mediumScenarioCase StudyMidSeniorLead
How do you map an as-is process and get from there to a to-be design?
As-is to-be process mapping starts with the process as performed, uses swimlanes to expose handoffs, baselines cycle time and rework, then designs a to-be process that eliminates work before automating it. Use this process modelling answer to show the decision, trade-off, and evidence rather than a memorised definition.
6 min readUpdated 2026-08-15
Answer
Short answer
Map the as-is process by observing real cases, drawing swimlanes, naming exception paths and attaching baseline metrics such as cycle time, touch time and rework rate. The to-be design should remove unnecessary work and handoffs first, then automate only the steps that still need to exist.
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Likely follow-ups
- Your baseline data does not exist and nobody logs timestamps. How do you get cycle time anyway?
- The process owner disputes your as-is model because it makes their team look slow. What do you do?
- How do you decide which exception paths belong in the to-be design and which should be eliminated?
- How would you sequence the to-be rollout if the process spans three departments with different systems?
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