Best Practices for Flowchart Design

These are my top tips and best practices to consider for creating effective flow charts:

1. Define the Purpose

• Start with a clear understanding of the flowchart’s purpose. Know what process or system the flowchart is intended to represent or improve.

2. Use Standard Symbols

• Stick to universally recognized symbols (e.g., rectangles for processes, diamonds for decisions) to ensure consistency and readability.

3. Keep It Simple

• Aim for simplicity to avoid overwhelming the reader. Use short, clear labels for each step and avoid over-complicating the diagram.

4. Follow a Logical Flow

• Ensure the flowchart has a clear starting point and follows a logical sequence of steps. Use arrows to guide the reader through the flowchart smoothly.

5. Minimize Cross-overs

• Design the flowchart to minimize line crossings, as these can make the chart harder to follow. Consider using connectors or making the chart multi-tiered if necessary.

6. Use Swimlanes for Complex Processes

• For processes that involve multiple departments or roles, use swimlanes to delineate responsibilities clearly.

7. Include Decision Points

• Clearly mark decision points and ensure that all possible outcomes are represented. This helps in understanding how decisions impact the process flow.

8. Iterate and Simplify

• After drafting, review the flowchart to identify any steps that can be combined, simplified, or removed to make the flow more efficient.

9. Validate the Flowchart

• Consult with stakeholders or individuals familiar with the process to validate the accuracy of the flowchart. This can help identify any missing steps or inefficiencies.

10. Use Colors Strategically

• Employ colors to categorize different types of actions or decisions, but use them sparingly to avoid distraction.

11. Maintain Alignment and Proportion

• Ensure that the symbols and text are aligned and sized proportionally for a clean, professional appearance.

12. Provide a Legend

• If your flowchart uses unique symbols or color codes, include a legend for reference.

13. Optimize for Readability

• Make sure the text is legible, with a font size and style that are easy to read. Avoid jargon, and use terminology that is familiar to the intended audience.

14. Review and Update Regularly

• Processes can evolve over time, so review and update the flowchart as needed to ensure it remains accurate and relevant.

@Ria S Love that you called out simplicity! That’s one of the biggest benefits of visualizing a process, in my opinion - you can cut through the clutter with straightforward steps. 

@Ria S Excellent tips and best practices. 

Adding a few more which I noticed here :

• Always format the flow from left to right or top to bottom.
• Run the return lines under the flowchart, ensuring they don’t overlap.
• Maintain consistent spacing between symbols.
• Use the correct symbol for each step (diamond shapes are for decisions, rectangles are for processes, and start/end shapes should be the same, etc.)

These are helpful tips @hsukesan! Thanks for adding! 

@Ria S @hsukesan Awesome tips

Just adding to you guys idea of “Simplicity”, i've seen and awesome feedback from users when we decide/establish the specific board (e.g. Lucidspark) as the common ground/place for every other work.

Just to elaborate:  I work with development teams using Jira as our Sprint Backlog and Goal for specific sprint. Usually I use one board for every major project and we discuss next steps, business concepts and next deliverables on them.

After we have consensus, I usually write the issue card on Jira and hyperlink the issue card within the board.

Is a easy way to give reports to stakeholders and also keep the Devs within the same pace and idea. 

PS: Another idea (which is not related to Flowcharts at all ) is to use the same board as the meeting notes and agenda. This is an example:

For our Weekly meeting we use the stickers as the topic to be discussed and circled back. 

Love these tips! Lucid is very user (and use case) specific, but having helpful insights into the tool is key and extremely useful!