Glossary

5 Whys
A questioning technique used to identify the root-cause of a situation.

Actor
The individual, team or system which performs the activity of delivering the process. Actors can include customers if they play a role within a process.

Bottle Neck
A point in a process where input exceeds output resulting in items waiting to be processed or activity waiting to be performed.

Cost
The amount of money required (or charge) to deliver a product or service.

Customer
The recipient of the output. May be internal (colleagues, other teams etc.) or external (students, research partners, authorities etc.). Generally the customer will pay for output but this is not always the case.

Defect (Error) Waste
The rework required to resolve the result of incorrect processing and mistakes.

Dependency
In process mapping terms, a dependency is the condition where one process is reliant on another being performed before it can occur or be effective.

Flow
The direction of the process from start to end. To maximise efficiency flow should be as linear as possible with minimal deviation. Indicated by an arrow on a Process Model.

Flow-Chart
A series of boxes and arrows drawn to illustrate the steps of a process.

Gap Analysis
A way of identifying and understanding ‘what’ should be done to get from the current position (the as-is) - to the future state (the to-be).

Input
The resources, decision or condition required to initiate a process. May be the output of another stage of the overall process.

Inventory Waste
Items waiting for the next process activity to begin. Always present where a ‘bottle-neck’ occurs.

KPI
Key Performance Indicators - used to measure whether a process is performing at the expected level, or not.

MoSCoW
A method of prioritising requirements.

Motion/Movement Waste
Unnecessary movement made by people or machinery.

Organisational or context level diagram; Level 0
Illustrates where a process sits within an organisation.

Outcome
The way a thing turns out; a consequence. (see Delivering Results for more information on Outcomes).

Output
Something produced by a person, machine, or industry. The result of a process.

Over Processing Waste
Doing more than is required to meet the needs of the customer.

Over Production Waste
Producing something before, or in greater quantity than is needed. Causes bottle-necks.

POPIT™
Holistic relationship model comprising of People, Organisation, Process and Information and Technology.

Process
A process is a set of interrelated activities which transform a set of inputs into one or more outputs.

Process Model, Swim Lane Process Model; Level 2
illustrates the internal logic and flow of activity within a process. Process models may include several sub-levels of detail.

Process Dependency Map; Level 1
illustrates the dependencies between different processes but does not illustrate flow.

Process Document
A document produced to create a shared understanding of the process in question.

Quality
The standard of the good or service provided. Quality should always be measured from the perspective of the customer.

Rich Picture
A contextual illustration centred around the business area where a process is performed which displays stakeholder thoughts and relationships.

SIPOC (or COPIS)
A diagram illustrating the Supplier, Input, Process, Output and Customer at a high level. Used for presenting a simplified, holistic view.

Skills Waste
Where someone is over or under qualified to perform a particular task.

SME
The subject matter expert - someone who has a deep understanding of a process, situation, regulation etc..

Swim Lane
Used to define the activity performed by a specific actor.

Task
Performed in one place, at one time by one actor. A series of individual tasks are combined to create a process.

Task Description; Level 3
Details the steps of each task at an atomic level. By definition, a task cannot have sub-levels.

Transportation Waste
Unnecessary movement of materials, product or information.

Trigger
The event which initiates a process.

UML
Universal Modelling Language - Used by Process Analysts as an enhanced Process Activity Modelling technique.

Unit Cost
The amount of money required to make one item or service one customer request.

Value
The worth that the customer applies to a product or service.

Waiting Waste
Caused by delays in completing the task or activity.

Waste
Situations or activity which does not provide direct benefit to the delivery of the output of the process. There are 8 wastes.