Are You Ready for Future State Mapping?
A surprisingly large number of organizations have yet to document their processes in a formal way. So the idea of future state mapping may sound like a shortcut to process heaven, especially if your processes are out of control. What is future state mapping? It is, in a nutshell, creating the desired state for a process. Who should consider future state mapping? Candidates could include start ups or new departments who have no processes in place; companies who need drastic change to improve the bottom line and those about to implement substantial solution integration.
Future state mapping requires creativity, brainstorming and process expertise. We have seen the best results when we work with cross functional teams composed of positive thinkers with a can-do attitude. Human beings tend to limit themselves, based upon their individual experience. So it can be daunting to remove “inhibitors” from the creative process, even when these inhibitors have been identified during current state process mapping. But to achieve future state, we must take a leap of faith and imagine processes without financial limitations or resource constraints.
Tags: current state, future state, future state mapping, Process Improvement, processes
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April 18, 2008 at 11:08 am
I have been working with a Division of my company for the past two years mapping their “AS IS” and “TO BE” processes. At the beginning of the work it was almost impossible to get the teams to think “TO BE” (future state). Many belived that the “TO BE” would never happen. We set up a Management Review process where the teams had to present the “TO BE” to top management. This dispelled a lot of the belief that the “TO BE” would never come to pass. This future state mapping has helped move the organization to be ready for the future as the “TO BE” processes are being implemented. Now the teams think in future possiblities instead of “oh that will never happen”.