How to Think With Flow Charts

Using a mental representation of flowcharts as a way of structuring your thinking can be accomplished with practice. It requires reorganizing how you look at problems or situations and developing the ability to break down any problem into manageable steps or processes. In cultivating this style of thinking, it may help to visualize flowchart symbols, but it isn't necessary. You can think of a process as being in a box and a decision as in a diamond, but what is important in utilizing the flowchart method is knowing when you are following through on a step or making a decision.

Instructions

    • 1

      Break your problem into a series of sequential steps or processes. Think of what must be done in a logical sequence in which each step has a definite place and order. Once you have an overall visual of the steps in order, look at each individual step for analysis.

    • 2

      Analyze each step in your sequence, asking yourself, "What will be the expected result of this particular step or process?" There will be one of two outcomes. Either you will expect that the same result occurs every time, or there will be multiple possible results. When there are multiple results, you'll need to add a decision into your flowchart imagery.

    • 3

      (Option 1) Think about the next step and its result when the previous result is fixed, meaning you should always have the same event or product result from the previous action or process.

    • 4

      (Option 2) Make a decisive evaluation about the possible results from an action or process. In this instance, you will need to consider all the possible results that may be a product of your step. Mentally branch your mental flowchart so that each branch follows a different result. Some results may be "bad results" requiring you branch back up and repeat an earlier step or process. Others may take you to another series of steps entirely that some results would skip. Where each branch leads depends on the result and your overall plan for accomplishing the task.

    • 5

      Follow each step, following paths completely through every possible branching at decisions, until every path reaches a definite end. It is possible that some paths end in the desired action not being completed; this means that the process has failed somewhere along the way. Other endings may produce varying results. There is no guarantee that every path will lead to the same conclusion, so be prepared for different end results.

    • 6

      Use your flowchart plan to help you find troublesome areas where problems in a particular step or process could lead to undesirable conclusions or endings and use this to refine how you do that particular step to avoid the "bad result." Let the various possibilities teach you to plan ahead for problems and variations so you can better control the outcomes in the future.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved