Universal Process Notation, the map anyone can read
A new starter in customer service opens the map below to learn how a refund is done. Verdin draws it in Universal Process Notation (UPN): each Activity box says what is done, who does it and with which system, and each flowline says what must be true before the next Activity starts.
Example map, Refund a customer order. Log the refund request (Service agent, Responsible; system: CRM; 1 link), if request logged, to Check the order. Check the order (Finance assistant, Responsible; system: Order system), if order found, to Approve the refund; if order not found, to Log the refund request. Approve the refund (Team lead, Accountable; system: CRM; has its own map), if approved, to Pay the refund to the card; if rejected, with a reason, to Log the refund request. Pay the refund to the card (Accounts payable, Responsible; system: Payments system; 2 links).
Example process: Refund a customer order. When the work can go two ways, two flowlines leave the box, each with its own outcome. There are no diamonds and no swimlanes. Why two main elements and not the BPMN symbol set? See one process in both notations.
Activity box
The box holds the facts about the work, so the map needs no extra symbols. Each part except the name and a role is optional.
Approve the refund
AAccountable:Team lead
IInformed:Service agent
2 links
- The Activity name. What is done, as a verb and an object: “Approve the refund”, not “Refunds”.
- Roles, with a RASCI letter. Who does the work and who answers for it. The letter tells which (see the key below).
- Systems. The tools the work uses, such as a CRM or an ERP. A system is not a role, so it has no RASCI letter.
- The link count. ↗ 2 means the Activity holds two links, for example a policy and a form. Open the Activity to see them.
- The stacked card. Two edges behind the box mean the Activity has its own, more detailed map. Open it to go one level down.
The RASCI letters
Each role on a box has one letter. It tells the reader who does the work and who answers for it, without a lane for each person.
| Letter | Meaning | On the map |
|---|---|---|
| R | Responsible | Does the work. On a box at the lowest level, tag this role. |
| A | Accountable | Owns the outcome. On a box that opens into its own map, this role is enough: it answers for the whole map below. |
| S | Supporting | Helps the Responsible role do the work. |
| C | Consulted | Gives advice or information before the work is done. |
| I | Informed | Is told the outcome. |
Any Activity opens into its own map
Start from one map of how the organisation runs. Open an Activity to see the process behind it, then open an Activity on that map to see the work of one person. All the levels sit in one library.
Level 1: how the organisation runs
Example map, Level 1, How the organisation runs. Win new work (Sales director, Accountable; has its own map), if contract signed, to Deliver the service. Deliver the service (Operations director, Accountable; has its own map), if work delivered, to Bill and collect payment. Bill and collect payment (Finance director, Accountable; has its own map).
The top level. Each Activity has its own map, so each is a stacked card. The ringed Activity, Bill and collect payment, opens into level 2.
Level 2: inside “Bill and collect payment”
Example map, Level 2, Bill and collect payment. Raise the invoice (Accounts assistant, Responsible; system: Finance system), if invoice raised, to Send the invoice. Send the invoice (Accounts assistant, Responsible; system: Email), if invoice sent, to Collect the payment. Collect the payment (Credit controller, Accountable; has its own map).
The process behind one Activity of level 1. Collect the payment has its own map, so it shows the stacked card and the Accountable role only. It opens into level 3.
Level 3: inside “Collect the payment”
Example map, Level 3, Collect the payment. Check the payment status (Credit controller, Responsible; system: Bank portal), if payment overdue, to Send a reminder. Send a reminder (Credit controller, Responsible; system: Email; 1 link), if no reply, to Agree a payment plan. Agree a payment plan (Credit controller, Responsible; Finance director, Informed; system: CRM).
The work of one person, at the lowest level: each Activity names the Responsible role.
Map your first process
Pick a process you know well, such as how a new starter gets their accounts, and draw it in the editor.