THE 11 MAIN TYPES OF FLOWCHARTS - SCIENCE - 2025

There are various types of flowcharts or flowcharts, among which are the vertical flowchart, the horizontal flowchart, the panoramic flowchart, the block-type flowchart, among others.

Flowcharts are a graphic representation of routine activities that are necessary to perform or complete a certain job.

Symbols Used in Flow Charts

To elaborate them it is necessary to use symbols that represent specific operations, which are joined by arrows and in this way the sequence of the operation is explained.

Flow diagrams follow the chronological sequence of activities to be carried out using symbols to explain it, among the most common are the oval, the rectangle, the arrow and the rhombus.

The oval is used to mark the beginning of the process. The rectangle is the symbol that is intended to detail the activities to be followed.

The rhombus represents a decision that is presented during the process, and the arrow is used as a connector (it is the one that indicates the sequence).

Flowcharts help you understand the processes by detailing them easily and simply. Words are saved with them and the entire process can be shown in one image.

List of flowchart types

Flowcharts allow you to summarize information about a process on one or a few sheets.

A fundamental characteristic of flowcharts is that they have a beginning and an end. For this, it is necessary that before carrying out it, the objective of the process to be described is established.

Below are the different types of flowcharts according to their presentation, their purpose and their format.

1- Classification according to your presentation

The flowcharts according to their presentation are classified as follows:

1.1- Flow diagram in block form

This type of diagram is one that represents a block-based procedure. There are several types of block flow diagrams, including:

-The block diagram of production processes: This type of diagram is used only to describe how a certain product is made. It specifies the raw material that is used, as well as the processes that will be carried out in order to present the finished product.

-The mathematical model block diagram.

1.2- Detailed flow diagram

This type of flowchart shows all the details of each activity of the process, the pauses, the points where a decision should be made, the feedback, among others.

2- Classification according to its purpose

2.1- Representation diagram with illustrations and text

This type of diagram represents the activities of a procedure by means of images (illustrations or drawings). It allows all users to understand it easily, since they can relate the drawing to something physical.

For example, when you are going to perform a blood test, it is observed that the tubes where the sample is collected have caps of different colors (purple, blue and red)

The purple cap on the tube indicates that the test to be performed is hematology; the blue cap indicates it is for PTT and the red cap for chemistry. When a bioanalyst sees the top of the tubes, he already has an idea of ​​what type of test he should perform.

Therefore, if you want to explain in which test tube the blood samples should be collected for certain tests, you could use illustrations of them showing the color of the cap of each one so that whoever sees it can easily identify which one to use.

2.2- Work flow diagram

These are the diagrams that specify the who, what and what the activities consist of. An example of these types of diagrams are the panoramic, tabular and detail diagrams.

There are also other types of diagrams according to their purpose, among which are the method diagram and the analytical diagram.

3- Classification according to its format

3.1- Flow chart in vertical format

As the name implies, these types of diagrams describe the activities vertically.

Having the starting point at the top of the sheet (in the upper central part) and from there the activities are broken down. In them the activities are represented almost in the form of a list.

3.2- Flow chart in horizontal format

This type of diagram describes the sequences from left to right. To do this, the sheet must be oriented horizontally, then the beginning would be in the upper left part of it and from there the process begins to be detailed to the right.

3.3- Flowchart in panoramic format

The panoramic flowchart represents activities both vertically and horizontally.

It allows describing simultaneous actions while observing the participation of more than one department of the company.

3.4- Flow diagram of architectural type

The architectural flow chart describes the activities on the architectural plan of the work area.

In it, the company, the jobs, the people and all the elements that make up the process to be explained are represented.

3.5- Document or tabular flow diagram

These diagrams describe the flow of documents between the departments of a company or organization (shows how documents should be moved).

Consequently, in this type of diagrams appear the managements, departments or offices that intervene in the process, which are represented by columns. It details the movement of the document in each office.

4- Other types of diagrams

4.1- Synoptic diagram of the processes or synoptic course of the processes

This type of diagram only allows a general representation of the main operations of the process.

4.2- Analytical diagram of the worker or analytical course of the worker

This type of diagram shows the trajectory of a procedure, diagramming what the person working should do, how the equipment or machinery involved should be used, and how the material should be handled.

References

1. Introduction to flowcharting. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from tmv.edu.in
2. Basic Flowcharting symbols and types. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from oqi.wisc.edu
3. Process flowchart. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from conceptdraw.com
4. Types of flowcharting. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from conceptdraw.com
5. Flowcharting. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from oamk.fi
6. Introduction Flowcharts. Retrieved on October 19, 2017, from cs.ucy.ac.cy