Process flow diagram
You can make a process flow diagram without Visio.
A process flow diagram is a drawing of what happens: boxes for steps, diamonds for decisions, arrows for order. For a simple, readable work diagram you can start with four shapes. The software is almost never the problem — the missing detour is.
By Sina Esfahani · Explanation and example, not a client case. · Updated .
What is a process flow diagram?
A process flow diagram — also called a flowchart — draws the order of steps in one process. Each step is a box, each decision a diamond, each arrow a handoff to the next step. The difference from a process description is only the form: the same content, but visible instead of readable.
Making a process flow diagram only makes sense once you know what you are drawing. Anyone who starts with symbols draws the intended route and misses the detour that costs time in practice. Write the steps in plain sentences first; the diagram is the last step, not the first.
Step plan
How do I make a process flow diagram?
Four steps, in this order. The third is the step most diagrams skip and then fail on.
- Set start and end. What event starts the process, and what exists when it is done? Without those two boundaries the diagram grows until the whole company is in it.
- Write the steps as sentences, still without shapes. One line per step, verb first: take the call, schedule the visit, do the job, sign off the work order.
- Add the detours. What happens if the customer is not home, the part is missing, or nobody can sign? Every "unless" is a diamond.
- Only then draw it. Boxes in a column, arrows between them, diamonds where it splits. If it does not fit on one A4, draw two processes instead of one.
Process flow symbols: start with four shapes
Official notation has more symbols. For a simple diagram colleagues must read immediately, starting with four shapes is a practical choice. Add another symbol only when the distinction helps the reader.
Use symbols consistently and put a verb in every box. A box with only a noun — "quote", "planning" — describes a document, not a step.
- Rounded rectangle: start and end. Exactly one of each per diagram.
- Rectangle: a step someone carries out.
- Diamond: a decision with two exits, both labelled yes or no.
- Arrow: the order. A step without an outgoing arrow is a dead end and almost always a mistake.
Process flow diagram in Word, Excel or on paper
In Word you build a diagram via Insert, Shapes or SmartArt: choose flowchart shapes, place them in a column and connect them with arrows. In Excel the same route works, with the benefit that you can keep steps in cells and put the diagram beside them. Both are enough for a ten-step process.
Visio, Lucidchart, Miro or Canva look neater and are never required. An online flowchart maker produces a prettier picture of the same incomplete process. Anyone who starts on paper and only types it up once the steps are right is usually finished sooner.
Keep the diagram where the process itself lives, not in a folder only you open. A process flow that nobody meets during the work ages within a month.
Example process flow: from breakdown to invoice
This is an illustration for a boiler breakdown, not a client project. It shows how short a useful diagram can be: five steps, one decision, one exception.
- Start: customer reports a breakdown.
- Step: planner takes the call and schedules a visit.
- Step: technician does the job and fills in the work order.
- Decision: is the customer present to sign? No → photo of the meter reading and sign-off later. Yes → signature on the order.
- Step: administration transfers hours and materials. End: invoice sent.
Checklist
Check every decision and exception
Write one question in each diamond whose outgoing arrows together give a complete answer. For a yes/no question both arrows must be visible and labelled. An arrow labelled only "otherwise" hides which condition applies.
For each decision, record five parts: the question, the yes route, the no route, the owner of the exception, and the point where the route returns. In the fictional breakdown process the question is "Is the customer present to sign?". Yes leads to the stored signature; no to a recorded meter reading and a later confirmation request. The technician stays owner until handoff to administration.
Then walk three routes: the normal route, the no route, and a fault path where evidence is missing. Every route must end in a named status. A dead-end arrow, a decision without an owner, or an exception that exists only verbally stays open.
- Normal route: the required outcome and evidence are present; mark the named end.
- No route: the alternative action, owner and return to the main process are visible.
- Fault path: missing evidence blocks the handoff and returns to the performer with a reason.
Frequently asked questions about process flow diagrams
What is a process flow diagram?
A process flow diagram draws the order of steps, decisions and handoffs in one process. It is the visual twin of a written process description.
Do I need Visio to make a process flow diagram?
No. Word, Excel or paper are enough for a readable diagram of about ten steps. Visio and similar tools help formatting; they do not fix a missing exception.
Which symbols do I need?
Start with four: rounded start/end, rectangle for a step, diamond for a decision, arrow for order. Add more only when the reader needs the distinction.
The drawing is neat. Does the detour appear?
If the exception that happens every week is missing from the diagram, the picture is finished and the work is not. Embedded research finds that exception on the floor.