lecture flowchart

8/2/2019 Lecture Flowchart

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HOW TO DRAW AFLOWCHART

Ms. Madeleine D. Mendoza


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Preparing the flowchart and itsimportance

Once a concept germinates in your mind the next step is preparing theflowchart.

The flowchart is a way of presenting the web design process or any other processin the form of diagram.

This visual chart shows the website structure. A properly prepared flowchartreveals the elements of website, the navigational links, the titles or headingsof the items or elements, the possibility of the main pages containing otherpages, and finally the title or heading of the pages contained in the main page.

A flowchart gives direction to the web design process. It helps to organize theflow of information. It assists in knowing how much quantity of content is

necessary for designing the web site. The flowchart also shows the usability ofthe website.


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WHY A FLOWCHART?

>Flowcharts are helpful in understanding a complicated process. Thisis especially true if you have to make decisions and do different stepsdepending on those decisions. By looking at a flowchart you canvisually follow different paths through the chart>effective to visualize something graphically that it is to describe itwith words.

>explain a process clearly through symbols and text>Common alternate names include: flowchart, process flow chart,process map, process chart, business process model, processmodel, process flow diagram, work flow diagram, business flowdiagram, or just flow diagram

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All flowcharts start and end with the terminator or terminal shape. Thisis a rounded rectangle and is shown below. You use this same shapefor both the start and the end. You will see some charts with slightlydifferent terminal shapes. For example, sometimes an oval is used.This is because there is no golden standard for flowcharting.Different companies and different technical areas use different shapes.There are a few basic rules and, beyond that, you can create your ownrules for your organization. If you add your own shapes, it is important

that you explain what they are used for, so others can understand yourchart..

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TitleIt is good to have a title on your chart. Just click on the word"Text" in the HOME menu in EDRAW and use a larger font size.

To read a flowchart, you follow the arrows from shape to shape.To draw a line in EDRAW, click on the line in the stencil at theleft and then drag the mouse to draw the line in your chart. It isfaster to place all your shapes first and then draw all the lines atonce.

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Decision

The decision shape asks a question. "Are you under 65 years ofage?" If you are less than 65 years old, you follow the arrowgoing down out of the decision shape. If you are 65 or older, youfollow the arrow to the right.

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ProcessThe rectangle is used for activities or action steps. These are

things that must be done.

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CircleA circle containing a letter or number means that this chart

connects to another chart on a different page. The same circleand number are then the entry point on the new page. It is bestnot to use these, but sometimes they are necessary.

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PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

THE CHART SHOWN COULD BE PART OF THE 2006 FEDERALINCOME TAX RETURN INSTRUCTIONS. YOU START AT THETOP AND FOLLOW THE ARROWS FROM SHAPE TO SHAPE.FLOWCHARTS USUALLY GO FROM TOP TO BOTTOM OR LEFTTO RIGHT, BUT YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT. THECIRCLE WITH THE LETTER B REFERS TO A CHART ON ADIFFERENT PAGE. YOU WOULD FIND THAT PAGE AND LOOKFOR A B IN A CIRCLE. ALMOST ALL FLOWCHART CAN BE DONE

WITH ONLY THESE FOUR SHAPES.


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FIGURE 1

2 The prototyping cycle..

What do the different flowchart shapes

mean?

Terminal or Terminator ShapeThis shape tells you where the flowchart begins and ends. Itshows the entry point of your flowchart and the exit point. Todesignate the start of your flowchart, you would fill this shape

with words like Start or Begin. The words you use are up toyou


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TO DESIGNATE THE ENDING POINT OF THE CHART,THIS SHAPE IS FILLED WITH WORDS LIKE END, EXIT, ORRETURN.

Usually a flowchart has one starting point. However, a flowchart can haveas many ending points as needed. Sometimes you see this shape drawnas an oval as shown below. That is fine.


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Lines with Arrows

You read a flowchart by following the lines with arrows from

shape to shape. The lines with arrows determine the flowthrough the chart. Flowcharts are usually drawn from top tobottom or left to right. Numbering shapes is optional.Numbering is helpful if you have to refer to a shape in adiscussion Numbering does not determine the flow ofcontrol. That is determined by the lines with arrows.


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Rectangle

In most flowcharts, the rectangle is the mostcommon shape. It is used to show a process,task, action, or operation. It shows something thathas to be done or an action that has to be

taken. The text in the rectangle almost alwaysincludes a verb.


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DecisionA decision asks a question. The answer to the questiondetermines which arrow you follow out of the decisionshape. For example, in the shape below, if it is cloudy, youfollow the arrow down near the word Yes. If it is not cloudy,

you follow the arrow to the right near the word No.


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The arrows flowing from the decision shape are usually labeledwith Yes, No or True, False. But you can label them any way youwant as long as the meaning is clear. This shape has one inputarrow. It is usually at the top, but can be on any corner. Thedecision shape can have two or three exit points. If you needmore than 3 exit points, then you can use either of the methodsshown below


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If you need to connect to another page or another section of thechart, and can't draw a line, you can use a circle. You draw the lineto the circle and label the circle with a letter. Then you place a

copy of the circle where you want the flow to continue. This shouldbe avoided, but sometimes is necessary. Originally the circle wasused only to reference another part of the chart and the off pageconnector, shown later, was used to go to another page. However,the circle is now often used for both


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Input/Output

A parallelogram is used to show input or output. Examples ofinput are receiving a report, getting an e-mail, getting an order,receiving data in some format, etc. Examples of output are

generating a report, sending an e-mail, faxing a message, etc


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Off Page Connector

This shape means the flow continues on anotherpage. A letter or page number in the shape tellsyou where to go. It is an alternative to using a

circle


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Stored Data

This shape represents stored data. The data may be stored on ahard drive, magnetic tape, memory card, of any storage device.

DatabaseA cylinder represents a data file or database. This shape can alsorepresent the magnetic disc itself. A hard drive is referred to asdirect access storage since any sector on the drive can be

accessed. A tape is sequential access storage as the data has tobe read sequentially.

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