Deployment flowchart

Structure

Deployment flowcharts consist of a sequence of activity steps, as well as the interactions between individuals or groups.The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done By Peter R. Scholtes Each participant in the process is displayed on the map (which is constructed as a matrix) - tasks/activities are then articulated in sequence under the column corresponding to that stakeholder.

Uses

As deployment flowcharts highlight the relationships between stakeholders in addition to the process flowEssential Readings in Nursing Managed Care By Susan Odegaard Turner, Aspen Reference Group (Aspen Publishers) they are especially useful in highlighting areas of inefficiency, duplication or unnecessary processing. Often utilized within Six sigma activity,Rath & Strong's Six Sigma Leadership Handbook By Rath & Strong, Thomas Bertels completed flowcharts are commonly used to examine the interfaces between “participants” which are typically causes for delays and other associated issues. Deployment flowcharts are useful for determining who within an organization is required to implement a process and are sometimes used as a business planning tool.

Flowchart creation

While deployment flowcharts can be drawn by hand using pen and paper, various software tools include functionality to construct the flowcharts on computer. These include products such as Microsoft Visio.

As with other process mapping techniques, deployment flowcharts require a certain degree of detail (and accuracy) to provide useful benefit. Care and attention is required to ensure that the correct stakeholder is attributed to the correct parts of the process. Complex flowcharts may be difficult to interpret, especially where a flow is unclear, or many stakeholders are identified. Consistent terminology throughout the map is also important to provide clarity to the reader.

References

References

1. [http://leanyourcompany.com/methods/How-to-construct-a-deployment-flowchart.asp How to draw a deployment flowchart? - Leanyourcompany.com]
2. [http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Visio/visio2000/maintain/iddepend.mspx Identify Cross-Department Dependencies with Microsoft Visio Flowcharts]
3. Flowcharts: Plain & Simple. By Joiner Assocs., Inc. Staff