Hi tboy,

At the high level a process map or process flows shows the steps of a given process, the order in which steps are peformed, branches in the process (including parallel flows), etc.

There's an entire industry and practice around business process modeling and notation so it is impossible to answer your question in just a forum post.

Here are some useful references:

• Book: Process Mapping, Process Improvement and Process Management

• Article: Process Mapping 101: A Guide to Getting Started

• Article: Detail Process Charts – A Common Ground for Business and Development

• Article: How to Analyze a Business Process and Close Your BA Experience Gap

Adrian