How to Turn Interview Notes into a Flowchart in Visio (4 Simple Rules)
You've interviewed a stakeholder and have a page of notes. Learn four simple rules to turn those notes into a clean flowchart in Visio: triggers, verbs, ifs and endings, with a refund request as the example.
Step by step
- Notes to flowchart. You've interviewed a stakeholder and have a page of notes. Here, 4 simple rules turn those notes into a flowchart in Visio.
- The notes. The notes say: a customer emails a refund request. The agent finds the order. If it's older than 30 days, the agent declines it. Otherwise, finance refunds the card. The flowchart shapes you need are in the Shapes pane.
- Rule 1 - Trigger = start. Rule 1: the trigger becomes the start. Ask what kicks the process off. Here it's the customer's email, so drag a Start/End shape onto the page and type Refund request emailed.
- Rule 2 - Verbs = processes. Rule 2: every action someone does becomes a Process box. The agent finds the order, so drop a Process shape and type Find the order. Then connect Refund request emailed to Find the order.
- Rule 3 - If = decision. Rule 3: every if becomes a Decision. Listen for words like if, otherwise and unless. Drop a Decision shape and type the question Older than 30 days? Connect Find the order to the decision. If the order isn't too old, finance refunds the card. That's the happy path, so put a Process box called Refund the card straight below the decision. Connect the decision to Refund the card and label that line No. If the order is too old, the agent declines it. Put a Process box called Decline request off to the side. Connect the decision to Decline request and label that line Yes.
- Rule 4 - Every path ends. Rule 4: every path must end. The notes don't say how the process ends, so that's a question for your stakeholder. Here, the customer is told the outcome, so drop a Start/End shape called Customer told. Connect Refund the card to Customer told. Then connect Decline request to Customer told, so both paths reach the end.
- Done. Click on an empty part of the page to clear the selection. Now you can see the whole flowchart: 6 shapes, from Refund request emailed down to Customer told.
- The 4 rules. To recap: the trigger is the start, actions are Process boxes, every if is a Decision, and every path ends. Anything the notes don't tell you becomes a question for the next interview.
Common mistakes
- Making up an ending the notes don't give. If the notes stop at Refund the card, don't guess what happens next. Add a placeholder end and write the gap down as a question for the stakeholder, such as how the customer is told.
- Decision branches with no labels. A diamond with 2 unlabelled lines can't be read. Write the decision as a yes/no question, like Older than 30 days?, and label each line leaving it Yes or No.
- Connectors that aren't attached to the shapes. If a connector end is dropped near a shape but not on it, the line stays put when you move the shape. Drag each end onto the shape until it snaps on, then move a shape to check the line follows.
- Putting 2 actions in one Process box. A box like Find the order and check the date hides a step and makes the decision harder to place. Give each action its own box, starting with a verb.
When a business analyst uses this
After a discovery interview about a refund process, a business analyst drafts the current process in Visio using these 4 rules before the follow-up workshop. Each gap, like how the customer is told, goes into the open questions log, so the stakeholder can confirm or correct the flowchart before sign-off.
Questions people ask
What are the rules for turning interview notes into a flowchart?
The trigger becomes the start shape, each action someone does becomes a Process box, each if becomes a Decision, and every path must end. Anything the notes don't cover becomes a question for the stakeholder.
Should the yes or the no branch go straight down from a decision?
There is no fixed rule. A common habit is to keep the happy path straight down and put exceptions to the side. In this example that means No (not too old) goes down to Refund the card.
Can 2 paths in a flowchart share one end shape?
Yes. Here both Refund the card and Decline request connect to one Start/End shape, Customer told. You can also give each path its own end if the outcomes are different.
