As-Is vs To-Be Process Mapping: How to Redesign a Workflow

What is an As-Is process?

An As-Is process map documents how work happens today. It includes informal workarounds, duplicated data entry, exceptions, waiting time and decisions that may not appear in official procedures.

Its purpose is not to make the current process look tidy. It is to create a truthful shared model that explains why the existing outcome occurs.

What is a To-Be process?

A To-Be process describes the future workflow after optimisation. It removes unnecessary steps, clarifies ownership and shows where systems or AI can perform work automatically.

The To-Be model must still account for business rules, human judgement, failed integrations and unusual cases. A diagram that only shows the happy path is not an implementation blueprint.

How to move from As-Is to To-Be

Compare each step with the value it creates. Ask whether it can be removed, simplified, combined, standardised, automated or supported by better information.

• ↗Which steps create waiting time?
• ↗Where is information entered again?
• ↗Which decisions use repeatable rules?
• ↗Where do errors become visible?
• ↗What requires human judgement?
• ↗Which exceptions occur most often?

Using BPMN for both models

BPMN provides a consistent notation for events, tasks, gateways, participants and messages. Using the same visual language for As-Is and To-Be makes changes easier to compare and gives developers clearer requirements for automation.

The result is a decision tool

Process maps are not documentation for its own sake. They help teams agree on priorities, estimate implementation, identify dependencies and measure whether the redesigned process delivered the intended result.