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Flowchart

Flowcharting is a tool for analyzing processes by breaking them down into individual events or activities and displaying them logically. Different symbols represent different elements like inputs, decisions, and outputs. A system flowchart describes data flow through an entire system while a program flowchart shows the exact sequence of a specific program's operations.

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58 views

Flowchart

Flowcharting is a tool for analyzing processes by breaking them down into individual events or activities and displaying them logically. Different symbols represent different elements like inputs, decisions, and outputs. A system flowchart describes data flow through an entire system while a program flowchart shows the exact sequence of a specific program's operations.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is flowcharting?

Flowcharting is a tool for analysing processes. It allows you to break any process down into
individual events or activities and to display these in shorthand form showing the logical relationships
between them. Constructing flowcharts promotes better understanding of processes, and better
understanding of processes is a pre-requisite for improvement.
Differentiate a system flowchart and a program flowchart.
A system flow chart, or data flow chart, is used to describe the flow of data through a complete
data-processing system. Different graphic symbols represent the clerical operations involved and the
different input, storage, and output equipment required. Although the flow chart may indicate the specific
programs used, no details are given of how the programs process the data.
A program flow chart is used to describe the flow of data through a particular computer program,
showing the exact sequence of operations performed by that program in order to process the data.
Different graphic symbols are used to represent data input and output, decisions, branches, and
subroutines.
What are the typical symbols used in a program flowchart? How does it work?

Symbol

Meaning
Terminal Block (Oblong) - Shows the beginning and the end of the process.
Process Block Shows actions in the process. An operation is performed
whenever some change in an item/service occurs.
Decision Point Shows a point in the process where a decision is made that
leads to different processing steps.
Document - Shows a document introduced into the process or created by the
process. The flowchart should show the disposition of all documents.
Input / Output (Parallelogram) Identifies key inputs or outputs of a process.
On-Page Connector Continues the flow on the same page. On-page connectors
are defined with an alpha character starting with A.
Off-Page Connector Continues the flow to another page. Off-page connectors
are defined with an alpha character and the reference to the page to which the
flow is going, or the page from which the flow has come, depending on the nature
of the connector.
Direction of Flow Denotes the direction and order of the process steps.
Electronic Connection/Flow - Denotes flow of data from an activity to an electronic
database or system.
Off-line Storage - Denotes a storage location, generally for hard-copy documents,
such as a filing cabinet. It may also be used to represent a temporary storage
such as a drawer or even a clipboard.

Annotation Used to add additional notes to the flowchart and reference the
notes to a symbol on the flowchart.
Unit Separator Use to separate units or individuals performing tasks.

System Represents a computer system. Generally this symbol is used to denote


a manual interface with an automated system, typically an application.
Simultaneous Preparation This symbol is used to represent automated
preparation or processing of information operating simultaneously but separately
from a manual process.
Note Symbol The note number symbol references notes in the left-hand margin
of the flowchart.
Product Symbol This symbol denotes physical product entering the process.
Hyperlink Symbol This symbol indicates a hyperlink to another file, document,
website, etc.

Sources: http://www.hci.com.au/hcisite2/toolkit/flowchar.htm
http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0005803.html

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