Flow chart

Flow chart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flow chart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flow chart shows the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting the boxes with arrows. This diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution model to a given problem. Flow charts are used in analyzing, designing, documenting or managing a process or program in various fields.

Overview

Flow charts are used in designing and documenting simple processes or programs. Like other types of diagrams, they help visualize what is going on and thereby help understand a process, and perhaps also find less-obvious features within the process, like flaws and bottlenecks. There are different types of flow charts: each type has its own set of boxes and notations. The two most common types of boxes in a flow chart are:

• a processing step, usually called activity, and denoted as a rectangular box
• a decision, usually denoted as a diamond.

History

The first structured method for documenting process flow, the "flow process chart", was introduced by Frank Gilbreth to members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1921 in the presentation "Process Charts—First Steps in Finding the One Best Way to Do Work". Gilbreth's tools quickly found their way into industrial engineering curricula.

Types

There are many different types of flow charts, and each has its own repertoire of boxes and notational conventions. The most common type of flow chart is the process flow chart, described above. Other types of flow charts include the swimlane flowchart, which is used to document process flows across multiple departments, and the data flowchart, which is used to document data processes.

Usage

Flow charts are widely used in business to visualize the steps in a process, identify bottlenecks and find ways to improve process efficiency. In software development, flow charts are used to visualize the flow of control in a system, to document a process, to troubleshoot a program or to generate code.

See also

• Algorithm
• Diagram
• Process (computing)
• Program (machine)
• Systems development life cycle

References

Flow chart Resources
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