Flowcharting for me?
While the very first flowchart could be credited to Frank Gilbreth in 1921, the complexity of use varies depending on the problem that needs to be solved. After Gilbreth introduced flowcharting, it soon found a home in the field of industrial engineering curricula. Before you think to yourself that industrial engineering is something that is way above your scope of thinking, pause for a second.
Flowcharting in this day and age has found itself being used to solve a myriad of problems. For you to get the gist of what exactly I mean, a basic flowchart is highlighted below.
Some tips, some tricks
3. Shape Legend – Depending on your flowchart, it is best that you consider putting up a legend as well. While those who do create or draw flowcharts are well aware of what the various shapes mean, like a diamond is a decision, there are some shapes such as manual operations and alternate processes that people are not that familiar with. Creately flowchart tools support all these shapes so you can use it straightaway without exporting any other shapes.
4. No Caps Please – Using ALL CAPS takes up too much space and can be harder to read. So stick to lower case text and keep it simple.
5. Pencil & Paper – I am of the opinion that people may not have fully foregone the use of pencil and paper. Personally speaking, I find it useful to sketch out all my thoughts before I use the PC to flesh out my flowcharts. Oh, well, to each to his own.
6. Arrow Direction – Ever seen those arrows which overlap each other? You’re never quite sure where they are pointing. So how can you avoid this? a) Avoid overlapping b) Use connectors
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