How can you use process maps to support change management?

The benefit of identifying and understanding the current state is ensuring you have a good overall view of the People, Process and Technology dimensions that need to be considered in the future state design. Therefore, unless you are trying to optimize a discrete process in the "fine grain" of detail, minute documents can be sufficient to capture this information via workshops with the process owners. Going to the trouble of mapping all the As-Is processes may not be worth the effort given you are going to change them all in your project. Context is king. Don't map processes to tick a box... Use the best tool to accomplish your project objectives.

This is a common starting point- but not necessarily the best way to think about process change. It may be the most beneficial to first understand the process level and process framework. This way, you can understand where in the business hierarchy the process falls before dedicating time documenting a process that may be the wrong level or even the wrong owner. Before you start understanding the current state and developing a map to represent the current state, you should really find the process owner. There is also the notion that there are almost always at least two different current states: The way the process owner thinks it is being done, and the way it is actually being done. Plan to implement process mining to help!

In my experience to improve a process we need to receive the insight from those doing the work. Defining the current state by mapping allows everyone to understand the inputs, output and all the teams that are involved in the entire process.

I would argue that starting here is better than starting with current state. Start with a current understanding of the capabilities (software, people, hardware) and limitations (policies, regulations, laws, time) and then add the inputs you expect and the deliverable required. Establish the 'ideal' state based on these known entities. Once this is done, you can then perform a process walk to see how close the ideal vs. actual states are. This way allows you to be inquisitive about the process in practice, and see if there is valid reason for the process step to occur. If there seems to be no reason, mark it for potential removal, and then move on. Marked steps should be reviewed to ensure they are not a control or obligation before removal.

I would not use the process map to manage the transition other than to identify the improvement gaps that were closed. If you have defined the activity well, you should be able to translate that into an action item or activity register for completion. If you want to use the map as a form of checklist to ensure the changes have been met and ownership handed off to the new owner, that would be the most effective use of the map for transition purposes.

This is an absolutely essential part of using processes as controls, and ensuring that there is a consistent way to document and evaluate long term performance against control objectives. Instead of assigning an 'output' requirement to control owners, assigning the process to them ensures that the method of achieving the output is the important part of the control. In many cases the output should just be the proof that you are following the process...

Process maps are great for presentations, but not really practical in most organizations. Instead of focusing on the 'document', it is much better to invest in a modern process platform which can provide multi-dimensional information about every step within your process (time, cost, inputs, outputs, risks, owners, systems and vendors to name a few). Being able to build a digital process in a modern process tool will then enable process mining and real time monitoring. Both of these things essentially create a living process that will remain up to date with every interaction, and can be produced in a fully documented form for audits, regulatory evidence, and daily process management. Glad to share more if you DM me about process governance!