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Multi-level Process Maps

Levels allow complex processes to be decomposed into greater detail. For example, it is often useful to draw a high-level view of a process on a single TaskMap page. For some audiences, this TaskMap may be all they need. However, other groups of people may require more detail for some portions of the process.

Decomposing one or more Tasks on additional TaskMap pages can be a convenient way to provide the extra detail. The Subprocess Task ID in the Task shape is used to identify that lower level TaskMaps exist and to show how they fit into the overall process. Several examples of Subprocess numbering follow.

Example 1

Create Subprocess Task IDs similar to the example below. In this example, higher-level pages have a single letter page ID (See Naming TaskMap Drawing Pages for information about page names) and low-level pages have a two-character page ID. If desired, you could continue this scheme to use three or four letters for the third and fourth levels, respectively.

 

Page A – the top-level page:

Page AA – the detail-level page for Task A01 above:

Note that the "drill-down" details for Task A01 begin with Task 01 on Page AA, hence the Subprocess ID of AA01. While the additional detail pages are not shown here, you can see that Task A03 has its detailed definition at AC01, Task A04 at AD01, and so forth.

Example 2

Create Subprocess Task IDs using the following naming format:

• NXXnnmm:

Where:

• N is a number designating the level of detail: 1 = highest, 5 = lowest.
• XXnn is the Task ID of the Task containing lower level details.
• mm is a unique ID for an individual task in the lower-level TaskMap.

The following example illustrates the use of this convention.

• In the B -- Sales-Proposal TaskMap there is a Task ID B03 with a Task Description of Estimate Cost and a Subprocess Task ID of 2B0301.

• The TaskMap page called 2B03 – Proposal-Estimate Cost might include tasks such as the following:
  • 2B0301 Prepare Project Plan
  • 2B0302 Define Resources
  • 2B0303 Determine Resource Costs
  • 2B0304 Calculate Project Estimate
  • 2B0305 Estimate Expenses
  • 2B0306 Calculate Total Cost Estimate

Summary

The two examples presented here are by no means the only ways to utilize the Sub-process Task ID to provide drill-down capabilities but are provided merely as examples.