey

Every customer interaction is part of a much larger journey. When they buy from you, that transaction is only the beginning of a (hopefully) much longer relationship.

The moments before and after buy-in are equally important, too. If they were impressed with your website enough to purchase from you, for instance, but didn’t receive their product on time because of slow shipping, they may not buy from you again.

Every part of their journey is essential to longevity, and it only takes one weak link in the chain to derail an otherwise successful relationship.

One of the most common breakdowns in that relationship can happen due to poorly constructed (or missing) workflows. Not having a clear process in place for the various processes may hinder your ability to provide the best service possible.

Without workflows, your customer journey is incomplete. Click To Tweet

On the other side of that coin, without viewing your workflows as part of a bigger picture, you may not be able to create processes that actually benefit customers.

Here is a look at how workflows impact the customer journey and how you can set your organization up for success with every interaction.

Download our free Customer Journey and Workflow Mapping Guide:

What Does the Full Customer Journey Look Like?

The customer journey spans a variety of touchpoints by which the customer moves from awareness of your organization to engagement and, finally, to purchase.

A customer touchpoint is any moment when a customer comes into contact with your organization. Your ultimate goal is to make sure your customers are satisfied every step of the way, and that each interaction moves seamlessly to the next.

The three most common areas where customers will interact with your organization are before transaction, during transaction, and after transaction, and each come with their own set of touchpoints.

Before transaction: This could include marketing efforts, such as online advertising, your website, customer referrals, Yelp reviews, or other online or in-person impressions of your company. This is where customers become aware that you exist and that you have something to offer them.

During transaction: Your actual point of sale environment could be a physical store or a website (or both). In this case, customers are interacting with your digital platform, sales team, call center, customer support or other processes that come along with purchasing good or services from you. This is the buy-in to your organization’s offerings.

After the transaction: This involves everything that comes after the purchase itself, including billing and invoicing, customer support, questions and returns, and even customer feedback, newsletter sign-ups. This is where customer satisfaction becomes an important part of the journey if the relationship is to continue.

Each smaller interaction (receiving an invoice from your finance department, for instance) is a touchpoint: an opportunity to impress (or dissuade) further touchpoints.

How Do Workflows Fit In?

Each area – before, during and after transaction – involves workflows that help support every touchpoint and ensure that each part of the transaction is completed on time.

When workflows function as they should, the entire experience will be harmonious and, in a way, imperceptible to the customer. They will simply “experience” your organization without second thought.

However, when workflow processes don’t work as they should, customers notice, and more often than not, they will let you know.

That’s why it’s essential that workflows are mapped out as clearly as possible to ensure a completely seamless experience throughout the entire customer journey.

Mapping Workflows With the Customer Journey In Mind

In order to create workflows with a larger picture in mind, you have to start by mapping the full customer journey.

According to Harvard Business Review, a customer journey map is simply a diagram that illustrates the steps your customer(s) go through in engaging with your company. The more touchpoints you have, the more complicated – but necessary – the map becomes.

Mapping the customer journey involves:

Choosing key customer personas
Identifying customer goals
Breaking down customer goals into touchpoints
Breaking down touchpoints into workflows

If you offered translation services, for example, you would identify a customer persona (those who need translation done), capture their motivations and goals (e.g. have a document translated from English to Spanish), and break down those goals into touchpoints (initial inquiry, etc.

A simple customer journey for this might look like:

Initial enquiry
Send documents to be translated
Approve cost estimate and wait for translation
Approve translation or request changes
Pay invoice

In order to turn this journey into a repeatable process for other customers, you would create a workflow map using a swim lane diagram, like so:

Mapping out individual workflows is an essential part of turning single customer touchpoints into an actual journey, so it’s important to get it right. The more accurate and seamless each workflow is, the more seamless the overall customer journey will be.

Keep in mind that if there are bottlenecks or breakdowns in your workflow, it impacts your relationship with your customer. If they don’t get an invoice on time, or something ships late or not at all (and they have to contact customer service), you may not get another chance in the future to correct those errors.

Retaining customers over the long haul is not only a matter of having a product or service they want, it’s a matter of meeting their needs at every step of the journey and consistently providing the best service possible.

Don’t forget to grab your free customer and workflow mapping guide:

Final Thoughts

Mapping out both the customer journey and your individual workflows will help minimize delays and redundancies, meet customer needs and goals, and help you communicate clearly between various departments and teams within your organization.

Creating visual structure for the customer journey will also help you spot potential issues that would prevent customers from interacting with you in the future, before they ever occur.

The more efficient your workflows become, the better your overall customer journey will be, and the longer the relationship will last. But it’s equally important to understand the customer journey before creating your workflows, as it gives you the overarching reason why you do the things you do.

Jun 12 2017

How to Get Started Building and Organizing Your New Workflow

If you have never undertaken the process of creating a workflow from start to finish, it may feel like a complicated process.

