How to Create a Tree Diagram

Creat a tree diagram to annotate your design and lend clarity to your process

Many organizations, groups, and IT departments depict their information in tree diagrams or informational flow charts. Although the variations may differ somewhat, the structure is basically the same. You can build these charts easily using whatever software you have available and whatever style best suits your objective. You can make your tree diagrams display from left to right or top or top to bottom which again, depends on content. Sometimes it's a lot easier to see the "Big Picture" using a flow or tree diagram. Systems analysts and many educators and computer professionals use this tool extensively.

Instructions

1. Launch your flowchart or diagramming software program, create a new document and choose a rectangular shape. For illustration purpose, assume a simple system where a small jewelry company creates bracelets sells it to clients and creates invoices for each sale.

2. Type "Create Order" in the rectangular shape you just created. This represents an order being placed by a company or an individual.

3. Create an additional rectangular shape of the same size and type "Process Order" within the diagram. This shape should go directly beneath the "Create Order" shape you just created. This shape represents the processing required to start the collection and jewelry assembly process.

4. Draw three more block diagrams of the same size side-by-side and directly beneath the "Process Order" shape you just created. These shapes will be labeled "Collect Pieces," "Assemble Jewelry," and "Ship Item" respectively. In theory, these will represent the gathering of the appropriate pieces that make up the order, the assembling, polishing and packaging of the item and finally, the shipping to the buyer.

5. Draw a line to connect the "Create Order" shape to the "Process Order" shape and from the "Process Order" diagram, draw lines to connect the three shapes below, namely the "Collect Pieces," "Assemble Jewelry," and the "Ship Item" diagram. You can easily expand this diagram further to detail particular sub-processes that take place in typical manufacturing or industrial establishments. For example, the "Collect Pieces" shape could have shapes (Sub-processes) that detail inventory updates or import functions.

References

• "Colorado University, The Technique of Data Flow Diagramming:"
• "Arizona University, Visio Tutorial:"