Contents of This Page

Activity Quick Help

Activity Quick Help Text
Start Map
Maps
Evaluations
Proposed Changes
Action Plans
Assign and Schedule Action Items
- Capture Action Item Assignments
- Capture Action Item Due Dates
End Toolkit Cycle

Activity Quick Help Text

This page is a collection of all the "Quick Help" pop-ups that appear when hovering on the Main Page "Activity Menu".

Please note: a video overview of How to Use Stages and Activities is available at this link.

Prompting Questions

All of the activities have "Prompting Questions" associated with them. These are questions that you can ask yourself or group meeting participants in order to prompt for information to be captured during that specific activity.

Start Map

Capture/Edit Map and Plan Area Name

Capture the name of the overall area of activity that is being looked at. In the ActionMap method this overall area of activity is called a Map and Plan Area. It is a general area of activity for which the participants build a Map and a Plan.

Map and Plan Areas contain process diagrams called Maps. Maps describe particular sub-areas and views of the overall Map and Plan Area. A new Map and Plan Area starts with one Map. A Map is represented both graphically and as a set of rows on the List. A Map has Evaluations, Notes, and other types of List and Discussion rows associated with it.

The name of the Map and Plan Area should be easily recognizable by meeting participants and should provide a starting level of focus. In most cases the name of the Map and Plan Area will be obvious and easily agreed on. Identifying the name of the Map and Plan Area can start with short conversation, a guess or a placeholder. The name of the Map and Plan Area can be changed at any time to more accurately reflect the actual area being Mapped and Planned for.

Prompting Questions:

"What is a name for the general area of activity that we will be focusing on in this Session?"

Capture/Edit Map Central Process Name

A process Map describes all or part of the activity in the Map and Plan Area. Maps have a particular set of graphic parts that are arranged in particular places on the page.

The Central Process is the tall rounded rectangle in the center of the Map. The Central Process, also called the Focus Process, is the central focus area for possible changes in the Map. A Map is referred to by the name of its Central Process.

The name of the Central Process should be easily recognizable by participants and should create a significant amount of focus. Identifying the name of the Central Process can start with short conversation, a guess or placeholder. The name of the Central Process can be changed at any time to more accurately reflect the activity that is actually covered by the Central Process.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What is a name for the specific activity or process that we will be focusing on in this Session."

Capture Map Central Process Type

The Central Process Type is a way of categorizing the Central Process to help identify what is inside of it and what is outside of it. Central Process Types include jobs, roles, organizations, systems, devices, natural processes and so on. A particular category of process is called "Unstructured Area of Interaction" for example, the early stages of a negotiation.

This Activity provides a drop down menu for selecting a type for the Central Process.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "Is the Central Process a distinct process or organization with recognized Boundaries, or is it more of an open-ended activity where different people or groups interact?"
▪ "Which of the choices in this drop down list best reflects the type of process that we will be focusing on"

Capture Map Time Frame

The Map Time Frame is the time frame in which the activity in the Map is taking place. Options are Past, Current, Future, and Current/Future Mix. The Current/Future Mix can be used for adding future elements to a current state Map.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What is the time frame of the activity represented by the Central Process (see drop-down selections)?"

Capture Map Set Filter/View Description

The Filter/View Description provides additional focus for the Map by narrowing down activities. An example is "Main Operations" versus Management and F&A.

Prompting Questions:

"Is there a particular sub-set, filter or view of the Central Process activity that we want to use in this Session? For example, do we want to look at the entire process, or just the major operations, or just the financial transactions, and so on?"

Capture Central Process Operators Description

The Central Process Operators are the people, roles, equipment or other motive forces that are inside the Central Process that cause it to operate. (Note that using the term "roles" allows people to be in different parts of the Map.) Examples of Operators would be "Department Staff" and "Team Members".

Prompting Questions:

▪ "Is there a particular person or group of people that are the primary drivers of the activity represented by the Central Process?"
▪ "Who is inside the Central Process making it operate?"