While building a workflow can take time, especially when it comes to planning, processes, and testing, it isn’t as daunting as it seems if you know what you’re doing. The key is in knowing how to start.

You first need to know how complicated your workflow will need to be, which means you will have to understand the difference between a simple project workflow versus a complicated process workflow.

After that, it comes down to choosing the right visual representation of your workflow and then following a few basic steps.

Projects vs. Processes

Building a workflow for a single project is not the same as creating a workflow for a business process, which is why it’s important to understand the difference.

In order to build a project workflow, you would generally need to group a series of one-off tasks in order to accomplish a goal. This might include:

Identifying the ultimate outcome
Creating a series of steps involved to reach the outcome
Listing any one-off tasks and documents involved in each step
Identifying the order that each task needs to occur in
Assigning tasks to a person, if necessary (some tasks may be automated)
Setting a duration for each task and step

Projects are often completed using project management strategies and software (like Microsoft Project). Project management involves the initiation, planning, design, execution, monitoring, control, and closing of a team’s specific goal, usually involving a certain set of criteria that needs to be met.

The biggest difference between project management and process management is that project management has a temporary, constrained scope, quality, budget, and timeframe.

Creating a workflow for a process, on the other hand, involves defining processes that need to be managed throughout the organisation, which may include repeatable projects and grouped tasks. It also requires visualizing, measuring, controlling, reporting, and, improving that process over time, with the goal to increase productivity and/or decrease costs.

While both are somewhat different, both project and process workflows can be organized in similar ways, using visual flowcharts and diagrams to document each stage, step and task.

Choosing the Right Flowchart or Diagram

Flowcharts and other diagrams can be used for project planning, system mapping, process documentation, or creating almost any type of workflow. But, not all flowcharts are created equal in terms of helping you achieve your ultimate outcome.

There are a few different flowchart types, including your basic flowchart for project planning as well as those more suitable for organizing complex processes, like the swimlane diagram.

Your basic flowchart looks something like this:

They can be useful when organizing a process that involves a series of tasks, like processing a customer’s order. You can even create a workflow to track your other workflows, like so:

Projects and grouped tasks benefit the most from simple flowcharts, like waterfall charts. Processes involving more than one person typically require swim lane diagrams. Here’s a simple example of a PTO process:

Swimlane diagrams can help you clarify even very complex processes. Here’s another example with more steps and roles:

How to Build Your Workflow Flowchart

Here is a general idea of what the organization process should look like from start to finish:

Step 1: Name your workflow. The name should help you identify your ultimate outcome, but don’t worry too much about this, as you can change it later.

Step 2: Identify start and end points. What events or tasks will trigger the process to start? How will you know when your outcome has been reached?

Step 3: Identify what is needed to perform the process. What tasks, documents, and actual materials (paper, pens, automation software, programs, etc.) are needed to complete the process?

Step 4: List any tasks and activities. What needs to be done to accomplish your outcome? State these in a verb/object format (e.g. approve the request, sign the paperwork, etc.). Each task may get its own box in your flowchart or diagram, so you can group minor tasks together if necessary.

Step 5: Identify the order tasks should be accomplished. Should certain tasks be finished before others can be started? Or can certain tasks be accomplished at the same time?

Step 6: Identify roles. Who will be involved in what tasks or activities? Some tasks may involve simple automation tools and no human approval, while others will need a review and sign off. Identify who is responsible for which task and process in your workflow. Add a swim lane for each role in your swimlane diagram.

Step 7: Identify your flowchart type and draw it out. Again, swimlane diagrams are best for processes, while a simple flowchart may work for projects or other smaller workflows. You can either draw one out by hand or use a tool like Visio, gliffy.com or draw.io.

Step 8: Review and finalize. After you’ve set everything up, you will want to test your workflow and review it to ensure that all processes are efficient and achievable and that everything accomplishes what it needs to accomplish.

Step 9: Use a workflow automation tool to create your actual workflow. Once your workflow is finalized, you can use workflow automation software to set up your actual workflow and integrate it with other software. Don’t forget to test your systems to make sure there are no hiccups throughout the process.

For swim lane diagrams, more guidance may be needed to truly capture all the roles and responsibilities. Further tips for building an effective swimlane diagram can be found here and here.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that the more complicated the process, the more complicated the flowchart will be, which means that you may either need to create a large flowchart or break down the process into multiple diagrams.

The process isn’t necessarily complicated once you get the hang of it, but it can be time-consuming, especially during the planning stages. Make sure you involve key team members in the brainstorm and planning processes before you start building your workflow or designing your flowcharts.

The more preliminary work you can do before you put pen to paper (or processes into your automation tool) the easier and faster your implementation and testing will be.

May 29 2017

Which Workflow Process Will Work Best for Your Organization?

How effective is your workflow at saving your organization time?

