Processes adhere to order, and they are critical to every organization. Without an established process to follow, everything could erupt into chaos and disarray that might negatively affect a group or a business’s productivity. However, some methods involve those twists and turns that take time to understand when using a lengthy manual. Converting them into a flowchart would efficiently help you show them how it’s done. A flowchart shrinks several documents worth of guidelines into a single page diagram. This is a useful tool in demonstrating how to manage technical programs because illustrations effectively convey information rather than spend time studying long processes.
A flowchart is a diagram of a process. It presents how a procedure goes by using symbols that depict different meanings. It uses interconnecting symbols to represent the flow of a process. Flowcharts are used in presenting how a system works through an illustration that its viewer can interpret easily instead of going through lengthy and complicated text instructions.
With COVID-19 or coronavirus continuously prancing around the world, businesses halted their operations in fear of being infected. The industrial processes may have stopped but certainly not at home. A humorous flowchart caricature by the New Yorker illustrated a character who was battling his own decisions on whether or not he’d keep staying in bed (yes, he did). It was made with a comical intent, but it does show one of the functions of a basic flowchart—it helps people make decisions.
Here are some tips on how you can effectively design your own flowchart:
When you start designing your work flowchart, keep in mind that you have to be consistent all throughout your output. Your shapes should follow similar sizes, even when they come in different forms. You should also use the same font types and sizes. Consistency is important in this diagram because it helps people understand the presentation. Inconsistent sizes and typography can be distracting and may keep the viewers from taking in what the process flow is all about.
Icons are a great design element to use when making diagrams. They add appeal to a context, and their meaning will make the conetnt less wordy, making it more engaging and easy to remember. When you use icons, use them to emphasize certain points. For example, if you’re bringing together different steps on how to single-handedly troubleshoot a PC problem, you can use icons such as a switch logo to indicate that you should turn off a program or a telephone icon which means that you can for help when you’ve already exhausted all possible options. Not only is it creative to look at, but it also sticks to one’s memory better.
Another aesthetic component that you can use to increase your chart’s comprehensibility is your color palette. They’re not just a great way to add to your chart’s visual quality, but you can also use them to help your audience interpret the management flowchart. For example, if you’re combining different processes in a single layout, instead of using the same filler color in all shapes, you can assign different colors to different individual processes. This way, the viewer can readily see and determine each of them on the process flow. You can also use a different color for the different stages of a procedure, such as the pre, during, and post phases of production.
Allow your layout to breathe. If you want your company flowchart to actually serve its purpose of delivering data efficiently, make space. Do not crowd your flowchart with too much information. Include only what’s necessary and keep it at that. Reduce your texts inside the shapes to words or brief phrases. Remember that you’re mixing words with different symbols. The shape itself already has meaning, so you ease up on your written content. For you to effectively incorporate space, never overlap lines and arrows. They’re distracting, and they can be confusing as well.
Frank Gilbreth and Lilian Gilbreth introduced flowcharts as the “Flow Process Chart” to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1921.
There is no single established term to label a flowchart. The other flowchart names are the process flow diagram, process map, process diagram, process model, process chart, and flow diagram.
Aside from presenting a process in a visual and non-complicated way, a flowchart helps map a new project, document an information process, manage and oversee a workflow, serve as means of communication between developers and their users, and detect early signs of trouble before it gets worse.
Aside from simplfying long business process, flowcharts also helps maximize the effort of a workforce. It teaches them to be independent and self-reliant. With the use of a training flowchart, they won’t need to call on for help on how certain procedures wok, especially those that are technical in nature. If you think the flowchart’s use resonates with you well, take a look at our high-quality and professionally made flowchart collection. Take the best deals and make them yours today.
