For this assignment, you will practice drawing a process flowchart. A process flowchart provides a visual representation of the steps in a process. Constructing a flowchart is often one of the first activities of a process improvement effort because it provides a clear understanding of the process and flow of resources, helps to identify non-value-added operations, and facilitates teamwork and communication (the flow of information and people).
To complete this assignment, refer to problem 3 in the “Problems and Activities” section at the end of Chapter 7 in your text.
Specifically, be sure to address the following:
- Draw a flowchart for a process of interest to you, such as a quick oil change service, a factory process you might have worked in, ordering a pizza, renting a car or truck, buying products on the internet, or applying for an automobile loan. You must include a legend to accompany your process flowchart. See the examples in Chapter 7 of your text for examples of flow charts.
- Identify the points where something (people, information) waits for service or is held in work-in-process inventory, the estimated time to accomplish each activity in the process, and the total flow time. Remember that a decision symbol must have at least two direction arrows to accompany it.
- Evaluate how well the process works and what might be done to improve it.
To successfully complete this assignment, view the Process Flowchart Drawing Assignment Rubric document.
