Cross-functional flow diagram features

- Swimmers, take your mark, get set, go! Cross-functional flow diagrams are recognized by their distinctive swim lane appearance. In fact, they're often referred to as swim lane diagrams. The swim lane will encompass all activities that fall to the responsibility of a particular functional area, just like a swimming race. You need to stay in your lane. All cross-functional flow diagrams are clearly named at the top of the diagram. Each actor is assigned their own swim lane and only those actors that have a part to play in the process need to be involved and assigned a swim lane. You will see in the example, the customer, merchant and credit card company are the three actors that will be participating in this cross-functional flow process. The great thing about these diagrams is that at a glance, you can see who is involved in the end-to-end process. There are many templates out there that can be used to create cross-functional flow diagrams and you'll find that their shapes can vary slightly. However, the general appearance of the shape will be the same. Each shape means something specific, so it's important that you understand that each is used for and what they represent. These shapes are called flow chart symbols. There are many different flow chart symbols and each have a specific purpose. To get started through, let's take a look at the six most common shapes. Firstly, there is the circle, which is the symbol used as the start and endpoints, also known as a terminator. The terminator represents where the process starts and terminates. Some templates use circles as connectors or links to other process maps and add the trigger on top of the circle. You can use circles or rounded rectangles like this one on your start or end point where the trigger is inside the rounded rectangle. Just make sure you're consistent so as not to confuse the reader. The next shape, and the one that's most commonly used is the rectangle or process box. I like to use the 90-degree angle boxes, though you may also encounter round edges. They both mean the same thing. The process box is used to capture each action needed to be performed and it is mapped out in the swim lane of the actor responsible for that activity. Here the merchant will submit purchase amount. The credit card company will authorize purchase and the merchant will complete sale and so the process goes on. Where the activities are more detailed, a separate process workflow or flow chart may be required. They can be represented in cross-functional flow diagrams as a pre-defined process or sub processes. Type boxes with the distinctive parallel lines. Some templates with have a small plus symbol as well and that will indicate they can be expanded on for more detail. This is a great feature as you're able to concentrate on communicating thoroughly how actions flow from functional area to functional area without clouding the document with lengthy, detailed workflows. Next up, we have the diamond shape or decision symbol. This symbol is used to indicate a step in the process where a decision has to be made. The outcome of that decision will split the flow of events into different exit paths from the diamond. Finally, all of the components are linked together with arrows or connectors, indicating the direction and order that the activities take place. They essentially connect all of the elements together and direct the reader through the process. In cross-functional flow diagram, the sequencing of steps will flow from the left to the right, moving up and down as the activity passes onto the next functional area so that they can perform their task. Arrows or connectors are not just used to show the direction of flow but can also be used to provide additional key information. Take the decision process symbol, for instance. You can see here that the diamond symbol contains a question. The direction of flow will be determined by the answer to that question. Annotating the connector with a yes or no allows the flow to respond accordingly and an alternative path is created. Now that you know how to create end-to-end processes using cross-functional flow diagrams, you'll be well on your way to winning that next swimming gold medal in no time.