FLOWCHART
A FLOWCHART IS A DIAGRAM THAT
USES GRAPHIC SYMBOLS TO DEPICT THE
NATURE AND FLOW OF THE
STEPS IN A PROCESS. ANOTHER NAME
FOR THIS TOOL IS "FLOW DIAGRAM."
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A
FLOWCHART?
A FLOWCHART IS COMMONLY USED BY
SYSTEMS ANALYSTS TO VISUALIZE THE SERIES OF
PROCESSES IN A BUSINESS SYSTEM. A
FLOWCHART IS A USEFUL TOOL TO DESIGN AN
EFFICIENT BUSINESS SYSTEM AND TO
TROUBLESHOOT OR IMPROVE AN EXISTING
SYSTEM. A FLOWCHART CONSISTS OF ELEMENTS,
SUCH AS THE TERMINATOR, PROCESS, SUB
1. TERMINATOR
A TERMINATOR IS REPRESENTED BY A
SMALL RECTANGLE WITH CURVED CORNERS.
A TERMINATOR APPEARS AT THE START AND
AT THE END OF A FLOWCHART. THE END
TERMINATOR APPEARS ONLY ONCE ON A
SINGLE FLOWCHART.
2. PROCESS
A PROCESS IS REPRESENTED BY A
RECTANGLE. IT REFERS TO AN ACTION IN A
BUSINESS PROCESS. IT MUST BE DESCRIBED
CLEARLY AND CONCISELY. A PROCESS CAN
BE DESCRIBED USING A SINGLE VERB NOUN
PHRASE; FOR EXAMPLE, "ORDER OFFICE
SUPPLIES." THE SAME LEVEL OF DETAIL
3. SUB-PROCESS
A SUB-PROCESS IS
REPRESENTED BY A RECTANGLE
WITH DOUBLE LINES ON EACH
SIDE. A SUBPROCESS IS A
MAJOR PROCESS THAT COULD
BE BROKEN UP INTO SIMPLER
4. DECISION
A DECISION IS REPRESENTED
BY A DIAMOND. A PROCESS
THAT CAN ANSWER A DECISION
OF "YES" OR "NO" REQUIRES A
DECISION BOX.
5. CONNECTOR
A CONNECTOR IS REPRESENTED BY A
SMALL CIRCLE OR A CONNECTOR BOX
AND IS LABELED USING LETTERS. A
FLOWCHART WRITTEN ON A SINGLE PAGE
IS CLEARER THAN A FLOWCHART ON
SEVERAL PAGES. A CONNECTOR ENSURES
THAT THE PROCESSES ARE CONNECTED
LOGICALLY AND CORRECTLY ON SEVERAL
6. ARROW LINES
ARROW LINES DRAWN IN ONE
DIRECTION, PREFERABLY FROM
TOP TO BOTTOM, KEEP A
FLOWCHART CLEAR. AVOID
ARROW LINES THAT LOOP
BECAUSE THIS COULD INDICATE