A good workflow should allow you to easily map out the progress of a project from beginning to end, helping you speed up the approval process and reduce errors that prevent your team from working efficiently.

But there’s more than one type of workflow out there, and not all workflows will be best suited for your processes or the people accomplishing workflow tasks. Each type of workflow has its benefits and setbacks, as each is designed to handle tasks with varying degrees of complexities.

Deciding which one will work best for your organization will come down to understanding your team’s strengths and weaknesses as well as the intricacies of the tasks themselves and how much buffer room you need for mistakes.

Here is a quick breakdown of the three main types of workflows and what to look for when choosing the right one.

Download this helpful resource: Which Workflow Does This Process Need?

Types of Workflows

There are essentially two main categories that a workflow can fall under:

Sequential – A sequential workflow represents a series of steps performed one after another until the last activity is completed. The exact order of execution may vary, but tasks will always be sequential. This type of workflow is usually built around the same style and format as a flow chart, which ensures that there are no backward steps and that everyone is only moving forward within the business flow.

State Machine – A state machine workflow represents a set of states, transitions, and actions that can be executed non-sequentially. This means that they’re not necessarily performed one after another, but are instead triggered by specific actions and states. One state is assigned as the start state, and then, based on an event, a transition is made to another state. This type of workflow is traditionally more complex but will allow people to return to a specific point if they make a mistake.

For the most part, sequential workflows tend to be more common than state machine, due to the fact that they’re easier to design and maintain. Sequential workflows also tend to be faster, as progress continues forward at a set pace (usually deadline-driven) and it’s usually clear when a project or task starts and ends.

Tasks that are part of a state machine workflow, on the other hand, need to be approved (meet a certain state) in order to progress forward, and if denied, may be sent backwards in the process. This means potentially more time spent bouncing tasks between people or departments for approval.

This doesn’t mean sequential is always better than state machine. There are times in the process where mistakes will be made, and having the ability to send a task backwards one or two steps can be more efficient than having to start the process over.

It can also be easier to add steps to the process with a state machine workflow, which makes them a great choice for organizations that don’t have set processes in place or are still experimenting with their workflows (though they can be more difficult to design from the beginning a process).

Deciding on the Right Workflow

So how do you know when to choose a sequential workflow or state machine?

The good news is that you can set different workflows for different processes (so you’re not stuck with something that doesn’t work), but knowing which workflow will be the most efficient for a certain process will depend on a few factors, including:

The good news is that you can set different workflows for different processes Click To Tweet

The complexity of tasks – Is it a matter of uploading a file to a server and notifying another team member, or does the task require a series of approvals before it can be finalized?
The efficiency of your team – How many mistakes can you expect from your team? Are they prone to forget uploading a file or taking too long to approve a task?
The timeline of the steps – Do you need things done as quickly as possible or are you more concerned with things being approved and completed in the right way? Do certain tasks need to be completed before other ones or can they be accomplished in any order?

Think of sequential workflows like a connect-the-dot game, while state machine workflows are similar to a puzzle. If you need things done quickly and you don’t expect there to be many mistakes in the process, and the tasks are not too demanding (e.g. you only need to upload a file or notify another team member), a sequential workflow will move things along quickly.

If, on the other hand, tasks are more complex – budgets need approval, files must be reviewed or created and sent back for review, and so on – or you expect there to be bottlenecks in the process (something didn’t get approved when it should have), a state machine workflow will allow you to add or retrace your steps, or give you more time to complete a process.

You also need to consider whether or not tasks need to be accomplished in any specific order. For example, if you had contract approval process that required three approvals from the legal team, finance team and upper management, could a manager approve something before the legal team sees it? If not, you may need a sequential workflow.

Keep in mind that sequential workflows are easier to design from the get-go and are more predictable: you know what you’re getting when you build your workflow diagram or flowchart. That may be a good enough reason to stick to a sequential workflow.

Alternatively, state machine workflows are more heavily influenced by external factors (like people), which create multiple opportunities for adjustments if you’re not quite sure about the effectiveness of your current workflow.

In short: Assess your needs.

Simple tasks, low risk of mistakes and a need for sequence add up to a sequential workflow most of the time, while more complicated tasks or approval processes may require an equally complex workflow to match.

Get the bonus content: Quiz: Which Workflow Does This Process Need?

Final Thoughts

Remember that your workflow should ultimately save you time and energy. If you have implemented a sequential workflow but you find that it doesn’t leave enough room for mistakes or bottlenecks, and you have to continually start from the beginning, you may need something more complex (or vice versa).

You can also design and implement different workflows as needed, depending on your needs. If you find that certain processes simply aren’t working with your chosen method, try implementing another solution to see if that solves the problem.

Keep your team in mind throughout the decision-making process, as they will be involved with the implementation of tasks and may have a say in which workflow works best for them.