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Are there books on flow charting? (Visio's symbol help isn't.) What have
been your experiences with creating and using flow charts? How have you
used flow charts in your documentation?
Tony Markatos responds:
The absolute best reading material to learn about the power of flow charts
over text for procedural documentation is the first chapter or two of
"Structured Systems Analysis and Specification" by Tom DeMarco, Yourdon
Press, 1979.
For software related projects, I myself love um. And most important, the
end users really love a good flow chart. I use flow charts to present the
"bigger picture". I use text for detailed procedural information. The old
saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" is very true.
And now a (sad) word on how the world "really works": A good flow chart (not
excellent, just "good") is almost as scarce as hens teeth. In the "real
world" very few create flow charts that come close to any accedemic
standard. Not systems analysts, not programers, not technical writers.
Takes too much work and cost too much in political capital.
Tony Markatos
(tonymar -at- hotmail -dot- com)
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