Use of process maps to develop a management briefing sheet for a design consultancy

Purpose – Process mapping can lead to a more holistic understanding of how an organisation works. This paper seeks to discuss how an engineering design consultancy, which had developed a series of process maps on the design of steel frame buildings, developed a powerful management tool, the Management Briefing Sheet which has yielded numerous additional benefits enabling practice to be improved and quality procedures more easily accessed.Design/methodology/approach – To maximise the knowledge and expertise of its supply chain partners and to better understand how it designed steel‐framed buildings, the engineering design consultancy undertook a process‐mapping exercise. Various techniques for documenting the process were considered, but a modified IDEF notation was chosen for its ability to capture the iterative nature of the design process and its methodical approach for deconstructing complicated activities.Findings – Process‐mapping exercises can change the way organisations work and make them more eff...