Capture Change Drivers - Major Goals

Goals are situations and things that stakeholders want to move toward. Major Goals are the high level Goals that participants are aware of at the start of the Session.

Record about 3 to 5 Major Goals for the area covered by the Map. Keep them high level for this activity; more detail will follow.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are 3 to 5 Major Goals for changing the process we are focusing on?"
▪ "What are new conditions that we would like to see when the changes are completed?"
Capture Change Drivers - Major Issues

Issues are situations and things that stakeholders want to move away from. Major Issues are the high level Issues that participants are aware of at the start of the Session.

Record about 3 to 5 Major Issues for the area covered by the Map. Keep them high level for this activity; more detail will follow.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are 3 to 5 Major issues that are motivating people to look at this process?"
▪ "What are Issues that we would like to see removed when the change is completed?"

Capture Change Drivers - Major Change Ideas

Change Ideas are general things to do that might help stakeholders move away from Issues and move toward Goals. Major Change Ideas are the high level Change Ideas that participants are aware of at the start of the Session.

Record about 3 to 5 Major Change Ideas for the area covered by the Map. Keep them high level for this activity; more detail will follow

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are 3 to 5 Major Change Ideas that people have been talking about for this process?"
▪ "What are some Major Change approaches that are being considered for this process already?"

Maps

Add / Edit / Comment On All Map Parts

In this activity all Map parts can be added and commented on.

Visualize the Map as having five columns: one in the middle, two on the sides and on either side of the one in the middle.

The Map parts are:

▪ Central Process - the tall rounded rectangle in the middle;
▪ Side Parts - the shapes on the sides;
▪ Flows - the arrows between the Central Process and the Side Parts.

Side parts have three types

▪ Boundary - a simple rectangle. Boundaries are people, groups, organizations and systems that are separate from the Central Process and interact with it in the context of the Map and Plan Area.
▪ Store - a rectangle with double line on the left side. Stores are locations, facilities, storage equipment, files, databases and so on that are used by the Central Process.
▪ Side-Process - a rounded rectangle. Side-Processes are areas of activity that are closely related to the Central Process.

The last type of Map part is:
▪ Sub-Process - rounded rectangles inside the Central Process. Sub-Processes are areas of activity that are inside and part of the activity of the Central Process. The Central Process is the sum of its Sub-Processes.

There is no fixed meaning to the left side, right side, upper part or lower part of a Map. Users can assign informal meanings as desired.

Comments include Evaluations and Notes

Evaluations have three types:
▪ Goal - situations that we want to move toward
▪ Issues - situations we want to move away from
▪ Change Ideas - ideas that might help resolve issues and/or achieve goals

Notes are free form. Users can apply text codes of their own design to identify sub-types for notes, e.g. "RQMT - " or "(R)" for Requirement, "BENE - " or "(B)" for Benefit etc. In most cases such codes are not needed. Notes can be added to all other Map and Plan parts except other Notes.

The guideline is that each participant is able to contribute all the information and interests that they have with respect to the Map Parts, including the whole process.

Add Boundaries

Please note:This Activity is the start of series of Activities that add and evaluate Map parts in a particular sequence: Boundaries, Stores, Flows, Sub-Processes.

Add Boundaries to the Map and edit their names.

Key words: "external entity", "interact with", "limit". Shape: rectangle.

Boundaries are areas of activity that are within the Map and Plan Area and that interact with the Central Process.

At the same time a) Boundaries are outside and distinct from the Central Process, and b) Boundaries provide limits or Boundaries to the overall area that is being looked at on the Map. This might be described as: "The process always extends further, however, for this Session we're going to focus on this area, with this Central Process and these Boundaries." Examples of Boundaries are Customers, Suppliers, Labor Market, Environment, etc.

Boundaries can be added, deleted and renamed to change both the meaning of the Central Process and the overall scope of the Map.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What is a person, group, organization or system that interacts with or through the Central Process?"
▪ "What are some other Boundaries?"
▪ "Are there any more before we move on? We can add more later, however, it would be good to get as many as we know about now."

