Flowchart Symbols Explained: Document, Data, Database and Subprocess in Visio
Beyond boxes and diamonds: learn when to use the document, data, database and subprocess symbols in a Visio flowchart, with a customer complaint process as the example.
Step by step
Intro
- Flowchart symbols. Most flowcharts only use boxes and diamonds. But four more symbols make your diagrams much clearer. Let's use them in a customer complaint process in Visio.
- Basic Flowchart Shapes. They're all in the Basic Flowchart Shapes stencil.
Start and process
- Start. Start as usual. A customer calls with a complaint.
- Process. The agent logs the complaint. That's a normal process box. Connect them.
Document
- Document. Symbol one, the document. The wavy bottom means a paper or electronic document is created. Here, a complaint form. Connect the log step to it.
Subprocess
- Subprocess. Symbol two, the subprocess, the box with double sides. It means this step has its own detailed flowchart somewhere else. Investigating a complaint is a whole process on its own. Connect it.
Data
- Data. Symbol three, data, the slanted box. It's an input or output, here the refund amount the investigation decides. Connect it.
Database
- Database. Symbol four, the database, the cylinder. It shows where information is stored. The refund is saved in the CRM. Connect the refund to the database.
End
- End. And finish with an end shape. Connect it, and we're done.
- Done. Click away to see the whole flow.
Recap
- Recap. So, document for paperwork, subprocess for a step with its own flowchart, data for inputs and outputs, and the cylinder for stored data.
