
It’s a bit like how people write better in notebooks. It’s important to remember to use a messy whiteboard when you’re getting together the initial draft because people would rather not change digital information, but don’t mind scribbling on a board. Teams use big whiteboards to draw up the flow before documenting it digitally.

Processes are mapped in groups, where someone will map the process while the team that executes it explains how they do it. (Stay with me ’til the end for a full interactive process based on Ian’s tips!)

Gilbreth, the paper’s author, is probably better known as the author and central character of the 1950s novel Cheaper by the Dozen. In the winter of 1921, Frank Gilbreth presented a paper to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers entitled “Process Charts: First Steps in Finding the One Best Way to Do Work” - an excellent title by any standards, and something that turned a lot of businesses onto the idea of modeling their processes so they can optimize them. Just like the basic ideas of processes and the division of labor, business process modeling was born in the mechanical industry.
