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Process Flow: The Most Popular Diagram in Business Analysis
A diagram every professional must understand
A business analyst must be comfortable with various modelling techniques and notations, and proficient with those most frequently and universally used. A process flow is one of the most frequently used diagrams in requirements analysis. This article covers the basics of process flows.
While the emphasis here is on business analysis, process flows are used ubiquitously: by project managers, process analysts, operational improvement consultants and management consultants.
A process flow diagram shows the sequence of steps in a process.
It can be used to create abstract representations of any sequence of steps that has defined start and end points.
This type of diagram will have many variations, from the simplest and most abstract to intricate and detailed, using scientific or industry-specific shapes and pictures. The only common element in all process flows will be the arrows that show the sequence in which the steps are performed (think of these arrows as the movement or change of control).
For the purposes of this article, we will consider the abstract representation of a business flow that would most often use the following elements:
