A Comprehensive Guide to Flowchart with 50+ Examples

Table of Contents hide

3 Flowchart Example: Should I Bring an Umbrella?

5.1 50+ Flowchart Examples and Templates

Flowcharts are used in analyzing, designing, documenting or managing a process or program in various fields. This diagrammatic representation illustrates a solution to a given problem. Like other types of diagrams, they help visualize what is going on and thereby help the viewer to understand a process, and perhaps also find flaws, bottlenecks, and other less-obvious features within it. A flowchart represents an algorithm or process, showing the steps as boxes of various kinds, and their order by connecting them with arrows.

Evolution of Flowchart

Flowcharts used to be a popular means for describing computer algorithms and are still used for this purpose. Modern techniques such as UML activity diagrams can be considered to be extensions of the flowchart.

In the 1970s the popularity of flowcharts as an own method decreased when interactive computer terminals and third-generation programming languages became the common tools of the trade, since algorithms can be expressed much more concisely as source code in such a language, and also because designing algorithms using flowcharts was more likely to result in spaghetti code because of the need for “goto” statements to describe arbitrary jumps in control flow.

Flowchart Notation

Different flow chart symbols have different meanings. The most common flow chart symbols are:

Terminator: Elongated circles, which signify the start or end of a process.
Process: A rectangular flow chart shape indicating a normal process flow step (instructions or actions).
Decision: A diamond flow chart shape indication a branch in the process flow.decisions that must be made
Connector: A small, labeled, circular flow chart shape used to indicate a jump in the process flow. (Shown as the circle with the letter “A”, below.)
Data: A parallelogram that indicates data input or output (I/O) for a process.
Document: Used to indicate a document or report (see image in sample flow chart below).

Flowchart Example: Should I Bring an Umbrella?

This example show how a person decides whether he/she should bring an umbrella when living home. This simple diagram demonstrates the uses decisions and processes.

Visual Paradigm Online offers an online platform for users creating flowchart and others. Start making your flowchart by clicking Create Blank or Use This Diagram.

Flowchart Example: Should I Bring an Umbrella

(click and Edit Example)

Flowchart Example: Medical Services

This flowchart shows the flow of a patient when entering a clinic using processes, decisions and loops.

(click and Edit Example)

Flowchart Example: Linking Flowcharts

Business flowcharts can be used to show a business process or workflow. To reduce complexity, a big flowchart can be split into multiple pages or diagrams. Different flowcharts can be linked with On-page and Off-page reference. This is a flowchart example that shows you the use of such symbol in connecting with another flowchart.