This flowchart tutorial explains what a flowchart is, how the notation developed, what common symbols mean, and how to create and review a clear diagram. It also covers editable examples, practical rules, and common mistakes.
For operational processes, a flowchart should do more than show a sequence. It should make decisions, ownership, handoffs, exceptions, and review points understandable, with supporting context available where readers need it. Creately’s flowchart software supports this work from initial mapping through collaborative review and ongoing maintenance.
History of Flowcharts
Industrial engineers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth presented the flow process chart to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1921. In the 1930s, Allan H. Mogensen used the method in work-simplification training for business professionals. Flowcharts later became widely used for documenting business processes, information processing, computer programs, and algorithms.
What Is a Flowchart
A flowchart is a visual representation of a process, workflow, system, or algorithm. Standard symbols represent actions, decisions, inputs, outputs, documents, and other elements, while labeled connectors show sequence and branching. A flowchart makes documented logic easier to inspect and discuss, but its accuracy depends on the information used to create and maintain it.
Teams can also use flowcharts to clarify ownership, handoffs, review points, exception routes, and related subprocesses. Adding this context helps the diagram remain useful after the initial mapping session instead of becoming a disconnected snapshot.
Flowcharts are commonly used in many fields:
Software Development: Developers use flowcharts to visualize algorithms, program logic, states, and decision-making processes before or alongside implementation.
Business: Teams use flowcharts to document procedures, examine workflows, clarify roles and handoffs, and compare current and proposed process states.
Engineering: Engineers use flowcharts to document control logic, troubleshooting routes, system interactions, and repeatable procedures.
Education: In classrooms, flowcharts help break down complex topics into easily digestible steps, aiding both teaching and learning.
A well-designed flowchart has a defined scope, clear start and end points, a logical reading direction, labeled decision branches, and no unexplained dead ends. Loops are valid when their return path and exit condition are clear.
Flowchart Benefits
Clarifies process structure: A flowchart presents activities, decisions, branches, and loops in a shared visual sequence.
Supports communication: Reviewers, process owners, operators, and other stakeholders can discuss a specific step or handoff using the same reference.
Exposes gaps in documented logic: Mapping can reveal missing routes, unclear ownership, repeated work, bottlenecks, and decisions without labeled outcomes. The diagram identifies where to investigate; it does not improve the process by itself.
Supports process documentation: When ownership and supporting notes, links, files, or subprocesses stay connected to the map, the flowchart can serve as maintainable process documentation rather than a one-off visual.
Flowchart Symbols
Flowcharts use a variety of symbols to represent different elements of a process. Each symbol has a specific meaning, helping to clearly communicate actions, decisions, or data flows within the chart. Here’s a quick overview of the most commonly used symbols:
| Symbol | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Terminal/Terminator | Marks the start or end of a process. |
 | Process | Represents a task, action, or operation in the flow. |
 | Data (I/O) | Indicates inputs to and outputs from a process, shaped like a parallelogram. |
 | Decision | Represents a decision point, with arrows branching based on the answer (e.g., yes/no). |
 | Document | Symbolizes a report or document, shown as a rectangle with a wavy bottom. |
 | Stored Data | Represents general data storage. |
 | Direct Data | Symbolizes data stored on devices like a hard drive. |
 | Internal Storage | Common in programming, represents data stored in memory (RAM). |
These symbols are key to building an accurate and understandable flowchart. There are other flowchart symbols used for more complex processes and industries.
How to Draw a Flowchart
Using a flowchart tool makes the process easier, but understanding the basics first helps you create clearer and more effective diagrams. While there are different types of flowcharts, the core principles of creating them remain the same. Below are the steps you can follow to create a flowchart.
Step 1. Define the purpose, audience, boundaries, and evidence
State why the flowchart is needed, who will use it, where the process starts and ends, and what outcome the chart should explain. Gather the actual steps, decisions, exceptions, and source evidence from people who perform or receive the work. Do not begin with an assumed ideal process.
