Process Diagrams In Visio - Microsoft Support

General-purpose process diagrams

If you want to diagram a process and you don’t have a specific methodology you want to follow, one of these three templates should work well. These diagrams are supported in Visio Standard, Visio Professional, and the subscription versions of Visio.​​​​

• Basic flowchart

• Cross-functional flowchart

• Work-flow diagram

To find these templates:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click New.

3. Click Flowchart.

Basic Flowchart

The Basic Flowchart template is useful for a broad range of business processes, where each step can be represented using simple geometric shapes.

Cross Functional Flowchart

A cross functional flowchart is the same as a basic flowchart, but with an added element of structure: containers called “swimlanes” that represent the people or departments that are responsible for each step. In fact, the Cross Functional Flowchart template uses the same stencil of shapes the Basic Flowchart template uses; the main difference is that there are some swimlanes added to the page for you to start with.

Work Flow Diagram

The Work Flow Diagram is a general-purpose pictorial diagram. It has shapes for many common business departments, objects, and steps. You can use it instead of the Basic Flowchart to show in a more representational way how a process moves through various stages.