A flow chart shows the steps in a process i.e., actions which transform an input to an output for
the next step. This is a significant help in analyzing a process but it must reflect the actual
process used rather than what the process owner thinks it is or wants it to be. The differences
between the actual and the intended process are often surprising and provide many ideas for
improvements. Figure 1 shows the flow chart for a hypothetical technical report review process.
Measurements could be taken at each step to find the most significant causes of delays, these
may then be flagged for improvement.