01 / Boundary
Decide where this conversation starts and ends.
Choose a process narrow enough to follow in one sitting. For a purchase request, the start might be a documented need and the end might be a recorded receipt. Write down what is outside the boundary, such as supplier selection or invoice payment.
Name the output and its recipient. If people disagree about what counts as complete, record that as a question. Avoid widening the map until the first boundary can be described clearly.
02 / Evidence
Gather one ordinary case and one exception.
Ask someone to walk through a recent request using the actual sequence. Note the information needed at each step, the communication channel used, and the point where another person becomes responsible. Use a sanitized example where business records contain sensitive details.
Choose one detour, such as a missing approval or a partial delivery. Record how the team noticed it and who decided what to do. Keep the detour visible without letting it replace the ordinary path.
03 / Draw
Use lanes for responsibility and arrows for sequence.
Give each participating role a horizontal lane. Place the first action in the appropriate lane and continue from left to right. Label actions with a verb and a concrete object: create request, review request, place order, record receipt.
For each handoff, ask what makes the work ready for the next person. Add a decision only when it changes the path. Label both outcomes in plain language so the reader does not need to guess what an arrow means.
04 / Records
Connect the steps to their information.
List the fields that make the process possible: request identifier, item description, quantity, required date, approval status, order reference, and received quantity. Clarify which record is the source for each fact and who can change it.
Where two teams maintain similar records, compare the definitions before proposing consolidation. A matching field name does not guarantee a matching meaning. Put unresolved definitions in a separate question list.
05 / Review
Read the map with the people who do the work.
Ask a participant to narrate the ordinary case from the trigger to the final evidence. Ask another participant to narrate the exception. Correct missing tasks, hidden waiting periods, and handoffs that rely on an unspoken assumption.
Mark proposed improvements separately from the current state. For each open question, name an owner and the evidence needed to answer it. End by deciding which small part of the map needs deeper investigation before any system requirement is written.