Role-focused process-mapping for documenting software systems usage at Hemlock Printers

This report introduces readers to the principles of process mapping, a flowchart technique widely used in manufacturing and engineering for diagnosis, analysis and improvement of processes and whose advantages can be applied to tasks carried out in Publishing. We base this exposition on the experience gained during the process mapping of Hemlock Printers Ltd. a Burnaby-based company with 50 years in the industry, which started a project to document its workflows and the way software applications were used to automatize them. We examine the nature of process maps, how the company was conceptualized for study and the ways to collect information used, followed by a step by step guide to draw these diagrams, ending with a detailed analysis of selected examples of workflows at Hemlock using these maps and how to apply them to identify problems and opportunities for improvement.