How to Create a Free Flow Chart

Flow charts can range from quite simple to very complicated.

Flow charts can be a very useful organizational or instructional tool. They can help someone make a decision, such as whether to buy a pan flute or which typeface to use, or guide them through a process like troubleshooting a computer problem.

A flow chart is made up of several shapes connected with arrows. The viewer follows the arrows through the chart, answering questions or following steps as (s)he goes.

Even if you are making your flow chart on the computer, it might be a good idea to sketch it out on paper first.

Instructions

Decision flow charts

1. Choose a topic for your flow chart. If your purpose is to help someone make a decision, continue with this section. If you want to guide someone through a process, skip to Section 2. The topic you choose will be the title of your flow chart.

   For this example, we will answer the question: Should I buy a car?

2. Make a list of questions that will affect the decision. It is easiest to choose questions with yes or no answers.

   For our example, some questions might include: Do you have a job? Do you live in a city? Can you afford one? Do you have a bike? Do you have access to public transportation? Is your job far away?

3. Look over the questions you wrote down and group together the ones that are related or depend on one another. Some questions may fit more than one group, which is perfectly fine.

   In our example, the questions "Do you have a job?" and "Is your job far away?" would be two questions that depend on one another. "Do you have a bike?" and "Do you have access to public transportation?" are two questions that are related because they address alternative methods of transportation.

4. Draw a shape and write your first question in it. Any shape will do--rectangle, diamond, circle--but most flow charts use a different shape for the beginning/ending steps than they do for the intermediate ones.

   In our example, our first question will be: Can you afford a car?

5. Draw a line or arrow out from the shape for each possible answer to its question. If you are asking simple yes/no questions, you will only need two lines. Write "yes" along one of them and "no" along the other.

6. Create another shape at the end of each line. If another question follows from that answer, write it inside the shape. If not, that means you have answered the original question.

   For example, if someone answers "no" to our question "Can you afford a car," then they shouldn't buy one and the shape at the end of the "no" line should say that. If they answer "yes," though, then our next question might be, "Do you have a job?"

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all lines of questioning end in an answer to the original question. In our example, everything should end in either "Buy a car" or "Don't buy a car."

Process flow charts

1. Choose a topic for your flow chart. If you are walking someone through a process, naming the process will make for an excellent title.

   Flow charts are best used for complicated processes in which your next move depends on what happened in the previous step. This is why they are popular in troubleshooting situations.

   For this example, we will troubleshoot a car that will not start.

2. Draw a shape and write the first step of the process in it. It is also a good idea to label this as the starting point by writing "Start" or making the shape green.

   For our example, the first step will be: "Insert key into ignition and turn."

3. Make another shape below or next to the first step for each possible outcome.
   In the car example, for instance, the options may be: "Car starts," "Engine makes noises but does not stay on," and "Nothing happens."

4. Connect each outcome to a new shape describing the next appropriate step. More than one outcome may lead to the same next step, but not vice-versa. The idea is to give the user a definite course of action--they shouldn't have to make any decisions for themselves.

   Sometimes it may make more sense to ask a question before assigning the next appropriate step. For instance, following the "Engine makes noises but does not stay on," option, we may ask, "Is there gas in the car?" and have them answer yes or no, just like in the decision flow charts of Part 1.

   If it is necessary to change something and then try again, you can simply draw an arrow back to the step that needs repeating. For instance, if the person answers no to the question, "is there gas in the car," the next step might be, "put gas in the car," and then lead back to the original "turn the key in the ignition."

5. Repeat Step 4 until every course of action leads to an end result. Look back at your original topic and ask yourself if the problem has been solved, or the process completed.

   In our car example, all paths should lead to either the car starting or the owner seeking professional help.

Tips & Warnings

• Usually, it is a good idea to differentiate between steps and outcomes by using different shapes for each (for example, diamonds for steps, ovals for outcomes).

References

• Wikipedia: history and use of flowcharts

Resources

• Toothpaste for Dinner: a simple decison flow chart
• Julian Hansen: a complicated decision flow chart
• HP: a troubleshooting process flow chart