Evaluate Boundaries

Capture Evaluations and Notes for specific Boundaries.

Evaluations have three types:
▪ Goal - situations that we want to move toward
▪ Issues - situations we want to move away from
▪ Change Ideas - ideas that might help resolve issues and/or achieve goals

Notes are free form. User-entered codes can be used to create sub-types for notes.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are goals for interacting with this Boundary?"
▪ "What are issues that occur in interacting with this Boundary?"
▪ "What are some ideas for changing the interactions with this Boundary?"

Add Stores

Add Stores to the Map and edit their names.

Key words "Store", "wait", "do not change". Shape: rectangle with a double left side.

Stores are fixed storage locations, facilities, equipment and tools that the Central Process uses and where things wait and do not change. Stores can be thought of as either entirely inside the Central Process or shared with other entities. Examples of Stores are file, database, cabinet, storage area

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What major places, tools or systems where information and other resources are stored for use by the Central Process?"

Evaluate Stores

Capture Evaluations and Notes for specific Stores.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What goals for interacting with this Store?"
▪ "What are issues that occur in interacting with this Store?"
▪ "What are some ideas for changing the interactions with this Store?"
or notes.

Add Flows

Add Flows to the Map and edit their names.

Key word: "move". Shape: left-arrow, right arrow or two-way arrow.

Flows represent the real movement of real things between the Central Process and the Side Parts. Such real things include goods, documents, money, information, communications, energy and electronic transmissions. Flows can be two way or one way.

Examples of Flows are application form, customer inquiry, sales conversation, customer order, service request, electrical energy, data transmission, etc. Flows can also represent groups of smaller flows (e.g. sales conversation).

Less frequently Flows are used to represent simple physical movements (e.g. "wrench turn", "screw tightening") and specific sense perceptions (e.g. "rounded edge", as when a person views an object with a rounded edge.)

Flows do not mean "go to" or "do next". Flows should not be named for extended activities that transform things. Flows just move stuff from the Central Process to the Side Parts.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What happens first?"
▪ "What happens next?" {Ask repeatedly.)
▪ "Where does that go?"
▪ "Where does that come from?"
▪ "What is input to this Boundary / Store / Process?"
▪ "What is output from this Boundary / Store / Process?"
▪ "What triggers the Central Process to start operating?"
▪ "What is the last thing the Central Process does?"
▪ "What inputs are necessary for these outputs?"
▪ "What outputs are produced from these inputs?"
▪ "Does this process have any other inputs or outputs?"
▪ "Is there anything else?" (Ask repeatedly.)

Evaluate Flows

Capture Evaluations and Notes for specific Flows.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are goals for the performance of this transaction?"
▪ "What are measurements associated with this flow?"
▪ (Measurements can be captured as notes, or briefly in the flow name.)
▪ "What are issues that occur with this transaction?"
▪ "Any issues with consistency, quality or reliability?"
▪ "What are some ideas for changing how this transaction operates?"

Add Sub-Processes

Add Sub-Processes to the Map and edit their names.

Key words: "transform", "change". Shape: rounded rectangle.

Sub-Processes are areas of activity that are inside the Central Process. The Central Process consists of the activities of its Sub-Processes.

Examples of Sub-Processes for a restaurant might be: "Buy Food", "Prepare Food", "Serve Food" and "Other Activities".

A variation on Sub-Processes are "Side-Processes", which are placed on the sides of the Map. These are activities that are closely associated with the Central Process but are not directly contained within it. An example of a Side-Process for a restaurant might be "Accounting Service".

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are some major activities that occur inside the Central Process?"
▪ "How could we divide the Central process into three major activities?"
▪ Examples: input, process, output; beginning, middle, end; sub-organization; location; relationship with boundary

Evaluate Sub-Processes

Capture Evaluations and Notes for specific Sub-Processes.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are Goals for the performance of this Sub-Process?"
▪ "What are Issues that occur in performing this Sub-Process?"
▪ "What are some ideas for changing how this Sub-Process operates?"

