Information flow diagram arrows and labels

An information flow diagram shows each transfer of information as a single arrow, called a flow line. The arrow carries one piece of information from one entity to another, and its label says what that information is.

One arrow for each transfer

Each separate transfer gets its own flow line. If a scenario describes three transfers, the drawing needs three arrows. Merging them into one arrow loses the detail the diagram exists to show, because nobody can then tell who sends what to whom.

Where information passes in both directions between the same two entities, draw an arrow each way. Each direction usually carries different information, so each arrow needs its own label.

Arrowheads give the direction

Every flow line has an arrowhead. The tail of the arrow touches the sender and the head touches the receiver, so the arrowhead always points at whoever receives the information.

Direction changes meaning. An arrow from a player to a coach labelled 'signed medical form' says something completely different once reversed, because then the coach would be the one sending the form. Keep the sender on the tail and the receiver on the head.

Labels name the information

Write on each arrow the specific information being transferred, naming the document or the details, such as match registration or weekly takings. A vague label like 'information' or 'data' tells you nothing about what is sent, so it does not show the flow properly. Different wording is fine as long as it means the same information.

Worked example: a player hands a coach a signed medical form, the coach sends the squad list to the club secretary, and the secretary sends the match registration to the league organiser. That is three transfers, so it needs three arrows, each labelled with the item being sent and pointing from the sender to the receiver.