Process Mapping Remotely Part 2

Okay, so it’s understood that the creation of process maps for your business is an absolute must right now. But how are you going to do this while working remotely?

First things first

The first thing that you need to do to get prepared to process map remotely is to familiarise yourself with WebEx, Zoom or whatever your preferred video conferencing application will be. Communicate with your teams and ensure they have the right hardware and software to support your process mapping sessions. It’s pretty common for laptops to have cameras and microphones. The need for headsets is optional. Have a play with these video conferencing applications, so that you can comfortably implement their use with your teams.

Useful tools

In addition, I highly recommend the use of apps like OneNote or Notability. These applications will allow you to ‘whiteboard’ your ideas and assist in your brainstorming of process mapping. There are some very strong screen sharing capabilities on these apps, particularly Notability, Zoom and WebEx. These apps come with great functionality, allowing you to take things like a PowerPoint and draw all over it.

Have a play around with the various apps and their functions

Test-runs prior to the commencement of your meetings will facilitate the smooth running of the actual process mapping sessions. Plan your videos out. Break them down into chunks and don’t expect to video call your team for an entire day of process mapping. People need a lot of breaks and decompression time to think about the information being shared and developed.

It’s not easy trying to work remotely

If you’re brainstorming with a group of people, be mindful that your teams are going to struggle to focus after 45 to 60 minutes. Half an hour is a great sharp time within which to operate and you’ll want to record these sessions for teams to refer back to. Make sure your sessions are not too long and avoid going off on tangents: keep your sessions succinct and direct.

To that end, if you’re teaching rather than interacting, have everyone mute themselves (or mute them on their behalf if you are the host) and get them to make use of the chat function in your preferred video conferencing app. This is the most effective way for your team to raise questions and provide input, with minimal disruption to the presentation. Your session will be cleaner and less clunky, and you will be able to effectively moderate the discussion, as opposed to having a team of people jumping in on each other.

All right! So that’s it for part two of developing your process maps via a remote forum. You now have everything in place to enable you to meet with your teams and develop your business’ process maps. In part three, I will discuss the actual approach to the process.

Have fun preparing!

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Respect,

Daniel.