If you’ve ever tried mapping a messy process and didn’t know where to start, SIPOC is your friend.
It’s simple.
It’s quick.
And it helps you get your head around the whole thing before diving into the details.
🔍 So, what’s SIPOC?
SIPOC stands for:
- Suppliers – who gives you the inputs
- Inputs – the stuff you need to do the process
- Process – the steps you take
- Outputs – what comes out the other end
- Customers – who gets the result
It’s basically a high-level view of any process.
From start to finish.
Before you map the nitty-gritty, SIPOC gives you a clean overview.
It’s like zooming out before zooming in.
🛠 Why is SIPOC useful?
Because it stops you from missing the obvious.
Sometimes, when you dive straight into process mapping, you get lost in the detail.
SIPOC helps you ask the right questions first:
- Who are we doing this for?
- What do we need to get started?
- Who’s involved?
- What are we delivering?
It works well in early workshops and scoping conversations.
Especially when people aren’t clear on where a process starts or ends.
📋 A Real-World Example
Let’s say you’re looking at an employee onboarding process.
Here’s how SIPOC would work:
- Suppliers: HR, IT, hiring manager
- Inputs: new hire details, equipment list, login setup form
- Process: set up employee in HR system, issue laptop, create accounts, send welcome email
- Outputs: employee ready to start, accounts active, equipment delivered
- Customers: new employee, hiring manager, payroll
That’s your bird’s-eye view.
Before any boxes or arrows.
Just the core stuff you need to understand.
👥 Good for Workshops Too
SIPOC is great to use in workshops when people have different ideas about what a process involves.
It helps get everyone on the same page quickly.
You can even draw it on a whiteboard or throw it up in a Miro board and build it together.
It takes 10–15 minutes but sets the tone for the whole session.
💡 Quick Tips for Using SIPOC
- Keep it simple. One line per section is enough to start.
- Don’t overthink it. You can refine it later.
- Use it as a warm-up before detailed process mapping.
- It’s a conversation tool—not a final deliverable.
📌 Final Thought
You don’t need fancy software or long meetings to start mapping processes.
Sometimes all you need is a pen, a whiteboard and SIPOC.
It’s simple.
It works.
And it gets everyone thinking about the right things.