Evaluations

Capture Evaluations for All Map Parts

Capture Evaluations and Notes for any specific Map part.
Evaluations have three types:
▪ Goal - situations that we want to move toward
▪ Issues - situations we want to move away from
▪ Change Ideas - ideas that might help resolve issues and/or achieve goals

Notes are free form. User-entered codes can be used to create sub-types for notes.
Prioritize Evaluations
For each Evaluation in the List, use vote buttons to capture single vote for how soon that Evaluation should be acted on:
▪ A = Do Now
▪ B = Do After the A's
▪ C = Maybe do never
▪ Abstain = no vote

Be sure to prioritize all Evaluations on the List.

Prompting Questions:
▪ "How should we rate this evaluation in terms of 'do next' priority?"
▪ "Is this something we should do now, do later, or maybe not do?"
Batch Prioritize Map Evaluations
For each Evaluation in the List, use counting controls to capture multiple votes for how soon that Evaluation should be acted on:
▪ A = Do Now
▪ B = Do After the A's
▪ C = Maybe do never
▪ Abstain = no vote
Be sure to prioritize all Evaluations on the List.
Capture Priority Cutoff for Map Evaluations
Decide which Evaluations have a high enough priority to be carried forward into the Planning Stages, and which should be left for later review.

The application calculates a priority voting score for all Evaluations for the Map. It sorts all the Evaluations in descending priority order (highest priority at the top) and shows the Evaluations in that sequence on the List.

Through discussion, select the lowest priority Evaluation that WILL be carried forward into the Planning Stages of the ActionMap Main Cycle. In other words, all the Evaluations that are below the selected one will NOT be carried into the Planning Stages.

The ones that are not carried forward will be kept and published, and can be added to the planning phases later. In addition, any interest that was expressed by an un-selected Evaluation can be added as a Proposed Change or Action Item in the following activities.

Prompting Questions:
▪ "What is the lowest priority evaluation that we should plan to work on now?"

Proposed Changes
Capture Proposed Changes

For each High Priority Evaluation capture one or more Proposed Changes that will address the interests and priorities expressed by that High Priority Evaluation.

A Proposed Change is partly brainstorming on "what might be done" and partly a proposal to actually do it. Proposed Changes will be prioritized and selected the same way Evaluations are, so they can be fairly wide-ranging.

Proposed Changes should be mentally reviewed for being feasible (can be done), effective (likely to produce positive results), and acceptable (resistance can be won-over or managed).

Proposed Changes can be speculative, unlikely and risky, however, they need to be focused on advancing the interests expressed by the High Priority Evaluation that they are connected to.

Proposed Changes can be associated with more than one High Priority Evaluation and vice versa. That is, one Goal can have more than one idea for achieving it, and one idea for change might help resolve more than one Issue.

Up until this Activity, List rows have been adding BELOW the selected List row (e.g. Evaluation below Map Part). In the Planning Stages, the Plan Parts are added ABOVE the selected row (e.g. a Proposed Change is added ABOVE a High Priority Evaluation. The Evaluation is then below, indented and subordinate to the Proposed Change).

Work to assign all High Priority Evaluations to one or more Proposed Changes. Proposed Changes can also be added independent of High Priority Evaluations, to capture any late-arriving ideas.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What things could be done to respond to this High Priority issue?"
▪ "What actions might be taken that would address that Goal?"
▪ "What are some ideas for activities that would implement that Change Idea?"
Capture Comments on Proposed Changes

Add Notes to Proposed Changes to provide clarification before voting on Priorities.
Prompting Questions:
▪ "What are suggestions, concerns or details that would increase understanding of this Proposed Change? "

Prioritize Proposed Changes
For each Proposed Change in the List, use vote buttons to capture single votes for how soon that Proposed Change should be acted on:
▪ A = Do Now
▪ B = Do After the A's
▪ C = Maybe do never
▪ Abstain = no vote

Be sure to prioritize all the Proposed Changes on the List.

