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Section 4 Techniques and Tools

4.23 System mapping

System mapping is a way of looking at what really happens in public service delivery, rather than what’s supposed to happen(1). It is primarily about trying to see where you can improve your service delivery and involves all the people who are part of service delivery processes, including the service users themselves. Whilst it is similar to process mapping which produces flow charts of procedures or stages in service delivery(2), system mapping works slightly differently in that it will also involve service users.

Where there is an identified issue, such as the allocation process or decanting due to major works, system mapping can be used. The process should be used with a group of people all of whom have some experience of the issue under question. It would start with a facilitator describing to the group an archetypal situation based on what is supposed to happen in these circumstances. All participants who have experience of this process are asked to contribute their real-life experience of what actually happens in these types of situations.

The many different possibilities are ‘mapped’ in someway, perhaps through a flow chart or spider diagram. In this way, the realities of what actually happens when the procedures are implemented are illuminated for all parties. The numbers of crucial links in a chain of tasks or events will be shown and assumptions highlighted about who will do what and when. Problems of co-ordination and failure to deliver at the right time in the process reveal the links between different bits of the system. By working with all parties within the system, the connections, communication links, delays and the many uncertainties involved are revealed to all.

This process can raise a number of challenging questions. Participants in the process are likely to begin to question why things are done in the way that they are and whether they can be done differently. These approaches can lead to real breakthroughs in perspectives and the use of language. It is possible to shift from a focus on ‘solving a problem’ (such as reducing void periods) to generating the possibility that this could be a positive experience for the service user (making moving home quick and easy). This reframes the issue from a problem to be solved where blame for difficulties can be shifted to someone else in the system. Instead, the issue can be turned on its head and the focus shifted to the service user experience or those of other departmental staff. System mapping can help to create an understanding of the need for organisations, staff and service users to work together to achieve a desired outcome.

System mapping: checklist

√ Agree a focus on specific processes.

√ Ensure there is management commitment to the exercise.

√ Ensure that all those involved know what system mapping is about and why it is being undertaken.

√ Make sure you involve the right people. This might include those with authority to make changes to the processes; those with operational roles in the process being mapped; those from other teams or departments that supply some input or resources to the process; those who are reliant on the output from the process for their own work and a number of the ultimate customers or service users.

√ Ensure that you make every effort to encourage a wide range of people who are part of that ‘system’ to attend and to make it a real possibility for them.

√ Find a facilitator or convenor.

√ Ensure that the space created is one in which people feel safe and are able to participate fully.

√ Produce some visual representation of the process through a flowcharts, map or diagram.

√ Be prepared to make immediate small changes to processes to bring immediate benefits and encourage momentum for further system mapping events.

Alternative and related approaches:

• Action research

• Significant event analysis

• Using comments, compliments and complaints

• Storydialogue

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(1) Pratt J, Gordon P and Plamping D (2005) Working Whole Systems: putting theory into practice in organisations (2nd edition) Oxford, Radcliffe Press

(2) The map to success - using process mapping to improve performance, Audit Scotland, May 2000

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