A flowchart is a document that describes a process using standard graphic symbols. Though widely used in software development, flowcharts can document any business process, such as approving a customer for credit or manufacturing a chair. Flowcharts are simple to create, easy to understand and help preserve the practices that make your business work.
A flowchart shows every step of a process in clear and explicit detail. The top-down and left-to-right flow of steps on the chart have a natural order and are easy to follow. This helps communicate a process to those unfamiliar with it, such as new employees and outside auditors, reducing the time needed to learn the details of your business processes.
Part of a flowchart's readability is its use of standard symbols; the simple rectangles, ovals, diamonds and other shapes that are a part of flowcharting practice. The diamond, for example, represents a decision step that could have one of two or three separate outcomes, each leading off in a different direction. Having standard symbols helps people grasp a flowchart's overall scheme and individual steps quickly.
Improved Process Development
You benefit by developing a flowchart before you implement the actual process on which it is based. As you work through the steps of a process, you may find ways to streamline tasks or to include steps that produce better outcomes. With the steps clearly laid out on paper or a computer screen, you can review the flowchart with your colleagues and reduce the risk of complications later.
Choice of Tools
You can sketch a flowchart on a whiteboard or legal pad in relatively short order, then produce a final version using software such as Microsoft's Visio. If you prefer not to use computers, inexpensive drafting templates help you create neat, regular shapes using a paper and pencil. A neatly-rendered flowchart will effectively communicate a process, regardless of the tools you used to make it.
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