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While it may be a little dusty now, and doubtless does not represent the
latest and greatest, I found:
James Martin, Recommended Diagramming Standards for Analysts and
Programmers: A Basis for Automation, 1987 (Prentice-Hall)
to be an excellent resource. He emphasises the need for clear thinking,
and the use of appropriate diagram types for specific tasks. While his
book ultimately addresses the needs of, and certain problems specific
to, programmers, he nonetheless looks in depth at mapping business
processes and activities, and has chapters with titles such as: "Action
Diagrams", "Decomposition Diagrams", "Dependency Diagrams", "Data Flow
Diagrams"; you get the idea. The idea is to give you a method for
charting your way from the highest level "business strategy" diagram
right down to the last stage before turning mapped sub-process or task
into code.
While most of us are not automating business processes, the book is
still useful because it provides you with tools, and the "why and how to
use them" for every step of the way. You can use what you need for the
level you are working at.