Step 2. Choose the shapes and symbols
Choose symbols that match the meaning of each element. Common choices include a terminator for the start or end, a rectangle for an action, a diamond for a decision, a parallelogram for input or output, and arrows for flow. Use the same symbol consistently for the same type of information and label every decision branch.
Step 3. Organize the flow
Arrange the main route in a consistent reading direction, then add alternative routes, exceptions, loops, and related subprocesses. Creately’s Plus Create can add the next shape and connector together, while smart connectors and automatic layouts help keep branches readable as the structure changes.
Step 4. Review and revise
Walk through expected and exception paths with process participants. Check ownership, handoff inputs and outputs, decision conditions, dead ends, loops, missing information, and boundaries. In Creately, stakeholders can use real-time editing, comments, and @mentions to discuss a step in context; the accountable owner should incorporate agreed changes into the maintained map.
Step 5. Share the flowchart
Share the flowchart using appropriate view, comment, or edit permissions, or export it in a format suitable for its audience. Add structured process details such as owner, status, duration, systems, and tags where useful, and connect relevant notes, links, files, or subprocess diagrams. Define who updates the documentation when the process changes.
To create a first draft from a written description, use AI-assisted flowchart generation in Creately. Verify every generated step, branch, exception, label, and outcome before using the diagram.
Choose the Right Diagram
Use a flowchart for sequential actions and rule-based decisions; a swimlane flowchart for roles and handoffs; a data flow diagram for data movement and transformation; BPMN for formal business-process semantics; a UML activity diagram for behavior with defined guards, object flows, and concurrency; and a decision tree for branching alternatives or probabilities. Process maps are broader and may combine several views.
Flowchart Templates and Examples
A template can reduce setup time, but it does not guarantee an accurate process. Choose an example with the right notation and level of detail, replace its placeholder content, and validate the customized flowchart with the people involved.
Meeting Flowchart Template
Student Application Process Flowchart
Horizontal Flowchart Template
Defect Bug/Life Cycle Flowchart
User Registration Flow Diagram
Flowchart Best Practices
Use standard symbols and a consistent reading direction when the flowchart will be shared broadly. Keep labels concise, use parallel wording for activities, label connector conditions, and apply the same visual treatment to equivalent elements.
A custom symbol is acceptable when its meaning is obvious to the intended audience or explained with a legend. Prioritize comprehension over decoration, and split a large diagram into linked subprocesses when additional detail would make the main route difficult to follow.
What to Do and Avoid When Drawing Flowcharts
Even experienced diagrammers can make small mistakes when creating flowcharts. While these errors don’t necessarily make a flowchart “wrong,” avoiding them can make your diagrams clearer, easier to understand, and more professional.
| Dos | Don’ts |
| Keep the flowchart simple and easy to follow | Overcomplicate with too many shapes or details |
| Use consistent shapes and symbols | Mix different shapes for the same type of step |
| Arrange the flow logically from top to bottom or left to right | Use loops without a clear return path or exit condition |
| Label all shapes clearly | Leave shapes or connectors unlabeled |
| Use swimlanes for multiple responsible parties | Ignore responsibilities, making the chart hard to read |
| Keep connectors straight and organized | Cross lines unnecessarily or clutter the diagram |
| Start with a clear process scope | Jump into drawing without defining the process |
| Review and test the flowchart | Assume it’s correct without checking for errors |
Frequently Asked Questions About Flowcharts
What is a subprocess in a flowchart?
How are flowcharts used in computer programming?
What are the 5 basic symbols of a flowchart?
What are the basic rules to create a flowchart?
What is the difference between a flowchart and a diagram?
Is a workflow the same as a flowchart?
What is the easiest way to create a flowchart?
Comments and Feedback on the Flowchart Tutorial
A useful flowchart is scoped, logically complete, readable by its intended audience, and maintained as the underlying process changes. Validate the diagram with process participants, assign an accountable owner, and keep relevant supporting context connected to the map. Questions or suggestions about this tutorial can be shared in the comments.
