Glossary of process terms: macro process, fine process, seam, drift

macroseam terms

The four words we use every day.

Macro process

A macro process is the path work takes across a whole company: from one team, system or site to the next, from the first request to the final result.

Order-to-cash, procure-to-pay and plan-to-produce are macro processes. They are measured in days and involve many people.

Fine process

A fine process is how one task gets done by one role, often on one screen: the exact steps, the data entered and the time each step takes.

Entering an order, assigning a load or approving an invoice are fine processes. They are measured in minutes and clicks.

Seam

A seam is the point where a fine process joins a macro process, or where one team or system hands work to the next.

Seams are where information is retyped, waits or gets lost, which is why macroseam looks at them first.

Drift

Drift is the slow gap that opens between how a process was designed and how it is actually done.

It builds up through workarounds, staff changes and new tools, usually without anyone deciding it.

Fig. 01 / Lead time and cycle time

Most of a process is waiting.

WORK

WAIT

WORK

WAIT

WORK

Lead time = all of it, work and waiting

Cycle time = the solid blocks only

In most processes the work is the short part. The waiting between the steps is the long part, and it sits on the seams.

General terms

The vocabulary of process work, A to Z.

All 15 Time Flow Systems

Bottleneck: Time; A bottleneck is the step with the least capacity in a process. It sets the pace for everything before and after it.; Improving any other step does not make the whole process faster.
Cycle time: Time; Cycle time is the time spent actively working on one unit of work in one step, without the waiting between steps.; The gap between lead time and cycle time shows how much of a process is waiting.
Handoff: Flow; A handoff is the moment work passes from one person, team or system to another.; Each handoff adds waiting time and a chance for information to be lost.
Integration: Systems; An integration is an automatic connection that moves data between two systems without a person retyping it.; It removes a manual handoff, but only helps if the process on both sides is clear.
Lead time: Time; Lead time is the total time from a request being made to it being fulfilled, including all waiting.; It is the number the customer experiences.
Operating company: Flow; An operating company is a business that is already trading and delivering every day, as opposed to one still being built.; Its processes have to be improved while they are in use.
Order-to-cash: Flow; Order-to-cash is the macro process that runs from receiving a customer order to receiving payment for it.; It crosses sales, operations, delivery and finance, which makes it rich in seams.
Process development: Flow; Process development is designing a process that does not exist yet, or replacing one that no longer works, and bringing it into daily operation.; It ends when people work that way, not when the document is written.
Process mapping: Flow; Process mapping is recording how work actually flows today: who does what, in which system, in what order and how long it takes.; A map of the real process, not the documented one, is the starting point for any change.
Process optimisation: Flow; Process optimisation is improving an existing process so the same result takes less time, effort or error.; It changes steps, order, ownership or tooling while the process keeps running.
Single source of truth: Systems; A single source of truth is the one agreed place where a given piece of data is kept up to date. Every other system reads it from there.; Without one, teams argue about whose number is right.
Standard operating procedure (SOP): Flow; A standard operating procedure is a written description of how a recurring task should be done, step by step.; It describes a fine process. It drifts if nobody keeps it in line with practice.
System fragmentation: Systems; System fragmentation is when a company's software tools each hold part of the data and do not exchange it automatically.; People then become the integration, copying data from one tool to another.
Throughput: Time; Throughput is the amount of work a process completes in a given period.; It is limited by the bottleneck.
Workaround: Flow; A workaround is an unofficial way of getting work done when the official process or system does not fit.; A spreadsheet kept beside the main system is the most common form.