Excalidraw Tutorial for Business Analysts: Your First Flowchart
Excalidraw is a free hand-drawn whiteboard that runs in your browser, with no account. Learn the basics a business analyst needs: draw boxes and a decision, type labels, glue arrows to shapes, label the paths and add a colour, using an online shop checkout flow.
Step by step
A free sketch whiteboard
- Excalidraw for BAs. Need a quick sketch of a process for a workshop? Excalidraw is a free whiteboard in your browser, and you don't need an account. Here's the checkout flow we'll sketch for our online shop.
- excalidraw.com. Go to excalidraw.com. The canvas is empty and ready, and all the tools sit in the toolbar at the top.
Boxes and labels
- Draw a box. Pick the rectangle, or just press R, and drag on the canvas. Then press Enter and type. Add to cart. Draw the next step to the right, a little wider. Enter address.
Glue the arrows
- Arrows. Now pick the arrow and drag from the edge of the first box to the edge of the next. Excalidraw glues the arrow to both boxes.
- Decision. A diamond is a decision. Draw one and ask a short question. Paid?
- Arrows. Glue an arrow from enter address to the decision.
Label the paths
- Label the paths. If the payment went through, we ship the order. Add that step on the right. Draw the arrow, then press Enter and type yes. Every path out of a decision needs a label. If the payment fails, the customer tries again. Put that step under the decision. Arrow down from the decision, and label it no.
- Loop back. After a new try, the customer checks the address again. One more arrow back up. That's a loop.
- Colour. Want the decision to stand out? Select it and pick a soft yellow background in the panel on the left.
- The finished flow. Click an empty spot to see the finished sketch. Boxes for steps, a diamond for the decision, and labelled paths.
Recap
- The rules. So, pick a tool and drag to draw, press Enter to label, and drag arrows from edge to edge so they stick. Label every path out of a decision. Subscribe for more Excalidraw tips for business analysts.