“ FLOWCHARTS ”

Project Report

Submitted towards Partial

Fulfillment

Of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

(Approved by AICTE, Govt. of India)

Academic Session

2010-2012

Submitted To:-

Prof. Sunil Bakshi

DEFINITION OF A FLOWCHART

A flowchart is a diagrammatic representation that illustrates the sequence of operations to be performed to get the solution of a problem. Flowcharts are generally drawn in the early stages of formulating computer solutions. Flowcharts facilitate communication between programmers and business people. These flowcharts play a vital role in the programming of a problem and are quite helpful in understanding the logic of complicated and lengthy problems. Hence, it is correct to say that a flowchart is a must for the better documentation of a complex program.

A flow chart can therefore be used to: Define and analyze processes.

Build a step-by-step picture of the process for analysis, discussion, or communication.

Define, standardize or find areas for improvement in a process.

Example:-

Draw a flowchart to find the sum of first 50 natural numbers.

Answer: The required flowchart is given in Fig.1

HISTORY OF FLOWCHARTS

The first structured method for documenting process flow, the "flow process chart", was introduced by Frank Gilbreth to members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1921 in the presentation “Process Charts—First Steps in Finding the One Best Way”. Gilbreth's tools quickly found their way into industrial engineering curricula. In the early 1930s, an industrial engineer, Allan H. Mogensen began training business people in the use of some of the tools of industrial engineering at his Work Simplification Conferences in Lake Placid, New York.

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 and readably 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 gotos to describe arbitrary jumps in control flow.

WHEN SHOULD TEAMS USE FLOWCHARTS?

At the beginning of your process improvement efforts, an as-is Flowchart helps your team and others involved in the process to understand how it currently works. The team may find it helpful to compare this as-is Flowchart with a diagram of the way the process is supposed to work. Later, the team will develop a Flowchart of the modified process—again, to record how it actually functions. At some point, your team may want to create an ideal Flowchart to show how you would ultimately like the process to be performed.

Promote understanding of a process by explaining the steps pictorially. People may have differing ideas about how a process works. A Flowchart can help you gain agreement about the sequence of steps. Flowcharts promote understanding in a way that written procedures cannot do. One good Flowchart can replace pages of words.

Provide a tool for training employees. Because of the way they visually lay out the sequence of process steps, Flowcharts can be very helpful in training employees to perform the process according to standardized procedures.

Identify problem areas and opportunities for process improvement. Once you break down the process steps and diagram them, problem areas become more visible. It is easy to spot opportunities for simplifying and refining your process by analyzing decision points, redundant steps, and rework loops.

Depict customer-supplier relationships, helping the process workers to understand who their customers are, and how they may sometimes act as suppliers and sometimes as customers in relation to other people.

Some practical applications for flowcharting are:

The steps in troubleshooting a broken turbine. The process used to fight a class BRAVO fire. How to clean a berthing compartment. The process used for getting the ship underway.

ADVANTAGES OF USING FLOWCHARTS

The benefits of flowcharts are as follows:

1. Communication: Flowcharts are better way of communicating the logic of a system to all concerned.

2. Effective analysis: With the help of flowchart, problem can be analyzed in more effective way.

3. Proper documentation: Program flowcharts serve as a good program documentation, which is needed for various purposes.

4. Efficient Coding: The flowcharts act as a guide or blueprint during the systems analysis and program development phase.

5. Proper Debugging: The flowchart helps in debugging process.

6. Efficient Program Maintenance: The maintenance of operating program becomes easy with the help of flowchart. It helps the programmer to put efforts more efficiently on that part.

LIMITATIONS OF USING FLOWCHARTS

1. Complex logic: Sometimes, the program logic is quite complicated. In that case, flowchart becomes complex and clumsy.

2. Alterations and Modifications: If alterations are required the flowchart may require re-drawing completely.

3. Reproduction: As the flowchart symbols cannot be typed, reproduction of flowchart becomes a problem.

4. The essentials of what is done can easily be lost in the technical details of how it is done.

COMMONLY USED SYMBOLS IN THE FLOWCHARTS

One step in the process; the step is written inside the box. Usually, only one arrow goes out of the box.

Direction of flows from one-step or decision to another.

Decision based on a question. The question is written in the diamond. More than one arrow goes out of the diamond, each one showing the direction the process takes for a given answer to the question. (Often the answers are “ yes” and “ no.”)

Delay or wait

The Connector Symbol represents the exit to, or entry from, another part of the same flowchart. It is usually used to break a flow line that will be continued elsewhere. It's a good idea to reference page numbers for easy location of connectors.

Input or output

The Document Symbol is used to represent any type of hard copy input or output (i.e. reports).

Alternate symbols for start and end points.

HOW TO CONSTRUCT A FLOWCHART?

Determine the flowchart’s purpose:- The major purpose of a

flowchart is to explain a process. If this is not your purpose, then

clearly determine what it is before making the flowchart.

Determining the purpose will be easier if you take into

consideration the people who will use it and how it is supposed to

work for them.

List down the details that will be displayed on the flowchart:-

You can observe the entire process or review the management to

get the details for the flowchart. Take note also that the details of it

also depend on the flowchart level—macro, mini, or micro. Macro-

level flowchart is more generalized and it describes the bigger

picture. Micro-level flowchart is more detailed. Mini-level

flowchart is not as detailed as the mini but not as generalized as the

macro. Usually, it describes more specifically a portion in the

macro-level.

Create the flowchart:- First, you have to determine the flowchart

boundaries or the beginning and ending of the chart. After that,

determine the processes involved in the middle. The simpler the

flowchart is, the faster you can construct the flowchart.

Make use of the following different flowchart symbols:-

1. Oval:- This depicts the starting and ending point.

2. Box:- This symbolizes every step in the process. One step, one box.

3. Diamond:- This shows the deciding point—yes or no, go or stop. In a

flowchart, every possible answer should be given a diamond. And

every diamond should have its own possible outcome.

4. Circle:- This tells that a certain step is associated within a step.

5. Pentagon:- This indicates that a certain step is connected to another

step.

6. Flow line:- This will give the “flow” in the flowchart. The flow line is

composed of a straight line and an arrow.

When creating a flowchart, always start with the process’s big picture,

even if you will be making a micro-level or mini-level flowchart.

Logically arrange the steps and review them after that. You may use 1, 2,

3 or a, b, c. After that, draw the flowchart, considering the right shapes to

use for each step. You can draw it by hand or use a special program to

create the flowchart. Creating a flowchart is surely easy but making an

effective one is not. But with the steps above, you should be closer to

making an effective flowchart.

LEVELS OF FLOWCHART

When you are developing a Flowchart, consider how it will be used and the amount and kind of information needed by the people who will use it. This will help you determine the level of detail to include. 1. Macro level: - The top leadership may not need the amount of detail required by the workers in a process. A “big picture,” or macro-level, view of the process may be enough for their purposes. Generally, a macro-level Flowchart has fewer than six steps. Think of it as a view of the ground from an airplane flying at 30,000 feet.2. Mini level: - The term "mini" or "midi" is used for a Flowchart that falls between the big picture of the macro level and the fine detail of the micro level. Typically, it focuses on only a part of the macro-level Flowchart. Using the airplane analogy, you see the level of detail as if looking at the ground from 10,000 feet.

3. Micro level:- People trying to improve the way a job is done need a detailed depiction of process steps. The micro-level, or ground-level, view provides a very detailed picture of a specific portion of the process by documenting every action and decision. It is commonly used to chart how a particular task is performed.