Value stream mapping for delivery teams
Most work spends its life waiting.
Flow Mapper is a text editor for flow maps. You type the process one activity per line with two numbers — how long the work takes, and how long it then sits — and you get a map, a lead time and a flow efficiency you can defend.
No account needed to build one. A free account saves 3 maps and unlocks export.
You write this
title: Idea to production description: Payments squad Request | 4h | 1w Triage | 4h | 1w ! Triage only runs on Mondays Build | 2d | 3d Review | 4h | 1w !! Sign-off waits for the change board Release | 4h | 0
You get this
- Active
- 2.7d
- Waiting
- 3.4w
- Lead
- 3.8w
Flow efficiency · Critical
10.0%
Four steps to a map
About forty minutes with the team
01
Write the process out
step: TriageOne activity per line, from the customer's request to value delivered. Plain text — no dragging boxes around a canvas.
02
Estimate active time
work: 4hTime someone is genuinely working on this activity.
03
Estimate waiting time
wait: 1wTime this sits still after the activity finishes, before the next one starts. Approvals, handovers, meetings, queues.
04
Name what's in the way
! yours !! not yoursOne mark for an impediment you can fix, two for a blocker you can't. That list is your improvement backlog.
Idea to production
Payments squad
Same map as above, drawn out. Each box is an activity carrying its active time. The amber between boxes is the queue. What holds a step up hangs underneath it.
Request
active 4h
1wTriage
active 4h
ImpedimentTriage only runs on Mondays1wBuild
active 2d
3dReview
active 4h
BlockerSign-off waits for the change board1wRelease
active 4h
You never draw this. Flow Mapper lays it out, keeps the arithmetic honest as you type, and exports the result as draw.io XML, SVG or PNG.
Flow efficiency, in one line
Value-adding active time ÷ lead time × 100
Lead time is active time plus waiting. Mark a step (nva) and its active time drops out of the top half of that sum, because time spent on rework isn't time spent delivering value.
Most teams measure their active time carefully and never measure the gaps between it, which is where the majority of the calendar goes. Once the waiting is visible, the improvements pick themselves: the biggest delay you can actually do something about.
Under 15%
Critical
The process is mostly queue. Look at handoffs and approval gates first.
15 to 40%
Typical
Where most first maps land. Batch size and work in progress are the usual levers.
Over 40%
Strong
Delay is no longer the constraint. Question whether every step adds value.
What free gets you
Without an account
- Build a map in the browser
- Every metric, live as you type
- Held in this browser only
- No export
Free account
- 3 saved maps
- Export to draw.io, SVG and PNG
- Reachable from any device
- No card, no trial clock
Need more than that?
- At 3 maps you delete one to add another
- There is no paid tier yet
- Tell us what you need and we'll build it
Map your first process.
Start in the browser with no account at all. Create one when you want to keep the map or export it.