Microsoft Word Basic Flowchart Template
Download the Basic Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this basic flowchart template to streamline or document any process within your organization. It works well for projects that require a clear, step-by-step process visualization.
Notable Template Features: This template allows you to outline and communicate processes efficiently, and it includes various shapes and connectors for you to map out activities and decision points. This template enables you to visually represent every step in the process, whether you are documenting a new hire orientation process or an intricate manufacturing workflow.
Microsoft Word Process Flowchart Template
Download the Process Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this template when your team needs to capture and analyze complex procedures in your organization. This template is ideal for in-depth operational reviews or when integrating new systems, so you can dissect each component of a process and ensure that everyone understands it.
Notable Template Features: This template supports detailed process mapping. It includes a variety of shapes and lines to illustrate the flow of multiple steps and the interactions between them. This template allows users to pinpoint inefficiencies, dependencies, and bottlenecks in the process for greater optimization.
Microsoft Word Swimlane Flowchart Template
Download the Swimlane Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Opt for this template when your project involves multiple teams or departments, and you need to visualize how their processes intersect and flow together. It's particularly effective for cross-departmental projects when you need to understand each team’s role in the overall process. Use this template to identify potential delays or conflicts between departments so that you can streamline the entire process.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes process steps into distinct lanes, each of which represents a different department or team. This layout helps clarify responsibilities so that you can visualize the sequence of tasks across different parts of the organization.
Microsoft Word Decision Flowchart Template
Download the Decision Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this template whenever your team needs to make a critical decision. It’s particularly useful in strategic planning sessions, risk management meetings, or any situation where you need to evaluate the consequences of different choices, so you can guide stakeholders toward informed decisions.
Notable Template Features: This template includes decision points and branching paths so that you can explore various scenarios. The layout helps you visualize and analyze the impact of each potential choice.
Microsoft Word Cross-Functional Flowchart Template
Download the Cross-Functional Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Utilize the cross-functional flowchart template when you need a detailed analysis of how different departments interact and contribute to the overall project workflow. This template is essential for complex projects that involve multiple teams or stakeholders, when you need clarity about how their functions integrate.
Notable Template Features: This template includes horizontal or vertical lanes for each department or function. This feature allows you to clearly visualize how individual tasks move through different parts of the organization, so you can effectively map out the roles in each department. This template also allows you to highlight interactions and dependencies between each role and task.
Microsoft Word Data Flowchart Template
Download the Data Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Choose this template when you need to meticulously track and manage how data moves through various systems or processes within your organization. This template excels for projects that involve data integration, migration, or system analyses, where you need to understand the flow of information to ensure data integrity and security.
Notable Template Features: This template is specifically designed to represent how data moves — from input to storage and output — across different systems. It also allows you to pinpoint where and how you capture, process, store, and distribute your data. You can also customize each element in the flowchart to represent different types of data interactions and transformations.
Microsoft Word System Flowchart Template
Download the System Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this template to visualize the interactions and operations in a computer system or network. This template details the role of each component in a system, making it particularly useful when setting up new systems, troubleshooting existing systems, or conducting system audits.
Notable Template Features: This template illustrates the logical flow between different software, hardware, and user interfaces that make up a system. It shows how information is processed and how you accomplish tasks from start to finish. The template also includes symbols that represent different system components and data flows. These features facilitate a deep understanding of how system elements interact and operate together.
Microsoft Word Cause and Effect Flowchart Template
Download the Cause and Effect Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this template — also known as the fishbone or Ishikawa diagram — when you need to thoroughly investigate the root causes of a specific problem or quality defect. This template is especially valuable in quality assurance processes, project management, and product design, where you need to identify underlying issues to resolve problems.
Notable Template Features: This template organizes potential causes into major categories to systematically explore and visualize the sources of variability in a process. After identifying each “bone,” the template prompts you to explore the factors that might contribute to the problem. This helps teams pinpoint specific areas for improvement.
Microsoft Word Feedback Loop Flowchart Template
Download the Feedback Loop Flowchart Template for Microsoft Word
When to Use This Template: Use this template when you need to establish or refine the feedback mechanisms within your projects or operations. This template is particularly useful for iterative development cycles, continuous improvement programs, or customer feedback systems, where continuous feedback is crucial for success.
Notable Template Features: This template includes customizable flowchart shapes to represent different feedback stages, as well as pre-designed connectors to illustrate the sequence and flow of activities. It also features color-coding options to differentiate between various types of actions or departments involved.
Types of Flowchart Templates
There are many types of flowchart templates, including those for documenting complex processes, making pivotal decisions, or mapping out data flow. You can find basic flowchart templates and more specialized formats, such as swimlane or cross-functional templates.
Below, learn how to navigate the options and select the perfect template to streamline your work and enhance your organizational efforts.
General Process Mapping Flowcharts
General process mapping templates are essential for visually organizing and understanding simple to complex workflows. These templates assist users in documenting sequential steps in a process, which will help you identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
General process mapping templates include the following:
- The basic flowchart template is essential for beginners or anyone who needs to map out simple processes. This type provides a straightforward way to visualize step-by-step sequences.
