Standard Flowchart Symbols and Their Usage

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Posted by Allison Lynch | 11/01/2019

Provides a visual representation of basic flowchart symbols and their proposed use in showing the sequence of process steps.

Five Basic Flowchart Symbols

Flowcharts are the ideal diagrams for visually representing business processes. For example, if you need to show the flow of a custom-order process through various departments within your organization, you can use a flowchart. This paper provides a visual representation of basic flowchart symbols and their proposed use in communicating the structure of a well-developed web site, as well as their correlation in developing online instructional projects. A typical flowchart from older Computer Science textbooks may have the following kinds of symbols: Start, Process, Decision, Document and Sub Process.

Flowcharts may contain other symbols, such as connectors, usually represented by circles, to represent converging paths in the flowchart. Circles will have more than one arrow coming into them but only one going out. Some flowcharts may just have an arrow pointing to another arrow instead. These are useful to represent an iterative process (in Computer Science this is called a loop). A loop may, for example, consists of a connector where control first enters, processing steps, a conditional with one arrow exiting in the loop, and one going back to the connector. Off-page connectors are often used to signify a connection to a (part of a) process held on another sheet or screen.

A flowchart is described as "cross-functional" when the page is divided into different "lanes" describing the control of different organizational units. A unit appearing in a particular "lane" is within the control of that organizational unit. This technique allows the analyst to locate the responsibility for performing an action or making a decision correctly, allowing the relationship between different organizational units with responsibility over a single process.

Standard Flowchart Symbols

Flowcharts use special shapes to represent different types of actions or steps in a process. Lines and arrows show the sequence of these steps, and the relationships between them.

Standard Flowchart Symbols

See how to use these basic flowchart symbols instantly.

Flowchart Symbols and Their Usage

Process

represents a step in your process.

Predefined process

indicates a set of steps that combine to create a sub-process that is defined elsewhere, often on another page of the same drawing.

Decision

indicates a point where the outcome of a decision dictates the next step. There can be multiple outcomes, but often there are just two - yes and no.

Start points

indicates the starting of a process.

Terminal points

indicates the ending points of a process.

Data shape

indicates that information is coming into the process from outside, or leaving the process.

Delay shape

represents a waiting period where no activity is done. In Process Mapping, delays are often important as they may result in adding to the cost of the product or simply delaying its production.

Database shape

Use this shape for a step that results in information being stored.

Step

represents a single step within a process, and usually contains the name of a specific action.

Page symbols refer to individual web pages, which may or may not contain multiple elements.

File symbols

represent those data elements that exist independently of navigational properties outside of that page, e.g., audio sounds, movie clips, or a portable document file (PDF).

Decision point

indicates a sequence in the process at which the end user chooses an option, i.e., a "yes-no", or "true-false" response, and then branches to different parts of the flowchart.

Arrows and connecting lines

diagram the logical progression through the course, subject to the choices made at decision or action points within the process.

Input/action symbol

represents a user response that directs the course flow from that point onwards, i.e., an online test or questionnaire form.

Conditional selector

is similar to the conditional branch except that the user has the option to choose from a number of paths that will fulfill the requested conditions, e.g., the results of a search engine request.

Annotations

provide helpful comments or explanations, e.g. denoting the location where an undeveloped new page/process will fit into the navigational flow structure, or notes for specific team members for further development.

Flow references and flow areas

are symbols for reusable sequences, such as logging in with a specific user id and password to enter the course or to initiate an on-line quiz. The flow reference symbol acts as a placeholder for the flow area sequence in the chart in every situation in which it is repeated. Flow area is used as a flow area. It documents sections that share similar components/repeated steps within that flow, and requires the use of the following two symbols: entry and exit points.

Exit point

concludes the subroutines, such as when the proper user id and password are verified, and documents where the user re-enters the master flowchart.

Entry point

documents the place within the master flowchart where the process deviates into a subroutine.

Reference

is used as a connecting point when the flowchart necessitates using more than one page, or refers to a complicated subroutine that would be impossible to contain on the main flowchart page.

On-page reference

indicates that the next or previous step is somewhere else on the flowchart. It is particularly useful for large flowcharts.

Off-page reference

use a set of hyperlinks between two pages of a flowchart or between a sub-process shape and a separate flowchart page that shows the steps in that sub-process.

Flowchart Shapes

The designers can click this multi-shape to set to any of the following shapes: Data, Document, Decision, or Process. Any text you type onto the shape, or information you add to its Shape Data, remains with the shape.

Document

represents a step that results in a document.

Workflow Shapes

Workflow relationships are where work is done by different departments in a fixed sequence. This means that one department needs to finish its job before work can continue in another department. The development and maintenance of these workflow relationships are very important for managers because they depend on the preceding areas for his or her own work, and responsible for managers and workers at different stages further down the chain.