A flow chart is a pre-production document that breaks a problem or process down into separate stages. Each stage is shown as a step, and the decisions taken by organisations, people or programs are included so you can see which route the process takes.
A flow chart is mainly used where a process needs to be shown, rather than to plan a media product directly. It suits any process where the order of steps and the choices along the way matter.
| Type of process | Why a flow chart suits it |
|---|---|
| Organisational process | Shows the stages for sorting lost property and the decision about whether an owner is named. |
| Instructions for a process | Guides someone through using a self-service kiosk, including a check for whether the book has been scanned. |
| Website algorithm or process | Shows the checks a website makes before confirming a click-and-collect order is ready. |
| Computer game character algorithm or process | Shows how a game character decides whether to offer the player a side quest, including a check for whether the player has already completed it. |
| Work process | Shows the order for opening a café, including a decision about whether the till has been counted. |
A flow chart is less useful for directly planning a media product such as a poster or magazine cover. Those products depend on layout, colour, images and typography, and a flow chart cannot show where elements sit on the page or what the visual style looks like. A storyboard or visualisation diagram is a better fit for those decisions. A flow chart can still help plan a process around a media product, such as how a poster design is approved, but it does not plan the product itself.
A flow chart is a diagram that breaks a process into steps and decisions. Every shape comes from a standard set of symbols, so a flow chart drawn by one person can be read the same way by anyone else, whatever they know about the process.
| Symbol | Shape | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Terminator | Rounded rectangle or oval | The start or the end of the flow chart |
| Process | Rectangle | A step where something is done |
| Decision | Diamond | A question or comparison with more than one possible route |
| Input/output | Parallelogram | Data entering the process or leaving it |
| Arrow | Line with an arrowhead | The direction the flow travels in |
A decision box holds a question or comparison, and two arrows leave it, one labelled Yes and one labelled No. The labels matter because the shape alone does not say which route is taken when the answer is true and which when it is false. Each arrow then leads to a different part of the flow chart, so the reader can see both outcomes.
Imagine a school canteen till. The flow chart opens with a start terminator, then an input parallelogram reading “Enter money”. What the user types is stored in a variable so it can be used later. The next shape is a decision diamond asking money >= 2.50? — the comparison belongs in the diamond, not in the input box. The Yes arrow leads to a process rectangle, “Serve hot meal”, while the No arrow leads to an output parallelogram, “Display ‘not enough money’”. Both routes finish at an end terminator, so the process has one clear beginning and one clear finish.
Wireframes, flow charts and asset logs can each be created with a range of software, and sometimes without any software at all. The table shows the main choices.
| Document | Software or tool that can create it |
|---|---|
| Wireframe layout | Pen and paper, word processing software, presentation software, specialist wireframing software |
| Flow chart | By hand, word processing software, presentation software, desktop publishing software, specialist flow chart software |
| Asset log | Database, spreadsheet, word processing or desktop publishing software, dedicated asset log software |
A wireframe layout can be sketched quickly with pen and paper, which suits early ideas that are still changing. General software such as a word processor or presentation software can build one, but drawing and aligning every box and label yourself can take longer than using pen and paper or specialist wireframing software, which has tools made for the job.
A flow chart is usually made on a computer but can be drawn by hand. Basic software can add shapes and join them with arrows. Specialist flow chart software offers ready-made decision diamonds and connectors that stay attached when a box is moved, which saves time when a chart is edited.
An asset log records the assets a project needs. Dedicated asset log software exists, and a log can also be made with database, spreadsheet, word processing or desktop publishing software. Spreadsheet and database software suit logs because each asset can sit in a row and each detail, such as a file name or owner, in a column, making the list easy to sort and search. An asset log is typically created on a computer or tablet using a keyboard to type entries, a pointing device to select and move between cells, and a display to view the list.
