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As a program manager, you're concerned with all the details of your business process. You want to know, for example, why your production team consistently misses deadlines.

According to the editors, the graphics team is holding up the process; the writers believe it’s the editors. But you suspect that the problem is in the production system and processes.

To fix the problem, you need to know where the bottlenecks are — so the first thing to do is document the existing process flow.

Capture the current process

With Microsoft Office Visio® 2003, you can easily create visual representations of information, systems, and ideas. You can choose from a number of business process templates including a work flow diagram, cause-and-effect diagram, and data flow diagram.

In this scenario, try using the cross-functional flowchart template to capture the production process. After you open a new diagram based on the template, you can:

• Build the diagram by adding shapes
• Add text to the shapes
• Connect related shapes
• Fine-tune the diagram by resizing or rotating shapes, adding a background, and giving the diagram a title

Create a cross-functional flowchart

Show me an example

1. On the File menu, point to New, point to Business Process or Flowchart, and then click Cross-functional Flowchart.
2. Choose the orientation you want for the functional bands (Functional Band shape: Represents a functional unit, such as a department, in which process steps occur. You use either horizontal or vertical functional band shapes depending on the orientation you want for your diagram.) in your flowchart, the number of bands (up to five), and whether you want to add a title bar to the top of the bands.

    Note   You can add or delete bands later, but you cannot change from one orientation to another after you start creating the diagram.

3. To label the diagram and functional bands, click a field with placeholder text, and then type the name.

   Tip

   To change the orientation of all the labels, right-click the title bar or the border around the flowchart, and then click Display All Band Labels Vertically or Display All Band Labels Horizontally.
4. Add new bands or delete unneeded ones.

   Add a functional band

   1. From Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes, drag a Functional band shape to the boundary of the band where you want it to appear. The new functional band snaps into position, and other functional bands on the page reposition accordingly.
   2. With the band selected, type to add a label.

   Delete a functional band

   • Click the label of the functional band you want to delete, and then press the DELETE key.

    Note   When you delete a functional band, you also delete all the shapes the band contains.

5. From Basic Flowchart Shapes, drag flowchart shapes to the appropriate locations on bands or across bands to represent steps in the process.
6. Connect the flowchart shapes.

   How

   1. Click the Connector tool and then drag from a connection point on the first shape to a connection point on the second shape.

   2. When you have finished connecting shapes, click the Pointer tool.

7. To label a flowchart shape or a connector, select it, and then type the name.
8. To indicate a phase in your process, add a Separator shape.

   How

   1. From Cross-Functional Flowchart Shapes, drag a Separator shape to the place in the flowchart where you want to indicate the beginning of a phase. The shape extends across all the bands.
   2. With the separator selected, type to add a label.

      Tip

      To reposition a label, click the Text Block tool , click a label, and then drag it to a new location.

       Note   When you move a separator, all the flowchart shapes to the right of it (or below it if the orientation is vertical) move with the separator.

9. Resize and rotate shapes as necessary.

   Resize a shape

   Click a shape to select it and do one of the following:
   • If the shape has selection handles , drag one until the shape is the size you want. To resize the shape proportionally, drag a corner handle.
   • If the shape has endpoints , drag an endpoint to the length you want.

     Tip

     To zoom in on the drawing, on the View menu, point to Zoom, and then click an option.

   Rotate a shape

   • Select the shape, and then drag the rotation handle .
10. To add text to a shape, select it, and then type the text.
11. To enhance your diagram, add a background and title.

    Add a background

    1. Open the Backgrounds stencil.

       How?

       • On the File menu, point to Shapes, point to Visio Extras, and then click Backgrounds.
    2. From the Backgrounds stencil, drag a shape onto the drawing page.
    The design appears on a new background page of your drawing, and resizes to fit the page.

    Add a title

    1. Open the Borders and Titles stencil.

       How?

       • On the File menu, point to Shapes, point to Visio Extras, and then click Borders and Titles.
    2. From the Borders and Titles stencil, drag a title shape onto the drawing page.
    3. With the shape selected, type the text you want.

Additional Business Process templates

To find additional Business Process templates, do one of the following:

• When you first open Visio, click Business Process in the Category list, and then select a diagram or flowchart.

  — Or —

• If the Category list isn’t visible, point to New on the File menu, point to Business Process, and then select a diagram or flowchart.

Audit Diagram

Create auditing flowchart diagrams for accounting, financial management, fiscal information tracking, money management, decision flowcharts, and financial inventories.

Show me an example

Basic Flowchart

Create flowcharts, top-down diagrams, information tracking diagrams, process planning diagrams, and structure prediction diagrams.

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Cause and Effect Diagram

Create diagrams that illustrate problem-solving.

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Data Flow Diagram

Use for process-oriented or data-oriented models, data flowcharts, and data process, structured analysis, and information flow diagrams (only available in Visio Professional.)

Show me an examples

EPC Diagram

Create diagrams that illustrate business processes as chains of functions and events. Event-driven Process Chain (EPC) diagrams are a key component of SAP R/3 methodologies for business engineering.

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Fault Tree Analysis Diagram

Create diagrams that document events that might lead to failure so that failures can be prevented. Fault tree analysis diagrams are commonly used in Six Sigma processes.

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TQM Diagram

Create Total Quality Management (TQM) diagrams for business process re-engineering, continuous improvement, and quality solutions.

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Work Flow Diagram

Represent business process re-engineering and the automation of business processes. Show information flow in accounting, management, and human resources tasks in industry, business, and manufacturing.

Show me an example