Your work does not happen in a siloA department or function that operates in isolation and optimizes its own performance without regard to the wider process. Silo thinking often moves problems from one department to the next instead of solving them. Click term for full definition. A system interaction map shows who feeds your work, who depends on it and what flows in between, so you can see where things get stuck. Watch the short video, then work with the toolkit PDF: it explains the method, shows a worked example and gives you a blank template to fill in.
Tool video
The short tool video will appear here.
System Interaction Map in short
- Put your role in the middle. Write your role or team in a box in the centre of the page.
- List your inputs. On the left, add every department, person, system or supplier that delivers something you need. Write down what they deliver, for example orders, parts, approvals or data.
- List your outputs. On the right, add everyone who receives something from you, internal or external. Write down what you deliver to them.
- Label each connection by flow type. Draw a line for each connection and mark it as a material flowThe physical movement of raw materials, products and inventory through an organization. A systems view helps you spot where materials get stuck (bottlenecks) or are moved around unnecessarily. Click term for full definition, an information flowThe data and decisions that guide the work: orders, specifications, schedules and approvals. When the information flow breaks, the material flow usually breaks too. Click term for full definition or a financial flowThe money that results from the work: invoicing, payments and cash. Faster, more reliable material and information flows are how you improve the health of the financial flow. Click term for full definition. Use three colours if you can.
- Mark the weak spots. Ask for each line: does this work reliably? Mark every connection with delays, errors, missing information or rework. Add a short note on what goes wrong.
- Pick one connection to improve. Choose the weak spot that hurts the most or affects the most people. That is a good candidate for an improvement projectA unique, temporary endeavor with a defined goal that is important, urgent or complex enough to need its own organization outside the normal line organization. Click term for full definition.
Key points
- Your role sits in a network of inputs and outputs. Map it before you try to fix anything.
- Label every connection as a material, information or financial flow.
- Mark weak spots neutrally and note what goes wrong.
- Problems often start upstream. A fix in one connection can improve the whole flow.
- Use the most painful weak spot as a starting point for an improvement project.