20. Flowchart symbols

Flowcharts are meant to be shared with other people and so it makes sense that everyone uses the same shapes for certain things. This is called having a "Standard".

As it happens the American National Standard Institute developed a set of symbol that have now become the standard.

Some standard symbols are:

Start/End - the terminator symbol marks the starting or ending point of the process. It usually contains the word "Start" or "End."

Action or Process - a box can represent a single step ("add two cups of flour"), or an entire sub-process ("make bread") within a larger process.

Decision - a decision or branching point. Lines representing different decisions emerge from different points of the diamond.

Input/Output - represents material or information entering or leaving the process, such as customer order (input) or a product (output).

Data storage -iIndicates a step where data gets stored. For Example "Save Orders"

Delay - indicates a delay in the process. For example "Wait 1 day"