bit.
ly/PresDownload
Free Process Mapping Tools
#1 of 4 in the Process Mapping Tools Series
Scott A. Helmers
Partner, Harvard Computing Group
[email protected]
Process Mapping Tools Series
1. Free Tools 3 September 2025
2. Lucidchart 15 October 2025
3. Visio & TaskMap® 10 December 2025
4. AI-assisted process mapping 21 January 2026
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
About Scott Helmers
VP and Partner at Harvard Computing Group
Business process consultant
Technology specialist and trainer
Co-inventor of TaskMap® – Processes Made Easy
Senior Instructor at B2T Training
B2TTraining.com
Microsoft Visio MVP since 2008
Consultant and trainer
Custom stencil, template, code developer
LinkedIn Learning
bit.ly/LILearning-Author
Books
bit.ly/MicrosoftPress
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
Free process mapping tools
ANSI flowchart shapes
A step in a process; often thought of as an operation that
Process
changes an input into an output
Flowline Shows the sequence of flow through a process
Start/End (or Terminal) The beginning or end of a process or sub-process
Decision A decision point with two or more outcomes
Subprocess (or
Identifies a set of process steps that are defined elsewhere
Predefined Process)
Document A document that provides information for a step in a process
Database A database or other data source
Off-page Connector Leads to or from another page
Our mission: “provide free, high quality
diagramming software for everyone.”
“Bring your own storage.”
“Don’t worry about licenses or platforms,
it just works.”
www.drawio.com/
PROs CONs
Free; no premium levels Non-conforming flowchart shapes
Save diagrams anywhere Limited diagram themes/styles
Ten sample process maps External hyperlinks may not work
Multi-language support Moving swimlanes may relocate shapes
Can add data fields to shapes from other lanes
“Scratchpad” for saving custom shapes BPMN shapes aren’t configurable
No predefined data fields
Browser
Windows app
macOS app
Linux all
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
“A visual collaboration platform”
“Intelligent diagramming and powerful
whiteboard collaboration”
“Not just pretty pictures. Data-linked
visual apps to streamline all your efforts.”
creately.com/
PROs CONs
Free; premium options available No control over where diagrams/
Collaboration platform with diagramming workspaces are stored
capabilities Frequent reminders of Premium options
Dosens of sample process maps (multiple Shapes dragged from stencil are
languages) minimized until dropped
BPMN shapes are easily configurable Not possible to rearrange lanes in a
Hyperlink indicator! swimlane diagram
URL hyperlinks only
Browser
Windows app
macOS app
Linux all
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
“All-in-one diagram maker”
“Visualization. Innovation. Collaboration.
Enterprise-scale Security.”
www.edrawmax.com/
PROs CONs
Free; premium options available Limited editing for cloud-stored
Collaboration and co-editing diagrams in free version
Can add data fields to shapes No predefined data fields
“My Library” for saving custom shapes Most like Visio
English and Chinese
Dozens of sample process maps
Most like Visio
Browser
Windows app
macOS app
Linux all
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
“Create easy-to-understand visuals with
confidence”
“Real-time collaboration, commenting,
and sharing”
“Enterprise-grade security and privacy as
part of Microsoft 365”
Visio in Microsoft 365 www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-
365/visio/flowchart-software
PROs CONs
Free with Microsoft 365; premium options Limited diagram types
available No swimlane or BPMN diagrams
Co-authoring and collaboration
Fully compatible with paid versions of
Visio
Dozens of sample process maps
Predefined data fields are visible
Browser
Windows app paid only
macOS app
Linux all
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
Other diagramming tools
Specialized diagramming tools
Corporate diagramming tools
Q&A
Resources
BPMN resources
https://www.methodandstyle.com/
https://www.process-bility.com/
https://creately.com/resource-center/
©2025 Scott A. Helmers All rights reserved
30-day free trial
New!
Fundamentals of Process Mapping
bit.ly/LILearning-ProcessMapping
Creating Flowcharts for Beginners
bit.ly/LILearning-Flowcharts
New!
Visio customization and
Enhancing Power BI with Visio www.TaskMap.com
bit.ly/LILearning-Visio-PBI consulting services
Updated!
Advanced Visio:
Working with Data
bit.ly/LILearning-AdvVisioData
New! TaskMapLite.com bit.ly/MicrosoftPress
Learning Visio for the Web
bit.ly/LILearning-VisioWeb
Updated!
Visio Tips and Tricks Free Visio stencil and template
bit.ly/LILearning-TipsAndTricks
Contact Scott A. Helmers
Info
[email protected] www.LinkedIn.com/in/shelmers
Slides www.VisioStepByStep.com
www.TaskMap.com
bit.ly/PresDownload
