The Top 5 Reasons To Use Flowcharts

Sometimes, it’s better to visualize something visually than you can describe the thing using words. This is the work flowcharts can do for you. They explain the process clearly through text and symbols. Additionally, they provide the essentials of the flow in one glance. Here are a few of the main benefits of using flowcharts.

Documentation of Process / Training Materials

Another reason flowcharts are used is to document processes. While this is a reason that overlaps with quality management and regulatory requirements (below) Many businesses that aren’t regulated employ flowcharts for their documentation too. These may range in style from simple procedures to more detailed specific instructions for work.

It is possible to think that this is only for large corporations, but smaller businesses can benefit greatly by flowcharting their workflows also. Small businesses need to be agile and well-organized. The process of standardization is a fantastic method to accomplish this. In actuality, the bestselling business guidebook The E-Myth Revisited: Why small businesses fail and How to Fix It from Michael Gerber is based on the idea that small-scale enterprises are more likely succeed if they approach their operations as an established franchise. In a nutshell that involves the standardization and documentation of the business procedures. There’s no better method to accomplish this than using flowcharts.

Training materials are typically designed using flowcharts as they are visually appealing and simple to comprehend. A flowchart that is well laid out can grab and keep the attention of the viewer in the event that a long paragraph usually fails.

Controlling Workflow and Continuous Improvement

Workflows don’t manage themselves. To ensure that you’re satisfying the needs of your customers you must be in control of the business process. The first step in control workflow is to identify the status of your processes by establishing an “As-Is flowchart”. This allows you to look over your processes to identify the waste or inefficiency. Once you’ve identified areas that need improvement, you are able to develop new flowcharts in order to show the less invasive processes.

Programming

The use of information technology had a major influence on the development and dissemination of flowcharts during the latter half of 20th Century. As they were being promoted by Dr. W. Edwards Deming advocated their use in quality management, experts working in the world of data processing used the tools to elaborate the logic of their programs. Flowcharts were an integral part of procedural programming, but they have become less commonplace, especially with the advent of object-oriented programming and different modeling tools using flowcharts in programming isn’t as prevalent as it used to be.

But, even the world of object-oriented programming complicated program logic is easily modeled with diagrams. Additionally, illustrating the user’s experience while they use a program is an essential step prior to the creation of your user’s interface. Therefore, flowcharts have a place in the realm of programming.

Troubleshooting Tips

We’ve all encountered a flowchart for troubleshooting at some point or an alternative. These typically take Form of Decision Trees that gradually limit the possibilities of solutions based on a set of factors. The efficacy of these kinds of flowcharts will depend on how well the variety of solutions and problems can be incorporated into a straightforward true or false diagnosis. When you create a flowchart that is well-designed and troubleshooting, it can reduce time to solve a problem by a significant amount.

Regulation and Quality Management Requirements

Your business operations may be subject to requirements from regulatory agencies for example Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) which requires your accounting processes be clear and well-documented. One way to accomplish this is to develop flowcharts of your accounting for every accounting process.

In the same way, your company might be required to meet the requirements of certification for quality management systems for example, ISO 9000, TS 16949 or any of the numerous other. In these situations they are not just helpful, but in some clauses, they actually become mandatory.