This web page accompanies “Using Process Mapping to Identify Patient Safety Hazards in Micro-Systems” in Quality and Safety in Healthcare. by John Grout

Process mapping approaches vary with respect to the following attributes: Level of detail, hierarchical linkages among maps, multiple types of flows, organizational structure, icons, logical operators, flow time, instructions and information.

The table below indicates the strong and explicit attributes of each dimension of process maps with a solid black dot. Those mapping approaches that provide a given attribute in a weak or implicit way are indicated with a circle.  Empty cells indicate that the attribute is not provided by that approach.

 ● strong and explicit                   ○ weak or implicit                   (blank) absent, does not provide

Mapping  Approach	Level detail	Hierarch ical	Multiple flows	Org. Struct.	Icons	Logic operators	Flow time	Information/Citations (links to acquire info)
Flowchart	●	○	○	○	●	●		Galloway Harrington, et al. Damelio
IDEF 0	●	●	●			○		FIPS183 Hunt
Top-down		○		○				Wilson & Harsin
Swim Lanes	●	○	○	●	●	●		Sharp & McDermott Frazier Chase & Stewart Jacka & Keller
Value Stream			●	○	●	○	●	Rother & Shook Tapping et al. Duggan

● strong and explicit                   ○ weak or implicit                   (blank) absent, does not provide 

[Process Mapping] [Flow Chart] [Top Down] [Swim Lane] [Value Stream]