Digitisation is turning a paper or board document into a digital file so it can be shared with others. For example, a handwritten recipe from a food technology lesson could be photographed and emailed home instead of the paper being lost.
Scanners and digital cameras mainly digitise existing documents; they do not create a new document from scratch.
A flat-bed scanner has a glass surface where you lay the page flat. Some scanners are built into another device, so you may already have one. A sheet feeder pulls through and scans many pages automatically, saving time. A scanner lights the page evenly, so you avoid shadows or poor lighting, and it can capture images and photographs at high resolution.
A digital camera is a quick way to digitise a document. A professional camera gives more control over image quality, aperture and focus, while a camera already to hand may be good enough for a simple note. A camera beats a scanner when the item is very large, three-dimensional, textured or cannot be scanned easily. For example, a scale model of a stage set can be photographed from several angles so the director can see each scene from the audience; a flat scan could not show that.
A graphics tablet is a flat pad used with a stylus. Whatever you draw on the pad appears on screen, so a game character can be created and saved as a digital file straight away. You can also place a pencil sketch on the tablet and draw over its lines with the stylus, turning the paper drawing into a digital file. Scripts are rarely handwritten, so a script is unlikely to need digitising; it is normally typed and saved digitally from the start.
Digital documents are generally easier to share than physical ones. A physical document can still be digitised with a scanner, digital camera or graphics tablet before it is shared.
Many job roles may need to understand a flow chart, and which role depends on the process it shows. The user is anyone who needs to understand the flow chart to carry out, check or build that process.
| Job role | Flow chart they may need to understand |
|---|---|
| Website designers and web developers | A flow chart for a website algorithm or process, such as the steps a customer follows to book a bike in for a repair. The web team uses it to build and check the pages in the right order. |
| Production managers, directors or editors, camera operators, audio technicians and on-screen talent | A flow chart for an organisational process, such as the steps for a filming day on location: arriving, safety briefing, setting up, filming and packing away. Each person can see their part and when to act. |
| Programmers and animators | A flow chart for a computer game character's algorithm or process. The programmer uses it to program the character's behaviour, and the animator uses it so the character's actions match the same decisions. |
| Campaign managers | A flow chart for a promotional process, such as approving a short video advert for a leisure centre open day. It shows who checks the advert and when it can be posted online. |
The flow chart should match the role that carries out or checks the process. A website booking flow chart is used by the web team, while a game character flow chart is used by programmers and animators. When the flow chart fits the role, the right person can follow it and make the right decisions.
An effective flow chart can be followed by someone who has never seen the process before. It uses the correct standard symbols throughout and starts and ends with a terminator, so the reader knows exactly where the process begins and stops. Every decision has both arrows labelled Yes and No. Input/output and process boxes are complete: they say what data is entered or displayed and what action is carried out, rather than using a vague label such as 'details'. The chart contains enough detail to represent each stage and decision that actually occurs, leaving nothing out.
Improving a draft means changing its content so it matches the real process, not just making it neater. A useful check is to walk through the process from memory and compare each stage with the draft.
| Draft problem | Specific improvement |
|---|---|
| A decision has only one arrow labelled. | Label both routes from the decision Yes and No so every path is clear. |
| An input says 'Enter days borrowed', but the decision just asks 'Overdue?'. | Use the variable name in the input, such as days_borrowed, and put the comparison in the decision: days_borrowed > 14? |
| A step is missing. | Add the missing process box, such as 'Print due-date slip'. |
| An output box just says 'book'. | Complete it so the data leaving the process is clear, such as 'Display book title and due date'. |
| The start or end symbol is missing. | Add the missing terminator. |
| The draft skips a check that really happens. | Add the missing step or decision, such as 'Book already on loan?' before the book is issued, so the flow chart reflects the real process. |
If a draft is too simple, add the missing detail until it represents the process fully. Improvements should be specific to the process shown. A vague 'make it clearer' is much less useful than 'label the Book already on loan? decision Yes and No'.