Flow Chart SoftwareComparison of flowchart software, Excel flow chart templates, swim lane diagram, and other tools for business process mapping
The
Swim Lane Functional Flow Chart |
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Purposes of a Swim Lane Functional Flow Chart Software
- To graphically depict process that cross functional workgroups.
- To calculate the Cycle Time and Lead Time of the process.
- To calculate employee staffing requirements for each functional workgroup.
- To identify and eliminate waste.
Notice how this chart auto-calculates cycle time (time spent doing actual work) and lead time (time it takes to complete the process - including time spent waiting for someone to start working on it again):
- For the entire process - (correctly using only the longest time for things that happen simultaneously)
- For each functional "swim lane" - so you know how many hours are needed for each Department or functional area to staff this re-designed process
Flow Chart Software Comparison:
When to use flowchart vs.
other Lean tools
| Compare flowchart software to other Lean tools | |
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Value Stream Mapping Value Stream Mapping is used to depict the flow of inventory (and the information related to inventory planning and control) through a "value stream supply chain", (which might span more than one company). |
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Spaghetti Diagram A Spaghetti Diagram shows a floor plan of your work area, and graphically shows the walk paths of each worker, and which operations are done where, and how much inventory is stored where. |
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Standard Work Combination Sheet The Standard Work Combination Sheet is the ideal tool for designing and documenting Lean processes with short cycle times. (For example a manufacturing process that takes five minutes, or a loan approval process that takes 2 hours) |
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Flow chart A simple flow chart (without swim lanes) is probably the most familiar tool to graphically illustrate "who does what", and what decisions need to be made along the way. And we all know how many words one picture is worth... |
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Swim Lane Functional Flow chart This is the ideal tool for designing and documenting processes with medium-length cycle times. (For example a sales order process, engineering changes, or any process that takes days or weeks rather than minutes) |
It is not uncommon for a company to purchase the Systems2win Lean Kaizen Business Process Improvement templates for the Value Stream Map, Spaghetti Diagram, or full suite of Kaizen tools, and then in a year or so come to notice that the template that you actually use the most is the Functional Flowchart.
Fortunately, when you purchase the Systems2win templates, you don't need to choose. Every one of these power tools can be packaged together as part of the Continuous Improvement suite of templates.
Comparison: Flow chart software vs. flow chart templates
| Flowchart Software | Systems2win Excel templates | |
|---|---|---|
| Functionality |
Many applications don't have all of the flowchart formats most useful for business process improvement |
See the useful types of flowcharts described above. |
| Ease of use |
Users must learn proprietary software |
Everything you know about Excel - you
can use in these templates |
| On-line help |
Typical on-line help for a proprietary software application |
Extensive help includes: |
| On-line education |
Usually none |
Extensive on-line education includes: |
| 1 year free technical support |
Varies |
Yes. |
| Cost |
$200-400 per seat |
As low as $199 a seat with quantity discounts |
Have you sat in on one of our
free live webinars yet? |
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