- A process flowchart template is ideal for more complex procedures. This template helps detail the various steps involved in a process and is perfect for operational documentation and process improvement.
Decision-Making Flowcharts
Decision-making templates are designed to help visualize the paths and outcomes associated with different potential choices. By laying out potential decisions in a structured format, these templates enable users to foresee the consequences of each option to facilitate informed decision-making.
Templates in this category include:
- The decision flowchart template is great for mapping out decision-making processes. Use this template as an aid in strategic planning conversations to visualize possible outcomes based on different decisions.
Team and Department Coordination Flowcharts
Team and department coordination flowchart templates are tailored to manage and clarify the interactions between multiple groups or divisions within an organization. Often formatted as swimlane diagrams, these templates delineate responsibilities and illustrate how separate processes integrate and overlap.
Below are a few templates in this category:
- A swimlane flowchart template is useful for processes that involve multiple teams or departments. The swimlane format delineates responsibilities and shows how different parts of the organization interact.
- A cross-functional flowchart template is similar to the swimlane template, but is often more complex. This tool works well for detailed processes that cross several functional boundaries.
Technical and Data Management Flowcharts
Technical and data management flowchart templates focus on the flow of information and technical processes within systems. These templates are indispensable in IT and data-heavy projects, as they help map out data inputs, storage, and outputs, as well as the relationships between different technological components.
Templates in this category include the following:
- A data flowchart template works well for information systems where you need to illustrate data inputs, outputs, and storage. This tool is crucial for IT and data management projects.
- System Flowchart Template: This type focuses on the technical or physical flow within a system and is ideal for IT system design and troubleshooting.
Problem-Solving Flowcharts
Problem-solving flowchart templates, such as the fishbone or root cause analysis diagrams, are specifically developed to break down and diagnose the causes of issues within a process or system. These templates guide users in tracing a problem back to its source, facilitating a thorough analysis that goes beyond treating surface-level symptoms.
Below is a template in this category:
- A cause and effect (fishbone) flowchart template helps identify the root causes of a problem by branching out the main issue into major categories of potential causes. This type is also known as a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram.
Process Optimization Flowcharts
Process optimization flowchart templates are designed to enhance and refine existing processes. These templates provide a framework to assess and improve workflow efficiency, as well as help identify bottlenecks and eliminate unnecessary steps.
Here is a template in this category:
- The feedback loop flowchart template is designed to map out the feedback mechanisms within a project or process. Use this tool to identify and create effective feedback loops to optimize processes.
How to Create a Flowchart Template
Download a flowchart template from this page to help you map out your processes, identify inefficiencies, and optimize, or to make decisions by visualizing the consequences of potential choices. See the following how-to guide to download and use a template.
1. Download the basic flowchart template.
2. Open the downloaded template file.
3. Click on the placeholder text at the top of the flowchart to enter the name of the process or procedure as the flowchart title.
4. Define the process steps. First, click on each shape in the flowchart and add a description of the step in the process. Ensure each step is clearly described to guide the user through the process accurately.
5. Select and organize new steps and decision points. Identify decision points within the process, and add diamond shapes to represent them. Use rectangle shapes to represent process steps.
6. Adjust the directional arrows to show different paths depending on the decision outcomes.
7. Review and adjust the flow of steps. Check the logical progression of the flowchart to ensure that all steps and decision points are correctly aligned and lead to appropriate outcomes. Make adjustments to the layout or step descriptions to enhance clarity and flow.
8. Finalize and save your flowchart. Review the completed flowchart for any typos or errors. To save the document, click File and then Save As, and select the desired location and file format. Consider creating a backup copy for future reference or updates
Related Flowchart Templates
Use the following templates to further map out data, ideas, processes, and strategies. In conjunction with flowchart templates, these templates can enhance your understanding of the workflow in a wide variety of applications.
Free Workflow Templates
Draw on these free workflow templates to streamline your business processes. These tools are designed to help you map out and optimize various operational flows to ensure clarity and consistency across tasks. Use these templates to effectively coordinate activities, manage responsibilities, and enhance productivity within your team, so you can focus on growth and performance improvements.
Free Workflow Templates for Microsoft Word
Use our collection of free workflow templates for Microsoft Word to optimize your project execution and task management. These templates are specifically designed to streamline your business processes, help you organize tasks effectively, and achieve your objectives with greater efficiency. These tools can also enhance your planning strategies and boost productivity within your team.
Free Process Mapping Templates
Discover our assortment of free process mapping templates, designed to visually outline and optimize your business processes. Use these templates to clearly define each step of a workflow, highlight areas for improvement, and enhance overall operational efficiency. They will also help your team gain a deeper understanding of your processes and drive effective business strategies.
Organization Charts in Microsoft Word
Utilize our free organization chart templates for Microsoft Word to structure and visualize your organization’s hierarchy of roles. These templates provide a straightforward way to display the relationships and reporting structure within your company, which can enhance internal communication and enable effective management planning.
Streamline Processes and Increase Efficiency with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet
Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change.
The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.
When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time. Try Smartsheet for free, today.