When process maps lie politely
Happy-path maps look clean in workshops and then fail the first time a handoff stalls. The map did not lie about the intended flow; it omitted the places where work actually waits.
We teach analysts to annotate wait states, informal workarounds, and who quietly owns exceptions. Those annotations are often more valuable than the primary swimlanes.
If your map has no places where people disagree about ownership, it is probably unfinished—not elegant.