Process dependencies: map them before you hand over

Key takeaways

Process dependency mapping shows what each process needs from others (upstream) and what others need from it (downstream). Before outsourcing a process, map its dependencies so the handover does not break a neighbour. A simple map takes about an hour: one box per process, an arrow for each input and output.

• Upstream: what the process needs to start.
• Downstream: who waits for its output.
• Each arrow is a handoff to agree with the provider.
• Many arrows means split or move processes together.

What are upstream and downstream processes?

Upstream processes supply inputs: sales creates the order that billing needs. Downstream processes use outputs: credit control relies on the invoices billing produces. When a process moves to a provider, every upstream and downstream link becomes a handoff between two organisations, with its own timing and format to agree.

• Which business processes should you outsource?
• Process handoffs: why every extra handover adds cost

How do you map process dependencies?

Put the candidate process in the middle of a page. Draw boxes for each process that feeds it and each that relies on it. Label each arrow with what passes along it and when it is needed. Then mark which arrows would cross into the provider. Each of those needs an agreed format, timing and owner.

• Draw the candidate process in the centre.
• Add every feeding and receiving process.
• Label each arrow with what and when.
• Mark arrows that would cross to the provider.

• Value stream mapping for service and admin processes
• RACI matrix for outsourcing: who does what, clearly

What do many dependencies mean for outsourcing?

A process with many crossing arrows is costly to outsource alone, because every handoff adds delay and a chance of error. Either move the tightly linked processes together, such as billing with cash allocation, or split the process so the crossing points sit where work naturally pauses, such as at an approval.

• Linked processes: outsource them together or apart?
• Order-to-cash process: shorten the road from sale to cash

What hidden dependencies catch owners out?

The ones nobody wrote down: a spreadsheet someone updates as a side effect, a report that draws on a process's output, or a customer who expects a call at a certain point. Ask the person who runs the process what else they do while they are in there. That question finds most hidden dependencies.

• The cost of undocumented processes
• Keeping business knowledge in-house when work is outsourced

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a process is outsourced and, a month later, a report stops working because it relied on a spreadsheet the old process kept up to date. A dependency map catches this before go-live.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Dependency mapping checklist

Complete these before a process moves.

• List every upstream and downstream process.
• Label what passes on each link, and when.
• Ask what else is updated as a side effect.
• Agree format and timing for each crossing link.
• Name an owner for each crossing link.

• The process selection score: outsource, split or keep?
• Parallel running: test an outsourced task safely

Next step

Draw the dependency map for your candidate process and send us a photo. We will point out the links most likely to cause trouble after handover.