Process scope mapping is a methodology that allows organizations to plan, monitor and evaluate in order to document and achieve their achievements. It was created to help organizations understand their results. Although it is used to a large extent in development projects, it is also very useful in organizations and in other situations where it is necessary that changes in human behavior take place.
To carry out the process mapping, it is necessary to address some basic questions, which are divided as follows:
- To plan: What are we doing right now? To monitor: What do we want to know? To evaluate: What do we want to learn?
This issue will be addressed in this writing, as well as the steps to implement it.
How to do a scope mapping?
To do a good process scope mapping, three stages must be covered: institutional design, scope and performance monitoring, and evaluation planning.
The following image shows a summary of the three mentioned stages:
Outcome Mapping Stages
As can be seen, there are twelve steps to implement the process scope mapping, which are grouped into the three stages.
Institutional design
It allows planning the strategies to be used and the objectives to be achieved. This stage should answer the following four questions:
- Why? What is the vision to which the program wants to contribute? Who? Who are the program partners? What are the changes to be achieved? How? How the program will help bring about change (Sarah Earl, 2002)
In this, several activities must be carried out framed in seven steps:
- First step: The vision.
It should be clearly described because it is what you want to achieve and the changes you want to achieve through the implementation of the program.
These changes can be at the political, environmental, economic or social level.
- Step Two: The Mission
Through the vision, it is indicated how the program is going to be developed to achieve the vision, that is, how it is going to go from planning to reality.
- Step Three: Identify Direct Partners
They interact with the program to generate changes, you must specify what will work directly with the program and those that do not directly influence are called "strategic partners".
- Step Four: Scopes
You must indicate the scope to which you want to reach according to the changes you want to obtain and in what way each direct partner
will work for it.
- Step 5: Signs of Progress.
Through them, the changes that you want to show at the end of the project are specified, these can be of three types:
- What is expected to see What we would like to see What we would love to see
- Step Six: The Strategy Map
It is the visual representation of the cause-effect relationships of the elements that are part of a company and is very useful for managers
- Step Seven: The Organization's Practices
They are the activities that will be carried out during the project and must contribute to achieving the vision and generating the desired changes.
Monitoring of scope and performance
Provides a framework for continually monitoring program activities and partner progress related to scope compliance. It is a monitoring and evaluation tool that allows obtaining a scope, strategy and performance diary. The following steps are implemented here: (scopes, 2009)
- Eighth Step: Priorities for Follow-up
You must have a strategy to choose what is going to be monitored and evaluated for this, it is necessary to establish who the users will be, how the information will be used, the purpose and need for learning, how the accountability will be the time and space to do it.
- Step 9: The Outcome Journal
It is a registry that aims to record those unusual and spontaneous attitudes that are very significant when integrating the data and making a value judgment. This is very useful when the project ends since it will indicate how the change process was, the reasons for the change and what was not achieved, in turn, it helps to know the lessons learned.
- Step 10: The Strategy Journal
It must be kept constantly updated and the actions carried out related to the strategic map and activities are recorded in it. It is used to know what were the resources invested, the activities and products and the lessons and recommendations. (labor, 2012) Eleventh step: The performance diary
It is a collection of the meetings held in order to know the progress of the project. (Clama, 2009)
Assessment planning
It helps establish how the program will be evaluated and includes a single step.
- Step Twelfth: The Assessment Plan
Here the main elements are described, such as what aspects are going to be evaluated, what methods are going to be used, who are the people in charge of carrying it out, when the evaluation will be carried out and how much it costs.
Utility of process mapping
Process mapping can be used early in the implementation of a program to do good planning, monitoring and evaluation after you have established your main focus. It is especially useful during the planning process because it allows you to focus on the changes that can be obtained and can be used in conjunction with other tools such as SWOT analysis.
conclusion
Outcome mapping is a valuable tool that can serve as a guide for organizations to achieve objectives that allow them to achieve significant changes. For this it is very important that the direct partners to the project are involved and that a specific methodology is followed. The successful implementation of the process scope mapping depends on the creation of a good strategy and the commitment of the partners.
Bibliography
- Scopes, KA (2009). Outcome Mapping Notebook a guide for facilitation. Cry out. (2009). Mapping scopes. Canada: Clama.laboral, R. (21 of 11 of 2012). Retrieved from http://www.redlaboral.net/tips/mapeode-alcance-de-procesos-outcome-mapping-om Sarah Earl, CF (2002). Outcome mapping: Incorporating learning and reflection in development programs. Otawa: IDRC / LUR.
Image taken from the LUR regional university book Outcome Mapping written by Sarah Earl, Fred Carden and Terry Smutilo
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