Flow Charting – Disadvantages

1. Flow Charting – Disadvantages
Spring
22
IT
Department
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
• Despite influence from ANSI standards, there are many variations
• May be imprecise when used to depict complex business processes
• Objects do not have robust set of descriptive attributes
• Models constructed are “flat”
• Requires use of connector symbols to show where process segments
continue
• Not generally considered robust enough for complex process
capture
51

2. FlowCharting– Example(showinga fewofthemost commonlyused
symbols)
IT
Departm
ent
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
Spring
22
52
Note: Two examples are provided here (the other is on the next slide) to illustrate how
much flow-charting symbols can vary in appearance from one organization to another

3. FlowCharting– Example(showinga fewofthemost commonlyused
symbols)
Spring
22
IT
Department
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
53
For more information:
• Applicable ANSI standards
• Introductory computer programming course related materials

4. Event Process Chain
(EPC)
• EPC ranges from very simple to very complex
• It describes events as either triggering or resulting
from a process step called a “function”
• Thus, the flow is normally even-function-event
• EPC relies upon logical operators called “rules”:
• e.g. AND, OR, EXCLUSIVE OR
Spring
22
IT
Department
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
54

5. EPC – Key Features
• The EPC method was developed in early 1990s
• It can be used for modeling, analyzing, and re-
designing business processes
• May be enhance with vertical or horizontal swim lanes
• Simple core set of easily-recognized symbols,
augmented with a large number of optional or special-
purpose objects
Spring
22
IT
Department
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
55

6. EPC – When to Use
• Modeling complex sets of processes with
many process interfaces and sub-models
• To fill in details of process below the levels
addressed by some enterprise architecture
frameworks
Spring
22
IT
Department
@
Computer
Science
Faculty,
KU
56