Prompting Questions:
▪ "How should we rate this Proposed change in terms of 'do next' priority?"

Batch Prioritize Map Proposed Changes
For each Proposed Change in the List, use counting controls to capture multiple votes for how soon that Proposed Change should be acted on:
▪ A = Do Now
▪ B = Do After the A's
▪ C = Maybe do never
▪ Abstain = no vote

Be sure to prioritize all the Proposed Changes on the List.
Capture Priority Cutoff for Proposed Changes
This is similar to capturing the Priority Cutoff for Evaluations. Decide which Proposed Changes have a high enough priority to be carried forward into the Action Planning Stage and which should be left for later review.

The application calculates a priority voting score for all Proposed Changes on the List. It sorts all the Proposed Changes in descending priority order (highest priority at the top) and shows the Proposed Changes on the List in that sequence.

Through discussion, select the lowest priority Proposed Change that WILL be carried forward into the Action Planning Stage of the ActionMap Main Cycle. In other words, all the Proposed Changes that are below the selected one will NOT be carried into the Action Planning phase.

The ones that are not carried forward will be kept and published, and can be added to the Action Planning phase later. In addition, any interests that have been expressed by an un-selected Proposed Change can be added in the form of an Action Item in the Action Planning Stage.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What is the lowest priority Proposed Change that we should carry forward into detailed action planning?"

Action Plans

Capture Action Items for Proposed Changes

In this activity Action Items are captured for each of the High Priority Proposed Changes. Action Items should be concrete, "go, start and do" actions or activities that are designed to fulfill the intent of the High Priority Proposed Change. Action Items should aim at accomplishing a single significant milestone and not an entire complex activity. Action Items may state "Create a detailed Action Plan".

Action Items are not voted on for priority, so the group may discuss them as needed. In most cases Action Items are obvious and quickly identified. In some cases Action Items can be a direct re-statement of a Proposed Change. Action Items are filtered by assignee and due date in following activities. This acts as another form of prioritization.

In this Activity again the new part type, Action Item, is added ABOVE the selected Proposed Change row (e.g. an Action Item is added above a High Priority Proposed Change. The Proposed Change is then below, indented and subordinate to the Action Item).

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are specific actions that we can commit to taking that will move this Proposed Change forward?"

Organize Action Items

In this activity Action Items are moved up and down in the List to create an appropriate sequence.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "How might we change the sequence of these Action Items to increase understanding of how they are related to each other?"

Capture Comments on Action Items

Capture Notes that can support performance of the Action Items.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "What are suggestions, concerns or details that would help in performing this Action Item?"

Assign and Schedule Action Items

Capture Action Item Assignments

Capture the name of the person or persons who will take responsibility for fulfilling the Action Item.
Be sure to do this for all Action Items.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "Who will take ownership of performing this Action Item?"

Capture Action Item Due Dates

Capture a target date on which progress should be reviewed.
Be sure to do this for all Action Items.

Prompting Questions:

▪ "When should we plan to review progress on this Action Item?"

End Toolkit Cycle

End Toolkit Main Cycle

This ends the Main Cycle.

Suggested Next Pages

Work Products Overview
Main Page Overview
Help Table of Contents

Comments

To add or view comments about this article please go to the forum post at this link.

Articles in this section

Contents of This Page

Activity Quick Help Text

Prompting Questions

Start Map

Capture/Edit Map and Plan Area Name

Capture/Edit Map Central Process Name

Capture Map Central Process Type

Capture Map Time Frame

Capture Map Set Filter/View Description

Capture Central Process Operators Description

Capture Change Drivers - Major Goals

Maps

Add / Edit / Comment On All Map Parts

Action Plans

Capture Action Items for Proposed Changes

Assign and Schedule Action Items

Capture Action Item Assignments

End Toolkit Cycle

End Toolkit Main Cycle

Suggested Next Pages

Comments