The purpose of the flowchart diagram

- Have you ever bought modular furniture? You know, the sort that requires you to self-assemble it? Getting hold of the instructions is essential. They give you the steps that need to be done and knowing in which sequence they need to happen. I've tried to do it on my own a number of times only to find that I have screws and bits left over. If I'd used the assembly instructions and followed the pictures, arrows and sequence, I'm sure it would have taken less time and achieved the result that looks just like the one on the front of the box. Flowchart diagrams are often referred to as simply process maps. Process maps document the flow of activities performed by a single actor at the lowest level of detail. Like the cross-functional flow diagram, these can be documented as existing, also referred to as current-state or as-is, or future-state, to-be process maps. A current-state flowchart process map is extremely useful in identifying and breaking down complex business processes. It also helps you analyze and identify process inefficiencies. The KRAC Model is a great tool to use for this process. When analyzing the current-state processes, you can look at what steps you need to keep, remove, maybe add or change to improve the end-to-end process. As inefficiencies are found, it is these changes that will form the beginning of your proposed new-and-improved, future-state processes. When you overlay both the current and future-state process maps together, the difference that you can find becomes a set of requirements. It is these requirements that the business needs in order to get to their desired future-state. By identifying what has changed, you can begin to analyze the impacts to the existing functional areas. This is called an impact assessment and it's extremely useful to help you understand the transition from the way things are done now to the way it needs to be. This old and the new way of doing things allows you to analyze organizational improvements and changes, but most importantly, to manage change across all levels of your organization. One of the greatest benefits in documenting flowchart process maps at this level is that they become the single source of truth and what needs to be done and in what sequence an actor needs to perform them. Process maps support the creation of test scripts and ensure the process delivers a consistent outcome. As testing is performed, errors and updates may impact on your processes. This feedback loop is vital for ongoing, continuous improvement activities. When used in conjunction with cross-functional flow diagrams, the flowchart process maps can be used to create instructional guides and other training materials like online knowledge center content, quick reference guides and training manuals. The analysis that goes into flowcharts can also help identify the amount of training required and the number of resources needed for tasks in the existing or new environment. The beauty of the detail in your flowchart process map is that a single activity performed by an individual or system can be captured in its entirety from start to end. A further benefit is its ability to isolate each activity. An activity can be assessed, refined, quality controlled, automated and updated without having to update the cross-functional flow diagram. Remember the process map is documented at the lowest level of detail, which means each step-by-step process will, in turn, become a step-by-step instruction for the end user