• Metrics-Based Process Mapping (MBPM) is a detailed process mapping practice that captures process steps, responsible actors, and key time and quality metrics. It’s a third-generation lean process improvement technique that can be optimized for extended organizational transformation efforts.
• At its core, MBPM provides a structured way to document and analyze processes, creating a clear baseline for performance metrics and helping teams identify areas for improvement.

MBPM serves as a powerful tool to:

• Align Cross-Functional Teams: It enables Sales, Onboarding, Product, and Customer Success to collaboratively map and understand processes, ensuring a shared understanding of how workflows support customer outcomes.
• Drive Outcomes-Driven Conversations: By visualizing processes and capturing key metrics, MBPM highlights how each step impacts the customer experience, allowing teams to focus on outcomes rather than outputs.
• Establish Performance Baselines: MBPM provides a clear baseline of resources, time, and quality before implementing changes. This is especially valuable when introducing automation or process improvements, as it quantifies the value gained post-implementation.
• Identify and Prioritize Improvements: The practice pinpoints bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and pain points, making it easier to prioritize improvements that deliver measurable results.
• Build a Strong Business Case: The metrics and visual outputs of MBPM make it easier to justify proposed changes to leadership or stakeholders.

Facilitation Materials Needed

The practice is often performed on whiteboards, paper and sticky notes or a digital canvas.

If performing the practice in person:

• Drawing paper roll
• Different colored wide format sticky notes like the 4x6 sticky notes
• Markers for the sticky notes
• Charcoal pencil and eraser to draw lines between sticky notes
• Chalk line can be useful, but not required

If performing the practice remotely:

• Consider using a digital canvas solution such as miro.com or any other visualisation tool which you prefer. Ideally the tool enables contributions from multiple participants concurrently as they can add steps and metrics to the process.

Metrics-Based Process Mapping should be used to map out specific process steps for an agreed upon process. Through facilitation, work together to define each process step, aligned to responsible actors. For each step, estimate any or all of the following metrics as appropriate:

Steps to perform MBPM

1. Define the Process Scope: * Agree on the process to be mapped (e.g., customer onboarding or support escalation).

2. Map the Process Steps: * Facilitate a collaborative session where teams document each step of the process, identifying the responsible actor for each step.

3. Estimate Key Metrics for Each Step:

   • Resources - The number of people or resources required to complete the step.

   • Process time - Time taken to perform the work.

   • Lead time - Elapsed time from task availability to completion.

   • % Complete & Accurate - Percentage of downstream work that can proceed without correction or clarification.

4. Build Shared Understanding: * Use the process map to identify pain points, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies.

5. Develop Current and Future State Maps: * Create a current state map to understand existing workflows. * Design a future state map to outline improvements and target outcomes.

Mapping the process together builds shared understanding around the process and adds visibility into the pain points and bottlenecks. These observations can help the team identify potential improvements.

How MBPM Aligns Teams for Outcomes-Driven Customer Conversations

A VP of Customer Success can leverage MBPM to align cross-functional teams by creating visibility and accountability in processes that impact customer outcomes. Examples include:

• Sales: Use MBPM to map out how sales commitments flow through to onboarding, ensuring alignment on customer expectations and deliverables.
• Onboarding: Visualize onboarding workflows to identify bottlenecks that delay customer adoption and drive incremental improvements.
• Product: Collaborate with Product teams to ensure development priorities align with customer-impacting processes identified in MBPM.
• Customer Success: Highlight touchpoints where Customer Success can proactively engage with customers to prevent churn or improve satisfaction.

MBPM documents a current state map, and then designs a future state map for subsequent implementation(s).

How does it fit?

• The current state map is typically done in the Why area of the Discovery of the Open Practice Library.
• The future state map is typically done as part of the Outcomes area of the Discovery of the Open Practice Library.

MBPM can be paired with Value Stream Mapping. Used together, a MBPM visually details an implementation-level segment of the strategy-level value stream map. One or more Metrics-Based Process Maps may align to segments within the higher-level map.