Process Map and Process Descriptions
Management, value creation and support processes on one page, the process sheet with turtle logic, one KPI per process, process owners — with industry templates, downloadable templates and a practice company
- 50–70 min
- 12 modules
- Free certificate
- No account needed
- Updated November 2026
👥 Target group: Quality managers and managing directors in companies with 1 to 50 employees, Companies before initial certification that start with the map
Which legal duty or standard requirement does this training cover?
About this training
The process map is the first page the auditor opens — and the page the company understands least. It answers three questions: How do we earn money (value creation)? What keeps that running (support)? Who steers (management)? This course shows how a company with 1 to 50 employees draws its map in one hour, describes every process on one page (input, steps, output, owner, records, KPI, risk) and uses the turtle logic without drawing turtles.
You learn the standard library of 15 processes, industry templates for manufacturing, trades, trade and services, the rule "one process = one owner = one KPI", how process sheet and work instruction relate, how the map structures the management review and the audit programme, and what the auditor asks about 4.4. On the practice company Brenner & Son Specialist Supplies (trade with installation service) you draw the map and write two process sheets. 12 modules, final test, certificate of participation with a verifiable number. This is the English-language edition of our German course; in case of doubt the German edition applies.
What this course covers — and what it does not: The course covers process map and process description under ISO 9001:2015 clause 4.4 (and 2026) for companies with 1 to 50 employees. It does not replace the complete manual (course "Quality Manual in 5 Days"), process optimisation or lean methods, and no software for process modelling (BPMN); swimlane diagrams are shown as an option, not taught. The practice company is fictitious. This is a translation of the German course for readers worldwide — in case of doubt the German edition applies.
Contents at a glance
- What clause 4.4 requires: determine processes — and know eight things per processThe process approach in two sentences; the eight requirements of 4.4.1 a)–h) (inputs/outputs, sequence/interaction, criteria/KPIs, resources, responsibilities, risks/opportunities, evaluation, improvement) as columns of the process sheet; what must be documented (4.4.2); what a process is and what it is not (activity, department, clause of the standard); ISO 9001:2026
- The map on one page: management, value creation, supportThe three bands (management at the top, value creation in the middle from customer to customer, support at the bottom); customer requirement on the left, customer satisfaction on the right; arrows for the main interfaces; numbering M/V/S; rules: one page, legible from one metre, no clause of the standard on it; the standard library of 15 processes; typical mistakes (departments instead of processes, 25 boxes, arrows everywhere)
- Industry templates: manufacturing, trades/construction, trade, services/ITFour ready-made maps as a starting point with the typical value creation processes (manufacturing: development, production, inspection; trades/construction: survey/quotation, installation/site, acceptance; trade: procurement, warehouse, sales/shipping; services/IT: project, service/ticket, operation); which support processes are dropped per industry; the adaptation path in 30 minutes
- The process sheet: one page per process with turtle logicThe fields of the process sheet (purpose, owner, input, output, steps as a table step–who–record, with what (resources), KPI, risks/opportunities reference, related documents); the turtle as a thinking aid (six questions) without a graphic; writing rules; example V1 order handling completed; template
- One process, one owner, one KPIThe rule and why it saves small companies; owner as a function from the organisation chart (management may have several, the quality manager not all); what the owner does (maintain the process sheet, deliver the KPI, carry the actions); KPI per process from practice (examples per standard process), target value, source, who measures; link to objectives (6.2) and management review (9.3)
- Interfaces and interaction: where processes hand over — and where errors ariseInteraction (4.4.1 b) as a handover between processes: what is handed over, in what form, with which record; the five critical handovers in a small company (sales → production, purchasing → production, production → shipping, customer → complaint, audit → actions); interface table; swimlane as an option for flows with many handovers
- The map as the backbone: manual, risk analysis, audit programme, management reviewHow everything hangs on the process numbers: manual chapter 6 = one process sheet per box; risk analysis with a “process” column; audit programme plans per process; management review chapter 2 one row per process; document list sorted by process; changes to the map (new process, outsourcing) as a change under 6.3
- Outsourced processes: contract manufacturing, haulage, cloud — on the map, not under the carpetWhat an outsourced process is (8.4.1: a part of your own value creation that someone else performs — painting, hardening, haulage, subcontractors, cloud operation; payroll does not count); marking “external” on the map; short sheet with control (supplier class, specifications, inspection at goods receipt, supplier's records); typical finding “outsourced process not identifiable”
- The map in the audit: the eight questions on 4.4 — and the three most frequent findingsThe eight typical audit questions on 4.4 (explain the map, process owner, KPI, interface, outsourced, risk per process, change, employee knows their process) with a two-minute answer; the three most frequent findings (map does not match the company, no owner/no KPI, outsourced process missing); five-minute check
- Case study: Brenner & Son — draw the map, write two process sheetsPractice company Brenner & Son Specialist Supplies (22 employees, trade with installation service, two sites, fictitious): description of the company, organisation chart, previous map from a template set (14 processes, 5 of them non-existent); task: redraw the map, assign owners and KPIs, write the process sheets V3 installation and S4 returns/complaints, interface table for three handovers; model solution
- Records and maintenance: map with status, process sheets up to date, one hour a yearThe records for 4.4 (map with status and approval, process sheets per box, KPIs in the management review, interface table, change sheet on change); annual maintenance in one hour before the internal audit (every owner checks their sheet: steps, records, KPI, risks); checklist with 12 criteria
- Procedure in our companyProcedure in our company: contact person for quality questions, location of the manual, templates and records, approvals, fixed dates and next steps in the company
Frequently asked questions
How many processes does a small company need?
Eight to twelve: two to three management processes, two to four value creation processes, four to six support processes. More than fifteen means that activities have been declared processes.
Do I have to draw a turtle diagram?
No. The turtle (input, output, with what, who, how, KPI) is a thinking aid; the course's process sheet contains the same fields as a table. Auditors ask about the contents, not about the turtle.
How do process sheet and work instruction differ?
The process sheet describes the flow across all participants with records (who does what when). The work instruction describes a hands-on task at the workplace (exactly how). The course "Procedures and Work Instructions" goes deeper.
Do I need swimlane diagrams?
Not necessarily. For flows with many handovers between functions they are helpful; for most small companies the step table in the process sheet is enough. The course shows both.
Does the course also apply to ISO 9001:2026?
Yes. Clause 4.4 remains unchanged in content; the 2026 edition emphasises the link to risks, opportunities and planning of changes — the course is aligned to that.
Is the course free?
Yes, like all courses of the QM-Guru Academy. No registration; the e-mail address is used only to deliver the certificate.
Which edition is this?
The English-language edition of our German course "Prozesslandkarte und Prozessbeschreibung", written for readers worldwide; the downloadable templates are in English. In case of doubt the German edition applies.