Flow Diagram (noun.)

Definition: A diagram depicting the steps in a discrete process, including conditions, connections, and places related to it.

Also referenced as: Sequence (noun) Flow (noun)

Related to: Diagram, Relationship


Chapter 3: Face Reality | Page 67

2. Flow Diagram

A flow diagram outlines the steps in a process, including conditions a user or system is under, and connections between tasks.

Conditions are rules that dictate the flow. For example, the path I take in the flow is different if I’m ordering for pickup or delivery.

Chapter 3: Face Reality | Page 76

Try diagramming.

  1. Make a block diagram that shows how the pieces of a concept interrelate.
  2. Demystify a process by making a flow diagram.
  3. Break your latest project down into its individual tasks and make a Gantt chart.
  4. Compare a group of restaurants in your neighborhood in a quadrant diagram.
  5. Explore what happens when concepts or objects overlap using a Venn diagram.
  6. Break any multi-user process into a list of tasks per user with a swim lane diagram.
  7. Depict the content and organization of your favorite website in a hierarchy diagram.
  8. Unload all of the cool ideas in your mind right now in a mind map.
  9. Explain how to make your favorite food with a simple schematic. Bonus point for exploding it!
  10. Make a journey map of a day in your life.

Chapter 7: Prepare to Adjust | Page 149

The sum is greater than its parts.

We need to understand the sum of a lot of pieces to make sense of what we have.

For example, let’s say we’re working on bringing a product to the market. To support this process, we might create:

These are all important pieces individually, but we need to look at them together to answer questions about the whole such as: