Flow-chart Diagram Assignment

So, I just handed in my flow-chart for FIS 1311 and realized I neglected to include the following: “Hand in a printed copy of your diagram with a short description and URL of the modeled process and brief notes on your thoughts and observations. “

Woops. I will now attempt to fulfill this requirement here:

For this assignment, I chose to diagram the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) process as in place at University of Toronto Libraries (UTL). Included in my chart were several variables that would lead the user to alternate process paths. My initial thinking was that I was to mark these paths as well and include them on the same page, but this was not the case. So, instead of making actual charts for other possible endings (such as the intercampus delivery process, placing items on hold, etc.), I used the off-page connector symbol with instructions for the user to proceed to the appropriate page.

My initial paper&pen sketch seemed simple enough (I whipped it up in under 5 mins. I was rather proud of my efficiency), however, mapping it out on-screen proved to be a little trickier, and took a lot more than 5 mins. to create. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a tendency to obsess over aesthetic details. In this assignment I was enraptured with colour co-ordination choices and object size/shape congruency: “Oooh colouring the step-rectangles green makes sense, but which shade of green should I use?”, and “OK. These diamonds MUST be the same size. I’ll have none of this uneven ugliness on my flow-chart!”

Well, you get the idea.

Once I was pleased with the chart design and layout, I tested it from the perspective of an inexperienced, first-time user. Sure enough, I was missing steps. The missing steps were pretty basic, and certainly wouldn’t be necessary on a process-chart designed for any of us (i.e., the research elite), but I wanted to illustrate the process step-by-step, and from beginning to end. I plotted the diagram without making any assumptions as to the user’s intellect, experience, or comprehension level(s). In doing so, I created a bias-free design that anyone capable of following directional arrows and responding to simple “yes” and “no” questions could use. I suspect that by including every step my chart also would lower (if not eliminate) the chances of process failure or user confusion/error.

The downside to this, however, was that my chart grew to larger proportion than anticipated. A LOT larger. I created the chart on-line, using the free-version at gliffy.com. Resizing/shrinking/printer options don’t appear to be included in the basic version. So, I saved the chart to hard-drive and opened it in various editing programs (Adobe Photoshop, ACDSee, MSPaint… OK, kidding on the last one..)

In the end, I managed to get my chart small enough to fit on one 8×11.5″ page (rather than the side of a bus). Though, you might want to have your reading classes close-by, just in case…

CLICK HERE to view the pretty web-sized version