SC QUALITY GUILDFlowchart and swimlane process map
SCQUALITYGUILD.COM/TOOLS/FLOWCHART-SWIMLANE.HTML
List the steps, the decisions and who does each one. The map draws itself, with the handoffs between departments, the rework loops and the share of time that adds value.
ON THE EXAM · CQPA II.B, CQE V.A.1, CSSBB V.A.2, CSQP VI.B, CMDA V.A, CCT V.B · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
Q-BotClick for an explanation of this tool.For educational use. This page is a study aid. The method behind it has far more depth and detail than one page and one tool can cover, and what you see here is not everything the method offers or everything this site offers. For full understanding and application, use the governing standards and texts, and seek further education, training or qualified advice. Results depend on the data you enter, so check them before relying on them.
What a flowchart is for
A flowchart shows the steps of a process in order, with the decisions that send the work one way or another. It is one of the seven basic quality tools because almost every improvement starts with the same question: what actually happens? Drawing the process with the people who do it usually turns up steps nobody knew about, loops that send work back, and approvals that wait days for a signature.
Draw the process as it is, not as the procedure says it should be. The gap between the two is often the finding.
The symbols
- Oval: start or end. Every map has a clear trigger and a clear end point.
- Box: a process step. Start each with a verb: "Inspect returned unit".
- Diamond: a decision, written as a question with one exit per answer.
- Document, delay and inspection shapes mark paperwork, waiting and checking. Those are the steps an improvement team usually looks at first.
Swimlanes
A swimlane map (a cross-functional or deployment flowchart) puts each department or role in its own lane. Every arrow that crosses a lane is a handoff, where the work changes hands. Handoffs are where work waits in someone's queue, where information gets lost, and where nobody owns the whole result. Counting them is a quick measure of how fragmented a process is.
Reading the map
- Loops back to an earlier step are rework. Ask how often each one is taken. A loop taken one time in ten is a hidden factory.
- Value-added time is time spent on work the customer would pay for. In most service and administrative processes it is a small share of the total; the rest is waiting, moving and checking.
- Decisions with one exit, or steps that go nowhere, mean the map is not finished. Usually nobody has agreed what happens in that case.
Flowchart, SIPOC or value stream map?
A SIPOC is the one-page, high-level view used to scope a project. A flowchart shows the detailed steps and decisions. A value stream map follows material and information flow with inventory and lead time. They are often used in that order.
On the exam
Flowcharts are one of the seven basic quality tools in the CQPA (II.B), CQE (V.A.1), CSQP (VI.B), CMDA (V.A) and CCT (V.B) Bodies of Knowledge. The CSSBB lists process maps and flowcharts among the process analysis tools (V.A.2). Expect to read a flowchart, find the decision or rework loop, and choose between a flowchart, a SIPOC and a value stream map for a given purpose.