Service process mapping is also sometimes called service blueprinting or swim-lane diagramming. Services are intangible processes involving emotions and experiences across a series of touchpoints. Service managers make these intangible experiences, processes, and feelings tangible so they can be managed and shared. Ways of making these intangible things tangible include: through stories, technologies, the service concept, and through process diagrams. One of the main ways that the service experience can be envisaged is through process mapping. Service Process Mapping and Service Blueprinting The presentation below provides an overview of the purposes of service process mapping or blueprinting and its conventions. Plentiful examples of maps or blueprints can be seen here at google images. In more recent times we have seen the development of cloud process services, such as Promapp. PROMAPP is a process management software business that helps companies build, improve and share their process knowledge from a central online repository. Basically, Promapp drives process improvement by 'simplifying' process mapping, so that business teams can own and improve their own processes. According to their website Promapp makes process mapping: Easy to use for the whole team; it generates process maps from text; it uses a simple process map format; it enables service providers to drill down to detail and related documents; it tracks all changes; it is browser-based (cloud); and it is easy to implement and use. They also integrate with common quality systems like Lean Six Sigma. You can find Promapp online here - their website is very informative and attractive. They provide services to a large range of public and private companies including SkyCity, SkyTV, Zespri, Toyota, St John, Telstra Clear, Genesis Energy, McDonald's, Burger King, Auckland Transport and other local and international companies. Swim-lane Diagram A similar way to represent a process is with a swim-lane process diagram. A swim-lane is a visual diagram used to illustrate a process flow, and so it is an invaluable tool in helping organisational members visualize a whole process, of which they are probably only a small part. Flowcharts can distinguish sub-processes and responsibilities. They can be arranged either horizontally or vertically. The swim lane diagram looks like a swimming pool, hence its name. The horizontal direction represents the sequence of events in the overall process, while the vertical divisions depict what sub-process is performing that step. Arrows between the lanes represent how information or material is passed between the sub-processes. Swim-lane diagrams are often created with software like Microsoft Visio. This is a common application used by operations and other managers to create and communicate processes. Below is a swim-lane diagram for a simple sales process. The task responsibilities are categorized as consumer, sales, stock, and finance. Reference Bitner, M.J., Ostrom, A. & Morgan, F. (2007) Service blueprinting: A practical technique for service innovation. Center for Services Leadership, Arizona State University, Working Paper.