Appropriate for courses in operations management and process improvement. Hundreds of prospective students visit the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration throughout the academic year to interview for admission and gain a better understanding of the Darden educational experience. In anticipation of these visits, the Darden Admissions Office coordinates a typical schedule of events with the first-year (FY) and second-year (SY) student hosts, the faculty members who will be teaching the MBA case discussion classes that all prospective students will attend, Abbott Center personnel, and of course the prospective students.

The Darden School mailroom and the activities of its manager are analyzed using process mapping and waste identification tools. The note illustrates how one can observe and analyze a process for which opportunities to create process maps, evaluate waste and savings potential, and create stakeholder buy-in for improvements are identified. Lean tools discussed include process flowcharts, SIPOC, seven waste analyses, and stakeholder engagement. Students who undertake their own process mapping projects should complete a report similar to what was created for the Darden School mailroom.

Appropriate for courses in operations management and process improvement. This technical note explains how to utilize process maps as tools to show workflow steps, clarify process expectations and responsibilities, and see possibilities for eliminating waste and redundancy. The note details when to use basic process mapping tools, why they work, and how to apply them. The note presents four types: Process Flowchart Map, Swim Lane Flowchart Map, Suppliers-Inputs-Process-Outputs-Customers (SIPOC) Tool, and Value Stream Map.